24 Hours in Estes Park
Several months ago, my companion and I boarded a plane bound for Denver, with a subsequent excursion to the picturesque town of Estes Park to attend the nuptials of a dear friend of hers. The wedding was held at the enchanting Della Terra Mountain Château, perched amidst the towering peaks of the Rockies and conveniently located near the entrance to the magnificent Rocky Mountain National Park.
Although my stay was largely occupied by professional obligations, on the final Saturday of our visit, we managed to carve out sufficient time to explore the park. As we embarked on our journey back to Seattle, with the last flight of the day as our destination, we were blessed with a bountiful window of leisure to roam the park's roads and appreciate its stunning vistas. This was my maiden visit to RMNP, and the drive into the park was simply breathtaking, transporting me to a realm of grandeur, with the magnificent mountain peaks and endless expanses of wilderness enveloping me in an aura of serenity. The seclusion of the park on that day only added to its captivating beauty, as the only sounds that echoed in the vast stillness were the whispers of the wind and the gentle rustling of the trees. Annie and I are already scheming to make a return trip in May, when we will be in Colorado for another concert at Red Rocks.
For the duration of the trip, I relied solely on my trusty Fujifilm X100v to document our adventures, shooting everything handheld and processing the images with Adobe Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, along with the Nik Collection and Lumenzia.
A Journey To The Heart
September came and went in a blink of an eye. It was over before it began, it felt like.
During that month, I lived on the road, residing in my trusty truck, "Brandi". My girlfriend Annie and I had meticulously planned our trip for several months with the primary objective of reaching Denver, Colorado to witness a performance by "The Head and The Heart" at the prestigious Red Rocks Amphitheater. The tickets were a gift from Annie, either for my birthday or Christmas, however, we couldn't quite recall which.
As September approached, it was time to embark on our journey. Our only set stops were to visit my parents in Idaho for a couple of days and then finally reaching Denver. The rest of our trip was spontaneous, discovering new places and experiences along the way. Our itinerary consisted of scenic hikes, relaxing by tranquil lakes, and exploring uncharted territories. Our route took us through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and Oregon.
This visual diary below is a recollection of our trip. All the pictures were captured using my Nikon Z7 and Fujifilm X100v cameras, and processed with Adobe Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, Nik Plugins , and Lumenzia.
Dungeness Spit - A quick day trip in Western Washington
It’s been nothing but rain here in Western Washington for the last few days. The days of sitting inside were starting to get to us, more than they normally do. Don’t get me wrong, this has been a weird winter. As I sit here and write this it’s 50°F outside and it’s the second day of February.
The 5 mile long Dungeness Spit located near Sequim, Washington.
Cliffs along the beach to the SW.
After watching the weather on NOAA.gov we finally decided that we should just go for it. After countless times of refreshing the page to check different places and seeing where was getting the least rain, we both jumped at the idea of heading out to the spit. The need for some beach time has been at an all-time high.
The view we have been waiting for..
Annie, about 30 seconds before she started laughing.
A pile of kelp strewn across the beach
Getting to the spit is a walk in the park, literally. The short drive into the refuge takes only a few minutes. You’ll pass parking areas for the cliffs and camping before you arrive at the final parking area and this is where you’re adventure will begin.
Once you’ve parked, it’s a short walk down a well-marked path to the beach. That first sight of the whole spit is truly breathtaking. Even on a cloudy overcast day. On your walk down make sure to slow down and read all the signs along the way. They are all well worth the read, especially if you have never been!
And no, we didn’t hike out to the lighthouse on this trip. We arrived a little late and didn’t have the time to make it out. Next time!
One last ocean view before we go.
Two image stack for depth of field.
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Road Trip - Back To South Dakota
It feels good to be back here in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This time not having to worry about a tire exploding or something like that. This time I can leave base camp and head up into the hills and actually get out to see them. One downside of towing the trailer along is some places get a little too difficult to get into. Or the roads are far too narrow for it. Having the trailer parked down at the Black Hills KOA is convenient. Not too far from the hills and now I have power and water without having to get the generator out. Honestly, I really just wanted air conditioning. I’m inside the trailer with the a/c cranked and enjoying a Pile-O-Dirt Porter by Crow Peak Brewing.
This morning was a nice cool morning. Started the day out by heading up finishing the wildlife loop in Custer State Park. Which was pretty uneventful this morning. The evening before was quite opposite… saw a few bison on the loop. After finishing the loop it was time to head up on the Needles Highway. If you’ve never heard of this do take some time and look it up. It is one absolutely beautiful drive. I’ll be heading up there again this evening for the sunset. The road through needles is tight, winding, and dramatic. The road also has a few tunnels on it. Though if you’re like me and driving a lifted F350 those tunnels are just a little tight. I mean inches to spare with the mirrors folded in.
after the drive up and across needles I took the road out and into Deadwood. Not much to say about this since I didn’t stop to get out and look. Doing my best to avoid all group contact with people. That’s why it’s been a pleasure to have to the trailer. All I need to stop for is diesel and food to cook. Being able to keep to myself has been a large part of this journey.
In the morning I’ll be heading off to Badlands National Park. I also researched a place to catch the sunset from. Hoping that location works out well. Stay tuned to find out.
Road Tripping to Iowa
Well.. I’m sitting here in Rapid City, South Dakota. I’d rather be sitting in the Black Hills National Forest camping like I had planned on. Sometimes things don’t go the way you plan. Sometimes your tire hits something and shears down to the steel cable in the tire. Now I’m waiting for a new set BFG KO2’s to get delivered to Point S Tire here in Rapid City. Of course, they’re an oddball size and no one has them in stock anywhere in town or nearby. So, that means I’m sitting here in the trailer at KOA for the next couple of days. Luckily the little store the KOA has sells beer. That will help the time go by.
Anyways, I’m currently on my way to Iowa to visit my sister for a bit. After that, It’s time to hit the road back to Washington. Though It’s going to be a slow one. Two to three weeks to come back home. There is a number of places I want to go spend some time on the way back. Places like The Badlands, Bruneau Sand Dunes, Jackson, I could make a big list here but I won’t I don’t have many set destinations. Mostly going to see where the roads lead (or wherever looks pretty rad).
Stay tuned to the blog and Instagram to see where I end up going. There won’t be tons of fully processed photos from this journey until I get back home. I work from a gaming laptop, so color accuracy isn’t the best, even when calibrated. If the colors look off that would be why. I’ll make corrections and upload corrected photos when I am able to. Once I am home I’ll be back on my art monitor to create a series of photos from the trip.
Have any recommendations of things to see while I’m out here? Shoot me an email and let me know!
Until next time,
Chance
