mg1744's photos with the keyword: Colorado

Was out taking some landscape shots in the Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area when I noticed some of the ever present prairie dogs sunning themselves outside their burrows. After I took a few frames they suddenly disappeared. Panned around a little with the camera and sure enough along came Mr. Coyote, I think he was traveling, you can see the faint trace of an animal track just behind him, rather than seriously hunting, but he did investigate a couple of the prairie dog burrows as he passed through. Out of the frame to the right a couple of hundred yards (200m) up on the next ridge is the first subdivision on the south edge of Fort Collins; hope everyone took their pets in for the night. View is generally to the west.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL IPERNITY!!! Inspired by the Griswald family of the1989 movie CHRISTMAS VACATION the Medhurst family of Greeley, Colorado illuminates their home annually during the Christmas season with thousands of lights and other decorations. The display is on a 30 minute cycle which is synced to a low power radio broadcast which starts with only a few of the lights flashing and builds to the climax seen here. Thousands visit every year as testified to by the numerous shadows. View is due east. For more about the movie CHRISTMAS VACATION and streaming links: www.imdb.com/title/tt0097958 For more about the GREELEY GRISWALDS (MEDHURSTS): www.greeleytribune.com/news/greeley-grizwalds-outshined-on-abc-show-great-christmas-light-fight For video and the soundtrack (for very local use as the broadcast is very low power 90.3 FM: mike.btfh.net/show.htm

Sideyard garden at a friend's home. View is to the ESE.

Went to the Larimer County Fair which is held at the county events complex known as The Ranch. Although the county fair is an annual showcase of agricultural prowess throughout the country, most fairs include a carnival arranged along a "midway" featuring food, drink and games as well as rides. Shown here is the ferris wheel along with a mini-coaster the lead car of which is a green cobra breathing green smoke which intrudes at the lower right of the frame. The view is to the northeast. Submitted to the July, 2018 Contest Without Prize, theme "Lines and Curves" as entry #43.

"For the least among you all . . . is the greatest." Luke 9:48. Was returning to camp after a little early morning jaunt and noticed this half-blown dandelion seedling in the clear early morning light. Got closer and the camera did the rest.

My son noticed this early blooming example of the state flower of Colorado growing from a small crack in a lichen covered rock along the Maroon Snowmass Trail. We were returning from a hike up to Crater Lake and had just rejoined the main trail in the boulder field below the lake. At his point elevation is about 10,150 feet (3,094m). The view is down and to the west. In addition, photo was actually taken with my cell phone, a Kyocera Rise, camera Kyocera C6725 and then processed with Olympus Master 2.30W software. There is some confusion as to which species of columbine is the official state flower of Colorado. While the "blue" columbine is considered to be the official flower of Colorado, the state code seems to identify the Aquilegia saximontana as the original state flower, to wit: "The white and lavender columbine is hereby made and declared to be the state flower of the state of Colorado." Every citizen has a duty to protect the species and any form of picking or gathering on public land is illegal. Aquilegia saximontana can be found in sub-alpine and alpine areas at elevations of 10,000–13,100 feet (3,050-4,000m) in the Rocky Mountains. This species of columbine normally blooms in July and August. The blooms are lavender and white, and the entire plant reaches 2.0–9.8 inches (5-25cm) in height. This plant is endemic (native only) to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, United States.

Doing my thing on a sunny spring day. View is down and to the west.

Taken during light show between the second and third periods of an NHL game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Los Angeles Kings. The Aves scored the f irst goal before I was even in my seat, but went on to lose in a 7-1 drubbing. This indoor view is to the ENE. In addition, photo was actually taken with my cell phone, a Kyocera Rise, camera Kyocera C6725 and then processed with Olympus Master 2.30W software. The Pepsi Center is the Avalanche home ice located at the southern edge of Lodo (Lower Downtown) in Denver, Colorado. Pepsi Center also provides the home court for the Denver Nuggets of the NBA. Beyond sporting events the Center is also a concert venue, hosting Celine Dion on October 1, 1999 upon completion and available for other large scale indoor events such as the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Seating capacity varies depending on the event; for hockey it is currently 17,809; for basketball, 19,520; for concerts, 20,000 plus; and, for special events such as the convention, 21,000. Groundbreaking for construction was November 20, 1997 with completion in just under two years at a cost of $187 million ($275 million adjusted to 2017). Architect was Populous, known then as HOK Sports and the general contractor was M.A. Mortenson Company. Originally a octagonal scoreboard was installed which was replaced before the 2013-2014 winter sports season with the current four-sided rectangular scoreboard. The two center faces measure 27 feet (8.2 m) high by 48 feet (15 m) long, while the two end faces measure 21 feet (6.4 m) high by 25 feet (7.6 m) wide. The arena is named for it's chief corporate sponsor - PepsiCo. Submitted to the May, 2018 Contest Without Prize, theme "Ice" as entry #44.

