Monthly Archives: August 2009
last dollar & memories of trout lake
i drove bd to the airport in montrose thursday morning. i decided to take the backroads on the return trip to telluride.
last dollar road traverses high mountain ranch land, prairies, and passes. it provides some spectacular views of the southern san juans.
after last dollar, i grabbed a bite in town, and headed back out to drive lizard head pass.
on my way to lizard head, i noticed trout lake, which i had unknowingly visited some four years ago with another best friend of mine, trotter.
as i drove by, i thought to myself that this particular lake looked eerily familiar… like i had known it in some vivid, reoccurring dream. and then it clicked; years ago, trotter and i drove up to durango to visit his dad. we drove remote mountain passes all week long, and at some point came across trout lake. i wouldn’t have remembered this at all unless i hadn’t captured one of my favorite pics of the trip by chance at this tiny lake. here it is…
and those same peaks, four years later, at a much worse time of day, choppier water, and minus the human interest…
regardless, it was fun to spend a little time at trout lake, remembering the great times we had just a few years ago. hard to believe, my friend is now engaged and living in cartagena, columbia!
heading back in to telluride. i always liked this view. but i’ve never captured an image of this view that i’ve liked all that much… guess it’s hard to do justice to such an amazing place.
high country avetts
one of our reasons for dropping by telluride last week was that the avett brothers were playing a free show in the mountain village on wednesday. i’ve grown to really enjoy their music over the years. but what’s the best about the avetts is their live performance.
i’ve shot and written about this band numerous times, so i feel like i’m just beating the drum here, but their intensity is no joke.
you just have to see them live.
one thing they did mention a few times was that they were really feeling the altitude. telluride mountain village is well over 10,000 ft. and though their music lacked no heart, it wasn’t as spot-on as they usually are. but no matter. i still enjoyed it thoroughly.
if you ever have the chance, GO SEE THIS BAND. you will not regret it.
¡blind pilot!
on the drive up to telluride from vermejo last week, bd introduced me to the band blind pilot. i was immediately drawn to their almost rain-like delicacy. they are a very talented bunch hailing from one of my favorite cities in the world, portland, oregon.
well, much to our surprise, walking around town our first night in telluride, we noticed a concert poster at wizard stating that blind pilot was in town and playing tuesday night at the sheridan opera house, a fantastically intimate, historical venue.
we did not hesitate. we immediately bought tickets. my ticket number: 001. and i’m quite proud of that.
so tuesday night rolled around, and my heart was immediately melted when blind pilot lit up the stage with their brilliant set.
it’s rare that i get to say this, but they were better live than they are on the album. and that’s not to say the album is somehow sub-par… it’s not.
they have a warmth and sunshine along with their pitter-patter rain dance that truly warmed me to the core. i felt fuzzy inside. but not in a cheap, lame way. wholesome, but edgy. a band of relative contradictions. i highly recommend…
12k ft. days
i awoke tuesday morning at alta lakes. the sun shone bright in the cloudless sky, silhouetting the mountains in front of me.
i left the lakes in late morning, and headed back to town. wilson peak and lizard head wilderness became distant memories behind me.
on wednesday, travis, bd, and i decided to hike silver lake. just above bridal veil falls, on the east end of telluride, silver lake is another high alpine pool that sits near 12,000 ft elevation. the hike is short but strenuous.
travis and i hiked the surrounding summits while bd fished the lake.
telluride and it’s surrounding wilds is one of the first places that my love of photography, and more specifically, landscape photography, grew. the shot below, looking out from bridal veil toward town, is framed the way i shot it nearly ten years ago.
andrew slaton | blog 