My personal best was achieved today...

where the Arreaux model rocket soared to an apogee of 2,402 feet (732 meters) on a “G” engine at a remote launch site on the state line. I’m aiming higher.

Also, these launches push me over the century mark, now having sent more than 100 model rockets skyward this year. Huge fun.

The Book Cliffs serve as a backdrop as the Arreaux zooms off the pad.

The Nike Smoke Pro under chute after achieving an apogee of 695 feet (212 meters).

Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) wondering what all the commotion was about out on the range this morning.

The Colorado state flower...

in full resplendent beauty.

Rocky Mountain columbine (Aquilegia caerulea).

The La Garita Caldera...

is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in Earth’s history approximately 28 million years ago (Eocene). That enormous geologic event has left quite a bruise on south central Colorado and also created rich mineral deposits in the region.

Oblique aerial view towards the north showing the 20 mile wide (32 km) La Garita Caldera structure from Google Earth. Snowshoe Mountain is a resurgent dome in the core of the caldera.

The upper Rio Grande Valley on the western side of the La Garita caldera.

Much of the valley bottom is mantled with glacial till in terminal and lateral moraines and with glacial outwash.

Bristol Head mountain stands at 12,712 feet (3,875 meters) high with a smaller resurgent dome on the left.

Caldera-filling sedimentary rocks of the Creede Formation (Oligocene) near Creede, Colorado reflecting a lacustrine environment of deposition.

It's hummingbird heaven...

in the high country of Colorado.

Adult male Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus).

Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus).

Male Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus).

Female Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus).

Hanging out in the high country...

with a buddy from graduate school at a guest ranch near Creede, Colorado. Here are several of the local residents.

Our remote cabin for the week at about 9,200 feet (2,800 meters) in elevation.

Greater Scaup (Aythya marila).

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor).

Golden-mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis).

Milky Way over Molas Pass...

in the high country of Colorado last night at 11,100 feet above sea level. It was certainly quite chilly around midnight when this image was captured.

Snowdon Peak (13,077 feet) and the Milky Way reflected in Little Molas Lake. Look closely above the galactic core and you’ll spy a short meteor trail.

The subalpine scene at sundown.

Mike the Headless Chicken...

is the chief celebrity of Fruita, Colorado, having lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off in 1945. There’s even a local festival held in May every year to acknowledge Mike’s tenacity! Learn about Mike.

It’s easy to find Mike’s statue in charming downtown Fruita on Google Maps.

Flying straight and true...

under relatively calm conditions this morning, I launched and recovered three model rockets with the Warp Core rocketry club in Grand Junction, Colorado at their launch site on the state line. Members lofted about 20 rockets until increasing winds shut down operations around noon.

First off the pads today, Zephyr Jr. zooms to a 554 foot apogee on a “D” engine, landing only about 50 feet away under calm conditions.

Finally painted and decaled, the MOAB roars to 575 feet on a “F” engine.

Aiming higher, my Frangible Arcas soars to 1,335 feet and lands a considerable distance down range under increasing winds.

High power rockets soared today...

above Ray’s Mesa in a remote corner of the Grand Valley in Colorado, just west of Grand Junction near the state line, organized and coordinated by the local Warp Core rocketry club. About a dozen men of all ages participated in the event and huge fun was had by all.

Launch controller Ben’s view of the launch pads, with my two-stage Majestic model rocket on the center launch rail ready for flight, the first of the day. Someone had to fly in order to check the winds aloft and I volunteered this high flyer.

My two-stage boosted Majestic soaring to an apogee of 2,275 feet (693 meters) on two “F” engines, with a successful recovery under parachute for a flight lasting 2 minutes and 18 seconds, softly landing about 150 feet (~50 m) away from the pad.

Dozens of launches were made throughout the morning by the various club members. Nerd alert!

The sprawl of greater metro Denver...

illuminated at night. I shot this on my return flight to my high desert hacienda in red rock country. I’m delighted that people want to live this way, giving the rest of us wider spaces.

Kremmling Cretaceous Ammonite Site...

is a protected natural area administered by the Bureau of Land Management north of Kremmling, Colorado. Absolutely worth a visit and absolutely NO collecting!

The site is strewn with many dozens of these incredibly preserved specimens.

Typical ammonite mold, approximately 75 cm in diameter. Note the light-colored nacre (mother of pearl) material immediately to the right of my foot.

Detail present on several specimens showing interior chambers and suture pattern. Based on these details, the species has been identified as Placentceras meeki.

Fruita, Colorado claims to be...

both the dinosaur and mountain biking capital of western Colorado as the terrific sign on this grain elevator proudly suggests!

A small temblor...

apparently shook the local region at 2:11 am MST, but the minor earthquake was entirely unnoticed by me, fast asleep in Castle Valley, Utah. But there are in fact 16 “felt” reports at the USGS website. So here’s the technical information about the less-than-eventful event: M 4.3 - 28 km E of La Sal, Utah

Map from the U. S. Geological Survey showing epicenter. Red symbol indicates Castle Valley, Utah.

Stormy weather over North Park, Colorado...

This lichen-encrusted spheroidally-weathered granite outcrop provided a colorful foreground to the dramatic cloudscape above my camp at 8,300 feet in the Medicine Bow Range.