Impression Evergreen

Mount Vernon Creek Trail The Mount Vernon Creek Trail is an outlying pathway tracing the outer contour of Red Rocks' frontier boundary. It’s early spring so there’s not much foliage but the barren trees stand out sharply against vermillion crags. While trekking over the rolling terrain, several little streams come tumbling down out of the foothills and flow discreetly into the Mount Vernon. Up out of the valley and a stunning array of sandstone formations dominate the diverse landscape. During the delightful descent, a hidden gulch is chock full of flowering bushes featuring blossoms of pure white. Back down in the bottomlands far from the crowds above, we follow the cottonwoods and soon find ourselves in a place that feels like our own, little forest of peace. Diverse landscape Sandstone formations Barren trees A stunning array Rolling terrain Early spring Flowering bushes Vermillion crags White blossoms The frontier boundary A forest of peace Mount Vernon Creek valley A little ...

"Blue Bergen Peak" Colored Pencil Below a blue Bergen Peak, the late winter landscape is a clash of complementary colors, changing seasons and converging perspectives. The spirited mood is heightened by stylized shapes, gradual shading and the application of dense pigment. Burning under a bright sun, the fiery field in the foreground blazes across the picture plane from crimson red to Spanish orange. The confusion of excessive detail has succumbed to a smooth gradient of analogous colors. A stubborn remnant from a recent storm, a drift of deep snow lingers in the shadows of a troublesome gulch. Patches of still more snow are scattered across the vermillion grassland that recedes into the distance. A remarkable pine tree explodes into the composition from the right, dwarfing the other elements during its desperate call for attention. It’s vibrant foliage is an organic swirl of light and shadow that is splayed out into the air. The sky is broken into two tiers of differ...

Bergen Gulch Settled below the southern slopes of Bergen Peak, Bergen Gulch is a discreet wetland that supports flowers, birds and wildlife. This time of year the cattails are beginning to ripen and the lupine are in full bloom so blackbirds and elk engage in a territorial dispute over the bountiful land. Filling the discreet ravine, the large-leaved lupine are massive plants whose ladder-like blossoms climb towards the sky. The hungry wapiti are anything but gentle as they tromp through the purple field, consuming a huge swath in a single sitting. The little red-wings have fledged so while they’re learning to fly, their protective parents aggressively dive-bomb anyone who happens to wander into the area. The conglomeration of chickadees, juncos and nuthatches is small but noisy as the busy birds scour the ponderosa pine for anything edible. Branching off from Bergen Peak’s most beautiful side, the muddy drainage, depending on the season, varies from a trickle to a deluge. The sm...

Mtn Muhly Trail Starting in a quiet corner of Alderfer Park, Mtn Muhly Trail descends into a steep gulch gouged by a little stream called Coneflower Creek. A grove of aspen sparkles in the late light as its long shadows tumble over the embankment and disappear into a ribbon of black water. During winter, the cup-shaped valley is a barren landscape steeped in an aura of forbidding mystery. The confusion of branches and brush makes for a messy scene but there is a certain charm to be found in nature’s tangle of wild forms. The slim ravine stretches easily through a dense forest of fir and spruce where only the tips of the tallest trees are lit by the golden ambiance of a setting sun. Climbing up and out of the chasm isn’t too much of a problem as the path empties into a rugged stand of lodgepole pine. Weaving its way through a maze of old growth, a rocky route traverses the steep western slopes set below the Three Sister Peaks. Just as it begins to get dark, the ominous woodla...

Beaver Brook On a steamy autumn day, the casual descent into a deep gorge was suddenly transformed into a lesson about underestimation. It began along a pine studded rim, towering above the mysterious depths of a jagged ravine. Carved by a fast-flowing creek called Beaver Brook, the narrow gulch was a fantastical place where sea serpents swam. The farthest reaches of this Front Range wilderness felt just as remote, rugged and awe-inspiring as any piece of land in Colorado. Down at the extreme bottom, a series of twenty footbridges criss-crossed the blue stream while transporting the hemmed in hiker through a picturesque portal. Down there the problems began because the thrilling scenery and ease of passage were short-lived. The steep escape from such a fiery dungeon was a heart-pounding misadventure that was as brutal as climbing any fourteener. The way out was littered with thin ledges, vast drop offs and rock-cut stairwells. A more thoughtful approach was required in ord...