Mining Claim Pics Part Three

[Timberline]

There is abundant wildlife at the mining claims. Mule deer, elk, mountain goats, mountain sheep, a few moose, black bears, mountain lions, coyotes, red fox, many small rodents and birds. Wildflowers are thick through spring and summer in every color. There are lots of tiny wild strawberries, raspberries and currants. There are no aspen trees at our elevation, but the spruce are thick.

This marmot lives in a rock pile near our little building.


This camp robber likes to sit on my boot in camp.


Tiny elephant head flowers. The whole plant is only a few inches tall.

A close up.


Rocky Mountain Bluebells


Columbines grow thick in the rocks and timber.

[Freeholder]

Very pretty pictures! What do you look for at the mining claim?

Kathleen

[farmergirl]

Gorgeous. You must be so thrilled to live in such beautiful country!

[Paula in Balto]

Ahhhh! You're killin' me! When I was a kid, we had a 20 acre claim outside of Hot Sulphur Springs, CO. Up the shale road to the Rainbow claim, we panned, sluiced, hiked, coaxed those chipmunks and squirrels too, and fished. Pan fried trout was never sooooo good! It certainly chalks up the best memories of my childhood. I'd do it all over again and again....! Sigh

Love the pics, I so miss those mountains!

[Timberline]

Originally Posted by BlueJuniperFarm

Very pretty pictures! What do you look for at the mining claim?

Kathleen

Silence and solitude! We didn't buy it to mine, but hopefully for a cabin site and investment. The ore had to be taken to a mill and crushed and chemically treated to remove the silver and a bit of gold. Not like placer mining with a pan. We have panned some of the tailings, but no luck yet. Just like being there and I'm a photographer so I'm always hunting with my camera.

[Murray in ME]

Great pictures. Except for the marmot. He looks to much like his cousins that keep eating my garden. I especially like the ones of the camp robber and the columbine.

[pheasantplucker]

I've really enjoyed the photos you've posted these past few days. Thanks for sharing them...

[tnokie]

Fantastic! Love the elephant head flowers. Didn't know they existed!. Thank you so much for sharing. In case you missed it I am in love with your place!lol. Do you have a blog going yet? Please keep pics and storye comming.

[AngieM2]

Oh boy! Thank you for the wildlife and wildflower photos. I bet you could have all the HT visitors you could handle and then some, if we could all get away.

You are a photographer, for sure.

I love the clarity of the sky in the photos, I remember that sky being different from the sky of the areas that are closer to sea level.

It's really great that you're close enough to be up there almost every weekend.

Angie

[Timberline]

Aww, thanks everyone. I love it there, my heart belongs to the mountains and the wild creatures that live there. I'm not a professional photographer, just my favorite hobby. Last summer and fall I took well over two thousand pics up there. I could overwhelm you guys with them!

tnokie, I don't have a blog about it, but have not considered doing one. Might have to get serious about that, especially if/when we build a cabin. I started a blog about high altitude homesteading, as our farm is at 8,000 feet. I'm no longer using the same computer (am now on a Mac) and can't seem to get to my blog with it. Oh well, I guess I'll have to start it over this winter. Too busy doing things on the mountain in the summer!

Angie, that's one of my favorite things about Colorado: the blue skies. The sky in the fall is amazing, crisp, clear blue. I was born and raised 45 miles south of where I now live, so don't know anything else. But, on our rare trips out of the state, I am shocked at how different the sky looks. My dh was raised in eastern Kansas, so when we go back there, I am in total landscape shock. I am not used to flat ground, or being able to see very far. But, Kansas has it's own natural beauty, as does any place.

[Oggie]

We need pica pictures! Peep! Peep!

Great photos.

What mountain are you on?

[Timberline]

HI Oggie. Aren't pica's the best? Fun to watch. I'll try to get some shots of them this summer. We are in Chaffee county above St. Elmo.

[Oggie]

Our extended family has a cabin a bit south of La Veta, right between the Spanish. Those twin mountains are pockmarked with mines. Not many with vertical shafts, though.

[Timberline]

The Spanish Peaks area is beautiful. Our mine is in a little valley with lots of peaks all around. The most well known ones being Mt. Princeton and Mt. Antero. These two peaks dominate the views from our homeplace. Nice to be able to look up the canyon and know our high mountain getaway is up there, not far away, just waiting for us.

There are loads of shafts up there. We are a few miles above the famous Mary Murphy Mine. It was huge with (if I remember correctly) 14 levels. Fascinating history.