Greetings and salutations! The fiftieth issue of this little photo journal has passed, but to continue for fifty more, I’m going to make a few changes. For one, I love traveling to isolated areas, but I should remember the “buddy system,” as that’s the best, and safest, way to travel.
Georgetown, Colorado, as seen from the south by a DJI Mavic 3, 19 September 2025
But I went to Georgetown last Friday on my own. Having found an observation overlook, with only a few scrub jays noisily waking up as company.
Wider view of Georgetown, under the glow of the sunrise and a lenticular cloud formation
I was reminded of the first time my dad took me cross-country skiing as a kid on a dirt road on forest service land not too far from where I took these pictures. Of course, the ground was covered with snow then, but for now, the snow has been limited to the Sawatch Range, at altitudes of ~10,000 feet, or 3300 meters in elevation and above.
Sunlight on the summit of Pendleton Mountain, with a hint of fall colors below.
Aside from the lenticular cloud hovering over Georgetown, the morning dawned clear and bright. I was on the lee side, facing the high-altitude Zephyr, of the Front Range, and a cloud was fixed above the valley formed by Clear Creek.
In this panorama, I-70 is on the left, and the road to Guanella Pass is on the right.
Taking a peek at Golden Bear Peak caught the glow of the sunrise, I could see the shadows of the Front Range on the Continental Divide.
Looking past Silver Plume to the Continental Divide
The sleepy hamlet of Georgetown was just waking up, and several tow trucks passed me, heading up to Guanella Pass while I was photographing. It is still early for “leaf season” as the cottonwoods and aspens are turning into their fall colors.
Looking south from over Georgetown.
While I didn’t feel lonely, I was in my own little world. Directly above the little town, the drone could capture multiple photographs and stitch them together into a panorama.
360° panorama from over Georgetown.
But on Saturday, I had a different solo adventure. I had just picked up my bike from having a new back tire installed, so I dropped by Green Mountain on the way home. I rode up the trails to the summit, stopping once to take some photographs, when the sun would briefly shine through to nearby Golden, Colorado.
Looking west from the Box o’ Rox trail.
I shouted “Hurrah!” when I finally reached the summit, managing the ascent on a technically challenging trail. It’s not called “Box o’ Rox” for nothing. The new tire was made specifically for the hard-scrabble trails typical of this area. Packed dirt or bare rocks, with plenty of gravel and large stones for variety, make every moment a challenge.
I call this “Still life with eBike at sunset”
The view was as amazing as I was elated at the luck and mechanical assistance that propelled me to the summit. Although Downtown Denver was in shadow, the sun managed to peak through the clouds at opportune moments.
In the sunlight was Golden to the left of the image, and the Flatirons to the north.
This will be the last time that I thank you, the reader, for “reading all the way to the end” as I will be merging “Wordless Wednesdays” and “Throwback Thursdays” into the new editions of this newsletter. I have thousands of photographs from the past years that I want to share, so I’ll be replacing the written journal entries with collections of photographs that will be published each week. Each entry will have a title and a date to accompany the photos—but, no other information—unless someone asks!
