Leadville Color, Part Three

The Amazing Adventures of Murphy the Mountain Dog!

I was not the only one conquering the rugged American West this summer - Murphy, my Bernese Mountain Dog/Cardigan Welsh Corgi Mix was along for the ride and enjoyed every minute of outdoor adventure!

Murphy surveying the Eagle River at Minturn, Colorado.

With temperatures rising, Murph couldn't resist jumping into the cold mountain stream.

"New smells...EVERYWHERE..."

Conquering a boulder along the Nature Trail at the Leadville National Fish Hatchery.

Murph & I at highest elevation at which Murph has ever taken a walk!

Enjoying a campfire...

...and the comfy chairs...

...and when the humans kick you out of the chairs, just claim some land and take a nap!

All the adventuring caught up with our Courageous Canine when we made it to the cabin!

Our parting shot, taken at South Fork Lake Creek.  Adventuring complete!

Video of Colorado Hummingbirds Feeding

Turn on your speakers and listen to their wings and chirps!

Leadville Color, Part Two

More photos from the Two Mile High City...

More to come!

Leadville Color, Part One

A little taste of the Leadville color palette:

With all the snowboarders, what did you expect?

Mount Massive, Part Two: The Summit

As promised, here are the summit photos from my Mt. Massive climb - enjoy the breathtaking view from 14,421 feet above sea level!

This photo was taken directly below the summit of Massive - time for one last vertical charge!

On the summit! This photo was taken standing on the true summit of Massive - with five distinct summits, the reasoning behind the name is even clearer.  Look at all this room!

Looking to the northwest from Mt. Massive's summit.

Looking to the southwest from the summit.  Mt. Elbert is located on the left, La Plata Peak is left of center.

Fellow climber taking in the views.  This photo looks due south; Mt. Elbert on the right, Twin Lakes in the center, and the Arkansas River Valley on the left.

The view to the east:  Leadville is located in the far center, Lake Turquoise to the left, and the Mosquito Range lining the background of the photo.

This photo of the steep eastern face of Mt. Massive was taken from the saddle between the summits facing north.

Looking west over the expanse of mountain wilderness.

Facing south toward the true summit of Mt. Massive.

Fellow climbers on the summit.  This group of five decided to take a break - a break from having backpacked from Denver and then following the Colorado Trail to the Mt. Massive trailhead - just to climb Mt. Massive.

Me on the summit with western Colorado in the background!

Me with eastern Colorado in the background!

Me on the summit with southwestern Colorado in the background!

Me taking a break from all the photography - and the whole climbing thing.  Thank God Almighty that I was able to stay on the summit MUCH longer than on Mt. Elbert - I soaked up every moment on the summit of Mt. Massive.

On the descent, I made friends with two marmots...

...a little camera shy at first...

...hello there!

Another successful fourteener climb!

Again, thank you for reading my blog - keep checking this site for more of my Colorado series!