We resume this batch of pictures with a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.


Very close to the park entrance, we get this view.


An elk calf! Young elk are surprisingly hard to spot, because their mothers tend to keep them very well hidden away. Certainly the first time I’ve ever seen one!


A pair of bighorn sheep. That might be literally correct, as it is a ram and a ewe. This photo is from up the Loveland Pass road – US-6, going to 11990 feet.


Loveland Pass. Infrared camera. Fisheye lens.


A ground squirrel. More of this little character later.


Early morning. I think this is Colorado state highway 72 just to the northwest of Denver.


An old alignment of state highway 7 reveals this silver post. At one point it had a glass reflector, but now it instead features a strip of Scotchlite … and plenty of layers of silver and black paint.


Flowers about ten feet away.


New layout, old color scheme.


Yellow flower is … very blown out in this picture.


Entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.


A view in infrared.


Given the relative frequencies of creatures we observed, this place should probably be called Elk Ridge. US-36 ends here. Its other end is in Ohio.


Three-fourths of an elk. I took this photo blindly shooting out the passenger side window.


Mother elk crosses to the other side of the road.


One last shot of elkling.


Distant mountains, looking directly into the sun.


Same idea, different frequencies. The sharpness of the images at these frequencies is incredible – the atmosphere does not, at all, dissipate infrared light and turn it to a blue haze.


We prepare. We are, after all, going up only the highest point on the US highway system. Over 12100 feet!


Pointy mountains, pointy clouds.


Same picture in a different light.


Marmot is ready for his closeup. Only after I shot a few photos did I realize that I was, amazingly enough, too close.


The marmot finds himself a bit too photogenic for his tastes.


Encore performance? No, different marmot.


A piece of a halo.


Note the cutout arrowhead trail marker.


If you want Wyoming … go get it.


In case you were wondering what road signs looked like in infrared.


A roadside crevasse. Hooray for texture.


I have no idea who this clown is, juggling the cameras and trying his best not to fall into a crevasse. Apart from the fact that there were only two people on this trip … and Dan took this photo!


A peninsula of ice.


And one in infrared.


Always good to see a 1961-style US route marker. We have officially left the park.


Nearby dandelions, distant mountains.


Mountains and ranchlands. Infrared photo, explaining the somewhat unexpected color scheme.


Even more mountains.


Loveland Pass in visible light.


The top of the pass.


One from Dan from the same basic area.


Going through Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70.


We find ourselves some rain. The first rest area just west of the tunnel.


Dan uses the IR camera to get a much better photo.


A very European-looking sign for the town boundary.


This river is very near the end of US-24.


on interstate 70, approaching Glenwood Canyon.


The canyon itself. I-70 was built through here in 1992: one deck had to be diagonal above the other in order to be able to successfully fit it in.


Oh, does it now?


The road winds through the canyon. I did not get any particular photos, so here is a terrible one, in the hope that it is sufficient to inspire the audience to see it for themselves! It is well worth seeing.


Several tunnels are needed to put four lanes through the canyon.


What’s this, a two-lane road? We take Colorado state highway 139 north from Grand Junction.


Dan’s leg … and a squirrel.


Officially the most adorable little creature ever? I think so.


One last one of the squirrel from highway 139.


A dirt road which we will take into Utah, just to see if there is anything interesting at the state line.


The first marker on the Utah side. And no, I do not know who Snake John is either.


This very first Colorado marker sure has seen some better days.


This is the road which we just took to Utah … time to take it back.


And now we are officially in Utah, racing west on US-40.


Welcome to Vernal – home of the Pink Dinosaur. With those glorious eyelashes. Home of the Marilyn Monroe of the Mesozoic Era, indeed.


One final treat for the night… a cutout Scenic Byway sign! After this, we head back to the Salt Lake City airport under cover of darkness, and no interesting photos are taken.

and that’s all for this trip. next up – I think I might very well have to post the results of the northern lights run to Alberta and Northwest Territories!