Montrose, CO (11/28 & 11/29/2016)

One morning recently, there were serious looking storm clouds to the east.  I wasn't concerned however, since our bad weather typically comes from the west or northwest.  So, I took a walk by the municipal cemetery and had a good view when sunlight lit the trees up with color.

Later that day, which was mostly clear, I went out for the sunset.  Before anything could happen, dark clouds came rolling in from the west, blocking any chance for a colorful sunset.  Through the clouds, I could see the profiles of several canyons on the Uncompahgre Plateau.

 The next morning, I awoke to discover 3-4 inches of white stuff on the ground.  Out front, it was difficult to see where the road or curbs were located.  When the sun rose, it helped light up the back yard for photos.

 After running an errand, I cruised over to a city park and snapped a few photos of the ducks and geese enjoying the pond.

Next stop was the water sports park along the Uncompahgre River.  There are six drops that create rapids and provide a practice run for kayaks.  In addition, folks use the waterway to practice stand-up paddle board techniques.  On this day, there were only ducks in the water.

 I headed south in hopes of seeing the San Juan mountains covered with fresh snow.  Unfortunately, I soon saw that clouds covered the mountains, suggesting the snow was still coming down there.  In any case, the mountains were completely hidden.  Moving to Plan B, I drove around finding scenes that appealed to me, such as snow covered adobe badlands.   I also spotted a number of homes, barns and other buildings that looked so natural surrounded by snow.  One of those was a teepee on display at the Ute Indian Museum.

 Later that evening, I went to a favorite sunset location, Flat Top Mesa, where there's a great view of the entire area.  When I saw there was still a lot of snow on the road to the top of the mesa, I chose to stay near the base where I still had a good view of a pretty nice sunset.