Chasing Shadows

A few weeks ago I had the idea to go up in the mountains late in the afternoon and take photos of the mountain shadows extending over the valley. I really liked how the mountains reached out and stretched farther and farther.


The late afternoon shadows highlighted all the gullies and arroyos that break up the landscape, showing how rugged it is.


The kids were with me and wanted to hike, so I wasn't going to say no. Anything to burn off energy is a good plan in my book! We drove to the end of the road and the kids ducked through the gate.

Desert Girl thought this was great idea.

She started off enthusiastically, happily making little footprints in the skiff of snow.

 

It didn't take her long to figure out that this was an uphill hike, and suddenly she wasn't so thrilled.

The mountain shadows continued their invasion of the valley.

Some of the peaks looked exaggerated, almost like daggers piercing the air.

I made it up to the curve, where there was certainly a lack of snow at 8500 feet for early February. (It has since snowed, thank goodness, and the road is covered in white.)

 

Desert Girl started realizing that the walk downhill was more fun than uphill. She was fascinated by the yellow line, running down it.

The temperatures quickly plunged and we retreated to our van. We were glad we didn't have to spend the night out in the frigid clime.

At our next overlook, we saw that the progression of shadows had nearly terminated: the mountain shadows were now on the mountains across the valley.


The play of light was magical, with the twilight dancing over the mountains and valleys.

Good night, beautiful mountains.