#Roadside Pulloff

[thorsenmark]

A Black Bear Munching on Some Grass Along the Icefields Parkway (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: What a day to start off some time spend along the Icefields Parkway! Funny...strange...interesting, take your pick. This day with the drive started with a black bear and ended at pretty much the same spot with a grizzly bear. Both were walking and eating away at the grass in this meadow off the road.

#Banff National Park #Bear #Black Bear #Day 4 #Eating Grass #Evergreen #Evergreen Trees #Grassy Area #Grassy Meadow #Highway 93 #Icefields Parkway #Looking North #Nature #Near Park Entrance #Nearby Forest #Nikon D800E #Project365 #Roadside Pulloff #Trees #Alberta #Canada #flickr

[ircnwrought]

Send ‘shivers’ for my muse’s reaction to your muse trailing their fingers down my muse’s spine.

'shivers' // @heygutlcss (riff) to maria !!

__________♥      THEY DON'T ALWAYS HAVE THE LUXURY OF A ROADSIDE MOTEL ON THE DRIVE. the road from new york to chicago is long, funds aren't infinite, && they can make do in the backseat of the car in a pulloff more often than not. but the feel of starched bedsheets against her skin, the comfort of being able to stretch out next to him freely without the odd tangle of limbs, the relaxed sound of his breathing under her ... she will never take any of it for granted again. though he does not move much beneath her, his hand begins to lazily trace against her spine under her nightgown. the touch sends her heart racing && a small sleepy smile paints its way across her face as early morning sun streams in through the blinds. ❛   good morning to you too, mi amor.  ❜ she makes no move to rise. there is always later. for now she is content to take her time.

#❛ time in a bottle ❜ ▬ ( answered. ) #c; maria nunez #heygutlcss #reply; riff mcclellan (heygutlcss) #❛ american dream ❜ ▬ ( maria nunez meme. ) #q

[paulasamuels]

Every now and then, a photo op presents itself to me on a silver platter, and all I have to do is press the button to capture it. Such was the case one recent morning as I was driving from Port Angeles to Rialto Beach and stopped at a roadside pulloff by this gorgeous lake, lit just right to produce a nearly perfect reflection. I hope you'll enjoy the views as much as I did.

[earthlyemily]

pretty roadside pulloff views 

#myphotos #nature #Okanagan #trees #marsh #British columbua

[rosesinaglass]

Crater Mountain por Mark Stevens Via Flickr: This was a roadside pulloff along the North Cascades Scenic Highway heading back to Ross Lake National Recreation Area. What drew me into this image…well, other than the obvious amazing view of Crater Mountain was the way the ridges seemingly crisscrossed each other bringing a focus, so to speak, to the snowcapped mountain off in the distance.

#Azimuth 337 #Blue Skies #Blues Skies with Clouds #Capture NX2 Edited #Cascade Range #Color Efex Pro #Crater Mountain #Day 8 #Drive to Washington Pass Overlook #Evergreen Trees #Evergreens #Hillside of Trees #Landscape #Looking NW #Mountain Peak #Mountains #Mountains in Distance #Mountains off in Distance #Mountainside #Nature #Nikon D800E #North #North Cascades Highway #North Cascades National Park Service Complex #North Cascades Scenic Highway #Okanogan National Forest #Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest #Outside #Pacific Ranges #Partly Cloudy

[somedayfarm]

#CircleStudies #Bollard #Pulloff #Roadside #Moss #Aggregate #Cement #Process #Gravel (at Killingworth, Connecticut) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp-9xdmAab2/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ulx5tm1ok0pu

#circlestudies #bollard #pulloff #roadside #moss #aggregate #cement #process #gravel

[creekerror44-blog]

The Mountains Are Calling - Part 1

If you follow me on IG, you might already know that my little family has a slight obsession with Breckenridge, CO.  There's just something about Breck...well, Colorado in general...that keeps calling us back.  When we have the opportunity to get out of town, this is where we most want to travel.  There's definitely something to be said for being in the mountains!  

As for Breckenridge, it's a little bit of everything for us.  It's such a charming little town and so laid back (definitely our kind of vibe!)  Depending on where you stay, everything is either a quick shuttle ride away or in walking distance.  Our favorite little mountain town boasts gorgeous views, amazing hiking trails, our favorite ski spot, and the best food! It's also a really easy, short drive from the Denver airport.  We can make it into town in less than two hours pending no traffic snafus on the way.  It's a straight shot from Denver via I-70, but we prefer heading into town through Fairplay, so we take  Hwy 285 to get there.  

