A collective of Colorado's wildflowers. ©Victoria Lise 2018.

Summers Simple Pleasures

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The clouds above moved gently from the breath of summers breeze. Cloud shadows cast overtop the landscape shifting the perspective with each gust and carrying faint scents of hardy foliage. The sun was rising overhead blanketing the earth in its warmth, ascending in the sky, as we were ascending the mountain one purposeful step at a time. Nothing but the sounds of the winds whispers and my camera’s shutter. The best sounds. Flowers reached out to the blue sky- begging for rain- but bowing in gratitude to the light. “Survival can be a struggle” I note. One that ebbs and…

Hiking Cinnamon Mountain in Crested Butte, Colorado. ©Victoria Lise 2018.

Cinnamon Mountain Summit, Colorado

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Late last week we made the trek to the summit of Cinnamon Mountain once again. After four trips to the peak I’ve still not grown weary of it. It sits nestled within Paradise Divide, enveloped by striking Rocky Mountains, blanketed in rich foliage and fragrant native wildflowers.  Despite the drought or perhaps because of it the flowers were in full bloom. There were no shortage of lupines, purple aster, columbines, osha, and a vast variety of paintbrushes. You may recognize Cinnamon Mountain from  Hiking Mountains at 55+ when we took my mom on her very first peak hike. What a memorable…

Summer Solstice from Paradise Divide, Colorado. ©Victoria Lise 2018.

Paradise Divide Sunset, Colorado

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On the first day of Summer and the day that graces us with the longest daylights hours we left work just before dusk to chase the solstice light. There was no guarantee I would capture anything but a memory which would have been more than enough. We were exhausted, burned out from too much labor and not enough play or even sleep. We didn’t even have a location in mind so we just drove. Drove down a dirt road with no destination. We’re beyond lucky in that way, to be able to have dirt roads within reach, mountains one can…

Alpine sunflowers cover the valley floor below Gothic Mountain, Colorado. ©Victoria Lise 2018.

A Colorado Mid-Summer Dream

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The land is once again dehydrated, dry, and drought. The air torrid and dust stricken. And the fire danger heightened back to extreme. Parts of Colorado are still ablaze and from the predictions of my weather app we are still quite a few days out from a small, small chance of rain. However, the hearty alpine wildflowers continue to bloom enlivening the thirsty landscape. Fields are full of alpine sunnies, mules ear, lupines, wild rose, purple aster, scarlet gilia, paintbrushes and those I’m not as well acquainted with and cannot yet call by name. They sway in the mid-summer winds…

Victoria Lise in a Rocky Mountain Wildflower Field with Styx. 2016.

Field Of Dreams Crested Butte, Colorado

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Summer solstice ahh! This is probably my favorite day of the year, the celebration of the summer season. Long sun soaked days, warm balmy nights, the simple sounds made by the birds and the bugs, the contrast of bluebird skies and lush green landscapes. And then here in Crested Butte there’s the bounty of glorious wildflowers. It is truly unlike anything I’ve been witness too and keeps me longing for summers return. The feeling is relative to standing underneath a waterfall of fireworks only better because the magic isn’t manmade. No one landscaped the wild, there was no miracle grow…