Month: June 2009

Rocky Mountain National Park 2009

While in Colorado we had the opportunity to visit Rocky Mountain National Park.

The first day I hiked around the Bear Lake area and took HDR photos of the taller peaks. I was lucky the sky stayed clear until noon (gallery photos 1-15).

On the second day we did a car tour along Trail Ridge Road. There were more clouds and even some rain. At one point we hiked up to an alpine desert above 12,000 ft. These “mushroom rocks” offered an unusual photographic subject.

Along the way we saw both elk and the wily marmot.

Vedauwoo Wyoming – June 2009

We recently returned to an old favorite from the time we lived in Wyoming called Vedauwoo. In spite of their weathered sandstone appearance, these rocks are much harder—granite I think. The snow had only recently receded and the wildflowers were out in full force! I’ve posted a gallery of macro and HDR photos for all to enjoy. The last few images are from Northern Colorado where we saw fields of wild iris in all the wet places.

Long Form Rock Classics – Caravan, Pink Floyd and The Rascals

Here are three obscure but most excellent rock “concerti” from the early 1970s. In addition to the jazz orchestra classics by Frank Zappa, I keep coming back to these three:

Nine Feet Underground (sample but not a typical passage) from In the Land of Grey and Pink by Caravan — 9FU is a progressive rock masterpiece. It rambles through several loosely connected improvisational and lyric “movements” with multiple key changes and unusual time signatures. Available only on CD (there are other live versions as well on MP3).

Atom Heart Mother (sample) by Pink Floyd — AHM is very classical in form and instrumentation. It makes use of a small orchestra and chorus (a sort of “ninth symphony” of rock classics). Available on CD and MP3.

Peaceful World (sample) by The Rascals — PW is a pleasant extended jazz improvisation. One of the nicest musical “grooves” I know of. Only available on CD.