Why the title?

"Pioneers take the arrows"

Oh, wait. I should be upbeat and taking arrows doesn't sound like an upbeat thing to say.

So, let me amend that statement.

It was courage and vision that led the pioneers to leave behind a comfortable, settled life and trek West to begin a new life in a new place. Many of those from the East that went West found a strength within themselves that they didn't see while they were in their old life. Instead of being one of those that just kind of went along with the others in the old life, they became leaders and visionaries in their new lives.

The sentiments of that last paragraph come from a favorite author, Louis L'Amour, in many of his books. So, I can't really say that it is an original thought from me. However, what he said is truthful.

Welcome to being a pioneer. Look ahead and ignore the "barking dogs" that give you negative opinions and comments. Louis L'Amour also spoke of the barking dogs.

In some of his stories, it was usually a father or older man telling a young boy how it was that when the Westward bound Conestoga wagons rolled through towns, the dogs came out to bark at them. His character then told the young listener that the barking didn't stop the wagons from going on to their destinations.

Following the advice of the Louis L'Amour characters, may we all forge ahead with our plans, after carefully considering all consequences and leave the "barkers" behind.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Second Piedra River Photoshoot

The Piedra River meanders from northeast of the Sportsman’s Campground and runs near the road south of the campground. Where it is close to the road in that southern part, the river runs through a canyon with some pretty high bluffs. At a point, after the curve turning back north, there is a trail taking one through that canyon. But, that is for a later post.

On this excursion, done the same day as the previous post to Piedra Falls, we simply stopped at a pull-out near that canyon and took some pictures. The following are pictures showing that area.

This first one shows a small stream that flows into the Piedra River from the East. The pull-out we stopped on is before the curve of the road before it goes north. While it is not really visible in this photo, there is a small waterfall there. (Look in the very center of the photo.)

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Here is a close-up of that small falls.

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Looking now towards the west, we get to see some of the bluffs in that canyon area.

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This one is a different part of the bluff, although I don’t recall its exact location in relationship to the first photo. However, it does give a better perspective of the face of the bluff.

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Now, a little closer….

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Now, to give you a perspective to size/height of that bluff, this photo shows Jo walking away from the bluff. It kind of gives one a sense that one shouldn’t get too close to the edge. However, “one” isn’t me. I am always on the lookout for the good perspectives of photos.

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This shot shows the Piedra River on the right and the stream with the small waterfall on the left.

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The bluff curves around in this area, so this next photo of the river and canyon is from a spot further west and then north of the previous photo.

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This picture is taken from a spot further north and we lose sight of the small stream. However, the Piedra River is shown after a split. Not shown in any of these photos is where the Piedra River flows through an area with high bluffs on both sides. That area is for the aforementioned “later post.”

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This next one shows the Piedra River down and to the left and looks out over the valley towards the further mountains.

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Finally, this image shows a status that I should be in instead of sitting up at 11:15pm writing this blog. It is reclining.

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1 comment:

  1. Your photos brings back glorious memories of the 3 months we spent last summer in & around Pagosa. Love the area, weather, community, history - just not that counting snow by the FOOT part! We visited as many falls in the area as possible. Fantastic tour between Telluride & Silverton! Wolf Creek views never disappoints either.

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