We typically stop at the grocery store in Conifer (King Sooper) and load up (especially during ski season!)  If we have time, we'll grab a bite at Anthony's Pizza & Pasta (in the same strip center as King Sooper).  But BEWARE...the pizzas are HUGE!!!  You'd definitely want to grab it by the slice instead of opting for the whole pie!!!  We learned that the hard...albeit delicious...way :)

Right before getting to this little strip center in Conifer, there's a bed and breakfast that I'm DYING to visit!!!  Arrowhead Manor.   It's just stunning from the roadside...and it's only about a 30 minute drive from Denver.  We've never been there, but every time we pass it up we swear we'll head there soon, you know, in all of our spare time with all of our unlimited funds, hahaha.

There's a little spot along 285 where we like to pull over and get out & walk around.  A river runs along the base of the mountain in this little area and it's so peaceful and serene.  The kids will hop along the rocks in the river and we'll just take in the beauty while we're there.  I don't know why we love this little spot as much as we do, but we do and it's a must stop for us every.single.trip.

Fall 2016

Spring 2017

Right along 285, you'll also hit a pullover for Pike National Forest. Plenty of hiking and gorgeous views.  This is one of those things you'll want to time just right, so you'd definitely want to plan for this.  I would suggest flying into Denver early and heading straight for the pulloff for a nice day hike with plenty of time to spare before heading into Breck before dark.

Now, if you head to Breckenridge in the Summer or Fall and you decide to take 285 to get there, you have the option of pulling off in Como and taking the back way up the Boreas Pass and then down into town.  I say Summer or Fall because I think it's only open from May to October.  We did this once and I'm not 100% sure I'd do it again because the back way up the Boreas Pass scared the crap out of us.

  Como is a historic railroad settlement.  It's a really small little town (blink and you'll miss it kind of small).  It's a cool little place to pull over and walk around...check out some of the historic markers, railroad depot, and whatnot.

   Going up the Boreas Pass through Como is white knuckle driving at it's scariest.  INsanely gorgeous, but really scary (for us, anyway).  The driving path is narrow and treacherous.  I'm pretty sure neither Adam nor I could breath for a good 10-20 minutes of our ascent up the Pass.  Bless it.  Once we finally made it to the wider portion of the path, we were in total awe.  Just STUNNING.

If you keep on driving past Como 10 more miles along 285 you'll eventually hit Fairplay.  We LOVE Fairplay!  The Java Moose is a great spot to stop as soon as you get into town.  This darling yellow building greets you as you turn onto Main Street from 285  and it's a great little place to grab a cup of coffee and stretch your legs.  We recommend the latte!  It's delish :)

Fairplay is a charming little town home to the South Park City Museum.  The museum is a 50-year-old historic outdoor area with buildings kept intact from the 1800's and filled with furnishings and artifacts representative of that era.  If you're interested in visiting, make sure you head that way in the Summer.  The museum is only open from May - October (I believe).  

We love walking down Front Street and hitting up some of the little shops (all carrying South Park souvenirs) and ice cream/cookie spots.  Of course, photo ops are a must!  Especially if you're a fan of the cartoon, lol!

When I picked up my family from the airport this past summer, we headed into Breck through Fairplay.  My dad has always loved the show, South Park, so it was a must that we stop here before taking them to the house.  We stopped in at the Silver Scoop Creamery for ice cream/malts and a cookie.  This was the most darling little creamery and everyone seemed to love it.

After leaving Fairplay, you'll drive through a little town called Alma.  Each time we drive through we'll say that we want to stop at the South Park Saloon - the highest saloon in North America. We usually have the boys with us and since we don't make it a habit of taking them into bars, we always pass it up.  When we visited a couple of weekends ago (just the two of us) we stopped in for a visit and were SO pleasantly surprised!  I think this was our favorite stop of the weekend!!! 

Unbeknownst to us, this little gem is kid-friendly.  We told ourselves we were going to stop in for a beer and then head out.  We wanted to say we imbibed at the highest saloon in North America :) We loved it so much that we ended up staying for a couple of hours.  We sat at the bar and enjoyed a local beer, ate deep fried mozzarella, and talked to the friendliest bartender, Mary.  She told us all about the little town of Alma and we asked a million questions about the salooon itself.  We absolutely cannot wait to get back and visit it again.  I HIGHLY recommend stopping in if you're heading into Breck through Fairplay...trust me!!!  

After driving through Alma, you'll ascend a bit further into the mountains and there will be several places you can pull over to admire the scenery.  This little area is one of our favorites...

Fall 2016

Fall 2017

You can also pull over and check out Hoosier Pass.  It's an easy stop with breathtaking views and gorgeous hiking trails.  This is a great spot for a Continental Divide photo op, too.  

If I'm not mistaken, I think that the Hoosier Pass it the 9th highest mountain pass in Colorado.  Breathtaking is an understatement ;)  This is the last stop we usually make before finally getting into Breckenridge.  