Union Pacific locomotive #5905 is a General Electric model C44ACCTE (AC4400CW) unit delivered on January 8, 2003. This type of diesel-electric unit has a power output of 4400 horsepower and is equipped with C-C trucks (three powered axles on two identical trucks. The locomotive weighs 426,000 pounds (193,000 kg) with a fuel capacity of 5,000 gallons (19,000l) and is ideally suited to long, heavy haul applications. In this case the train is crossing the Cache la Poudre River at Fort Collins heading north, likely to the coalfields in Wyoming. I know from personal experience that such trains average between 75 and 100 cars in length. View is to the southwest. Submitted to the January, 2018 Contest Without Prize, theme "Lokomotiven (Locomotives)" as entry #8.

Somewhat of a rarity, a supermoon, sometimes referred to as a giant moon, occurs when a full moon's elliptical orbit coincidentally passes as close as physically possible to the earth (technically referred to as a perigee syzygy), thus causing the moon to appear significantly bigger than normal especially immediately after rising or before setting. This means that the moon appears to be about 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter at these times. The red cast is also most prominent at these times and results from the reflected sunlight from the moon being refracted by the earth's atmosphere which is thickest, if you will, when the moon is at the lowest angles relative to the earth. Even more appropriate in this case since the supermoon happens on New Years Day and here was 99.9 percent full at moon rise. View is to the ENE.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL IPERNITY !!! This neighborhood Christmas decoration is anchored in the front yard of a home almost at the sidewalk and stretches up and back to the peak of the roof gable about 30 feet (10m). The dimmed lights in the second floor windows are just visible behind the middle of the tree. View is to the north. A very similar photo was previously posted here. I found it to be unsatisfactory because of an uneven black background; I had not removed all the lights and shadows from the house behind the decoration. However, I had already submitted the previous photo to the December, 2017 Contest Without Prize, theme "Christmas creations / sceneries" as entry #23. After the conclusion of the contest I replaced that photo with one above.

A Farmall 200 and Allis-Chalmers tractors sit abandoned in a small field on the edge of Fort Collins.

The title derives from a small worn sign hanging from the barbed wire fence out of the frame to the right. It also indicates that Lillian is or was 92 years of age at the time the sign was hung. Submitted to the July, 2017 Contest Without Prize, theme "Derelict Structures" as entry #18.

Enjoying four tasters of the product in the taproom at New Belgium Brewery. Part of the brewery works are just visible through the windows. Picture title names the four brews from left to right.

Cliff Palace is the largest of the Ancestral Puebloan, also called Anasazi, structure located within Mesa Verde National Park. The Park is one of 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in United States and the only site in the State of Colorado. The structure itself is one of the largest of its kind in North America and the largest in Mesa Verde. The alcove it occupies is about 215 feet (65m) wide by about 90 feet (27m) deep and a maximum of 60 feet high (18m). Constructed largely between 1260 and 1280, it includes 150 rooms, 75 constructed open spaces, 21 ceremonial spaces or kivas and was inhabited by an estimated 100 -125 individuals. View is from the Cliff Palace overlook down and to the west towards the structure. For more information visit the Cliff Palace page at the National Park Service's Mesa Verde National Park website: www.nps.gov/meve/learn/historyculture/cd_cliff_palace.htm

THIRD PLACE PHOTO - November, 2016 Secret Photographer Contest; theme "Benches"; entry #29 with the previous title "Prairie Park". Indian summer day in the Laura Smith Porter Plains Garden, one of the Gardens of the West, at the Denver Botanic Gardens. View is to the southwest. Submitted to the November, 2016 Secret Photographer Contest (SPC) @ votingmachines.panoramiogames.com/entries-review-form.php?contest=SPC&all=Y&year=2016&month=11&from=C as entry #29.

Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Greeley, Colorado. These doors face due east and in the morning sun it looks like they are made of brass or some similar metal alloy, but actually they are burnished wood bas relief. View is to the west. Previously submitted to the May, 2016 Secret Photographer Contest (SPC) @ votingmachines.panoramiogames.com/votingmachines/autoVM.php?contest=SPC&year=2016&month=05 as entry #54 and to the July, 2018 Contest Without Prize, theme "Doors" as entry #46.

Went out to take a sunrise photo on a foggy morning and found this scene more to my liking. The cottonwood tree at the right of the frame is in the bottoms of Fossil Creek which meanders through this meadow from right to left. You would think that I am out on the prairie in the middle of nowhere, but this landscape is in the Fossil Creek Wetlands Natural Area which is maintained by the City of Fort Collins. As such it is surrounded by suburbia, shrouded in the fog on the ridgeline just visible across the center of the frame, at the south end of the city. View is to the south with the sunrise at the left of the frame. Submitted to the December, 2016 Contest Without Prize, theme "Tranquility" as entry #30 with the title just "Morning Mist". Also, previously posted in Panoramio @ www.panoramio.com/photo/113622577 with the title "Autumn Fog" and submitted to the 2014 November CFP contest @ groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/panoramio-romanian/ymt3EapQQys%5B51-75%5D as entry #20 and to the 2016 July TTT contest @ groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/panoramio-games-competitions/lyFK90SmTo0%5B1-25%5D as entry #93.