Hopefully I can keep some pictures coming. Yesterday I went to get some more crop dusting photos only to find that my camera body has bitten the dust. I cannot figure out what is wrong, so now I am looking for repair centers. I hope it can be fixed...inexpensively.
Another photo from our recent trip to the Dunes. Seen in the background is the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness.
Seen south of the old Summitville mine area, the hills in the background are always stunning due to their oxidation from high iron content. While I was trying to get a picture, the rest of my tribe was stretching it's legs and enjoying the view as well.
As I peered through my telephoto lens to capture this coyote, I could sure tell he was hot in the midday July heat. He wasn't in too much of a hurry to run off either. Any unnecessary effort wasn't going to happen very easily. Finally, as I pondered getting closer he decided it might be best to run off.
My girls were sure delighted to see a fresh pair of Bambies as we drove along the Rio Grande yesterday. These mule dear fawns couldn't be much more than a few months old since they still have their spots.
Any trip around rural America these days and I'm sure you will see hay bales of some shape or size around. Locally, these bales are comprised of what is called native hay. It is a type of grass that is natural to the area and grows in really wet, lowlying areas. Alfalfa bales and straw bales are also very common as well.
Yesterday, we made it back to the Great Sand Dunes NP. While we didn't actually set foot on the dunes themselves, we were rewarded with stunning views as we hiked a nearby trail around the perimeter of the Park.
This summer we have had a few different aircraft in Alamosa to perform what they call "hot and high" testing. Yesterday, Cessna flew into Alamosa with it's new prototype Citation CJ4 to perform some different engine starting tests. Most recently we had Eurocopter here for a week doing some tests for the military in their EC145. Cessna also has had their Citation Mustang in for similar engine start tests. It's always fun to pretend we have a small part in aircraft development.
At the end of May, I took a filght to pick up some customers and was able to enjoy some fresh snow blanketing the high peaks. Although it was less than two months ago, snow still made it down to around 11,500 feet. It always amazes us that we have the possibility for snow and freezing temperatures 8-9 months out of the year. That is a little different than the eternal spring we had in Ecuador.
(The yucca plants are really blooming hard, making for some beautiful hillsides.)
(Indian Paintbrush)
A few weekends ago, we took a long tour through the mountains to Platoro, Colorado just cuz. As can be expected, we were rewarded with awesome scenery and cool, clean mountain air. It had been over 10 years ago, since Becca and I had made that trip. We weren't even married then, just young lovebirds. Now we are just older lovebirds with 3 cute little girls in our quiver.
For two hours yesterday we enjoyed various avation acts from acrobatic performers to local pilots simply flying thier different aircraft around for those the see. After watching the eye popping manuevers that the aerobatic pilots performed, Brooklyn said she wanted me to do that with her some day. I always thought a lomcovak looked easy. Maybe some day I will try it with her.
Some of the aircraft that showed up in included antique airplanes like this Sopwith. There was also a local nut that did a sweet show with his helicopter.
As I was going to bed last night, Becca said the lightning was really lighting up the sky north of us. I was really suprised to see how strong that thunderstorm was that late in the night in the Colorado high country. I was able to get a few shots, although it makes me wish for more specialized equipment for the next time.
Last weekend we had the makings of a great day to go to the sand dunes. I started snapping pictures even before we made it through the main entrance. And then...I ran out of film...at least the digital equivalent. My battery went dead. A gross oversight on my part, as numerous photo ops abounded. Oh well! That is why we bought the season pass to come and go when we want for a year. Hopefully we can get back soon. If we could just get some more of that stuff called free time.
Click on this image to make it larger. You will see the little people in the distance scurrying up the dunes. Also, at the bottom center of the photo is a mommy mule dear with a fresh fawn in tow.
A few days ago, I had the chance to fly to Taos, New Mexico to fix an airplane. One of the airplanes two magnetos decided to eat itself up inside, so we fixed it, and I flew it 35 minutes south to re-install it. While flying southbound, I noticed a hay circle still cut in preparation for bailing. Most farmers already have their first cutting done and in the barn, so it was fun to see a straggler out there and get his picture.
This is a pre-Spring shot of Las Mesitas from the Rio Grande Bluffs near the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge. I liked how the virga in the distance was whipped into mist on the ground by the downdrafts from the clouds.
It's always fun to see all the new life that emerges during the spring. This colt was only a few days old when I took this picture back in mid-May.
(North of Durango, Colorado while en route to Montrose, Colorado picking up customers)
As I turned onto the final approach course for landing at Alamosa, a thunderstorm was making it's way across parts of the San Luis Valley. 
This is a molybdenum mine near Questa, New Mexico. Due to low prices, most of the workers were recenly laid off. Needless to say, they left a big hole in the mountain. 
Spring day with a strong runoff made the falls impressive.
The aspen trees were just starting to bud on Memorial Day weekend.
I took the girls early one morning to take some up close and personals of a local ag operator. They liked it as much as I did.
Trying not to fall in the creek while riding a trail around the base of 14,000ft Mount Princeton.
While driving early one morning, we spotted a few hot air balloons enjoying the cool and smooth morning air as well as some awesome scenery.
