In the aftermath of the fire blanketed with snow there is an strange silence in the forest. Most of the trees are incinerated to only the trunk standing. Others still retain their pine needles but are completely scorched. In some places the heat and strong winds caused trees to fold in half bending to touch tops to the ground. There is almost no underbrush in the forest and it seems to be devoid of most wildlife. In some areas the barren trees create interesting shadows on the snow in the early morning and late afternoon. All of these photos show some of the burned and scorched trees on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. [Click the images to see larger.]
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In mid October, 2020 a massive forest fire quickly engulfed the area around Grand Lake, CO, the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park, then jumped the continental divide heading for Estes Park, CO, burning nearly 200,000 acres and destroying or damaging hundreds of homes and buildings. You can do a Google search for Grand Lake forest fire to find many articles about the destruction.
In the aftermath of the fire blanketed with snow there is an strange silence in the forest. Most of the trees are incinerated to only the trunk standing. Others still retain their pine needles but are completely scorched. In some places the heat and strong winds caused trees to fold in half bending to touch tops to the ground. There is almost no underbrush in the forest and it seems to be devoid of most wildlife. In some areas the barren trees create interesting shadows on the snow in the early morning and late afternoon. All of these photos show some of the burned and scorched trees on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. [Click the images to see larger.]
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When I am out photographing birds, wildlife and landscapes I occasionally shoot some video at the same time. Here is a little video sampler of some of our photo adventures over the past few years. The still photos can be found throughout this web site.
A week in Rocky Mountain National Park is barely enough to to soak in the beauty and splendor of one of our grandest national parks. It's hard to say what impressed me most. I took photos of sunrises, sunsets, rivers and waterfalls. I love the mountain streams and waterfalls, and the reflections of the mountains on the surface of the lakes early in the morning when there is no wind. We saw and photographed Elk, Mule Deer, Moose, Yellow-bellied Marmots, Pikas, ground squirrels and Chipmunks. We looked for for Bighorn Sheep and Black Bear, but had no sightings in the week that we were there. Perhaps a good thing, because I did see recent Bear droppings in the middle of a trail at 4:30 in the morning as I was hiking around Sprague Lake to set up to take sunrise photos of the lake and mountains in the distance (I started talking to myself and the shadows rather loudly as I continued down the trail - just to alert any large furry critters that may still be around). We saw lots of Mountain Bluebirds and Magpies and a few Clark's Nutcrackers and Osprey, but there didn't seem to be a lot of birds in late July.
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Bruce's Blog
Just a few notes about my photos and videos. See more on Facebook. and videos on YouTube Archives
March 2024
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