Colorado 101 : Sunset Time Into Silhouette Time on 26 July 2018

Late this afternoon I did NOT go straight home from the store after I got my Rocky Ford Cantaloupe.

Nope.

I was going to, truly I was.

But ... y'know ...

Sometimes ya just gotta do what ya gotta do.

Yep.

Filled my vehicle's tank with gas and headed South on 101.

The place my great-grandparents homesteaded is down that way, but that's not where I was going as I don't have a big tough pickup truck.

Further south, past where the pavement ends, are some pretty awesome rock formations, the broken lands filled with scenery straight out of the old Westerns.

That's not where I was going, either.

I was just headed out on the Ranch Road to look for some sage and to see if I could locate some of the plants that grow those little round gourds that are about the size of baseballs or tennis balls.

I didn't get very far because we've had some gully-washers just lately (storms that drop heavy rain pretty fast and are often the cause of flash floods) and sure enough a gully was washed out a couple three miles onto the Ranch Road. I might have made it past that spot, but it looked iffy to me - and I didn't want to get stuck on the other side of it if it got worse (all I had along to eat was my cantaloupe, you know) - so I backed up along the Ranch Road until I got to a safe place to turn around.

Back to 101 I went, but back to town I did not go.

Nope.

Headed south on 101 to where the pavement ends.

The pavement's end is toward the bottom of this photo, the part of the road that's a little darker.

What with one thing and another I figured that I'd best stay on the pavement.

And so I did, for the most part.

Taking my own sweet time as the sunset hours approached, stops along the way back to town were frequent (sometimes only ten yards down the road at a time) and photos many.

Here are a few.

Minutes apart ... 

There truly is no light quite like sunset light.

A few minutes later looking the other direction ...

A few minutes later ... 

And the next few minutes take us from sunset time to silhouette time ... 

Meanwhile, in the east ... 

West ... 

East ... 

And back to the west ...

The east becomes even softer ... 

The west begins to relax ...

While the moon rides the coming night back to town ...

Bridge to Nowhere

This photo was taken by Brian Williams.
He was brought up in Dunbar, East Lothian, along the east coast of Scotland.
When he shared the photo with me, he told me it was taken near there, and mentioned John Muir.

Me being me, I went looking.

Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland is indeed the birthplace of John Muir.

We in the United States honor John Muir as a conservationist, and for his campaign to form Yosemite National Park; respect him as a writer; and almost revere him as a poet.

Now, I hardly ever put much stock in 'coincidence'.

Brian takes enchanting photos; John Muir spoke words filled with enchantment.

The two go together.

John Muir

photo credit scotsman.com 

These Photographs Will WOW Your Heart

LEE PATTERSON'S PHOTOGRAPHY

CLICK ABOVE

Not too long ago a friend suggested a link for me to go to in my research for the young adult years of Brann, Dothann, and Rua as they choose to make a home for themselves near one of their training centers, Lindesfarne. The Northumberland site is jam packed with wondrous photos.

One of those photos caught and held my attention. It was as though I could stand up from where I was sitting at my desk and walk straight into the scene before me.

That was one of Lee Patterson's photos.

A comment, a reply, and my path was clear to some of the most amazing photos, all of which have that haunting quality of 'being there'.

Here's an example, used with Lee's permission:

Here's one more ...

Click on the link at the top of this post. It will take you to Lee's Facebook page where you will find a collection of photos that will walk you straight into magic. 

I kid you not.

I honestly have no idea how the man does it, and he probably couldn't (or wouldn't) tell you himself ... but whatever it is ... it works!

And yes, he roams around up in Scotland. Many of his most evocatively poignant photos are from up there.

So a hearty THANK YOU to Lee Patterson for taking us to where we might never else get to roam for ourselves. 'Tis a rare and beautiful gift indeed.

That Lee has (finally) begun offering prints of his photos is a true blessing!