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Grand Lake, CO, Forest Fire Aftermath

3/25/2021

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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.]

More Rocky Mountain National summertime photos.
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Cerro Gordo Photo Show

5/19/2015

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2nd Place Photo
Three of my  photos were accepted in to the 35th Annual Cerro Gordo Photo Show at the MacNider Art Museum this year. My photo of 'Niagara Falls in Winter' won Second Place. The photo was taken on the Ontario side of the river at Horseshoe Falls (also called Canadian Falls) on a very cold February morning. A long exposure gives the water the milky flowing look. I'm honored just to have three of my photos selected, but thrilled to receive a recognition among so many fine submissions by many talented local photographers. The photo below mine by Don Barnes, received Third Place recognition. The Photo Show is on display until the end of July 2015. Stop in to see the many wonderful photos by local photographers.
The images below are my three photos accepted to the photo show.
Click the images to see larger.

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Niagara Falls in Winter, Horseshoe Falls, Ontario. 2nd Place Recognition
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Alberta Falls, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
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Screech Owlets
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Nature Travels - Video

1/16/2015

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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.

Nature Travels with Bruce G. McKee from BruceGMcKeePhotos on Vimeo.

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Rocky Mountain National Park

8/24/2014

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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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One evening I was taking photos of a few bull Elk grazing on the tundra up above the treeline. They had their noses in the grass and were not paying much attention to me and several others who were taking photos from a distance. After about 20 minutes a photographer next to me got up, turned his back and quietly walked back to the car to get another lens. All three Elk raised their heads and watched him walk away. Click, click, click. I got my photo (I felt kind of bad that he missed it). Thanks whoever you are.
We did see one Moose on the west side of the park and got a few photos, but she was mostly in the willows munching on her favorite food. We saw several Pika, high above the tree line on a rocky mountain side, along with the Marmots and other ground squirrels. Pikas are a small rodent with short legs, rounded ears and no tail. The only other place that we have seen them was in Alaska.
Well, it's taken me a month to go through my photos and sort out a couple dozen to share with you. I hope you enjoy.

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Click here to see more photos of Rocky Mountain National Park.
You can also go to my Facebook page and click the Like button at the top of the page to get photo updates as I post them there.
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