Fall 2016

As you can see, heading into Breck via 285 & Fairplay can take a while if you stop to check out all the sights along the way.  Even though it's less than 2 hours from the Denver airport, it usually takes us much longer to get into town because we love all the little stops along the way.  A couple of weekends ago when we visited, we arrived in Denver around 7:30 a.m. and were on the road by 9.  After all of our little stops...and a flat tire on the way...we finally made it to Breck around 1:30.  My advice would be to start early and give yourself plenty of time to get into town so you can enjoy all the little things along the way.

I'm all about making the most of every trip we take, so in my personal opinion, the more stops the merrier.  Life is short.  Slow down and live it.  See the sights.  Take it all in.  Enjoy every second.  We've adopted this mantra and have some pretty great memories because of it.  I HIGHLY recommend getting into town this way if you're ever heading to Breckenridge.

I have a post all about our Breckenridge favorites (hiking, food, lodging, etc.) all ready to go for tomorrow.  Several of my IG friends have been asking for this one for a while, so I wanted to make sure I posted before time gets away!!  If you're interested in that one, stop by tomorrow to read more about it :) 

 Happy Monday!

Source: http://pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-mountains-are-calling-part-1.html

[thorsenmark]

A Dreamscapes of Snow and a Fairyland Delight (Joshua Tree National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northwest while taking in views across a snow-covered, desert landscape present one afternoon in Joshua Tree National Park. This was at a roadside pulloff along the main park road. My thought on composing this image was to angle my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward and create a sweeping view across the snowy landscape leading up to more distant Joshua Trees. In my mind, the whiteness with the snow, covered sage brush and creosote bushes helped to draw the viewer into the image. The eyes would then be drawn to the Joshua Trees after the open area, and then have the more distant ridges and peaks with mostly cloudy skies as a backdrop.

#Azimuth 312 #Central and Southern California Ranges #Creosote Bush #Day 2 #Desert Landscape #Desert Mountain Landscape #Desert Plant Life #DxO PhotoLab 6 Edited #Joshua Tree #Joshua Tree National Park and California #Joshua Tree Ranges #Landscape #Landscape - Scenery #Little San Bernardino Mountains #Looking NW #Mojave Desert #Nature #Nikon D850 #No People #Outside #Pacific Ranges #Peninsular Southern California Ranges #Portfolio #Project365 #Roadside Pulloff #Rock Formations #Sage brush #Scenics - Nature #SnapBridge #Snow

[cordpolo6-blog]

The Mountains Are Calling - Part 1

If you follow me on IG, you might already know that my little family has a slight obsession with Breckenridge, CO.  There's just something about Breck...well, Colorado in general...that keeps calling us back.  When we have the opportunity to get out of town, this is where we most want to travel.  There's definitely something to be said for being in the mountains!  

As for Breckenridge, it's a little bit of everything for us.  It's such a charming little town and so laid back (definitely our kind of vibe!)  Depending on where you stay, everything is either a quick shuttle ride away or in walking distance.  Our favorite little mountain town boasts gorgeous views, amazing hiking trails, our favorite ski spot, and the best food! It's also a really easy, short drive from the Denver airport.  We can make it into town in less than two hours pending no traffic snafus on the way.  It's a straight shot from Denver via I-70, but we prefer heading into town through Fairplay, so we take  Hwy 285 to get there.  

We typically stop at the grocery store in Conifer (King Sooper) and load up (especially during ski season!)  If we have time, we'll grab a bite at Anthony's Pizza & Pasta (in the same strip center as King Sooper).  But BEWARE...the pizzas are HUGE!!!  You'd definitely want to grab it by the slice instead of opting for the whole pie!!!  We learned that the hard...albeit delicious...way :)

Right before getting to this little strip center in Conifer, there's a bed and breakfast that I'm DYING to visit!!!  Arrowhead Manor.   It's just stunning from the roadside...and it's only about a 30 minute drive from Denver.  We've never been there, but every time we pass it up we swear we'll head there soon, you know, in all of our spare time with all of our unlimited funds, hahaha.

There's a little spot along 285 where we like to pull over and get out & walk around.  A river runs along the base of the mountain in this little area and it's so peaceful and serene.  The kids will hop along the rocks in the river and we'll just take in the beauty while we're there.  I don't know why we love this little spot as much as we do, but we do and it's a must stop for us every.single.trip.

Fall 2016

Spring 2017

Right along 285, you'll also hit a pullover for Pike National Forest. Plenty of hiking and gorgeous views.  This is one of those things you'll want to time just right, so you'd definitely want to plan for this.  I would suggest flying into Denver early and heading straight for the pulloff for a nice day hike with plenty of time to spare before heading into Breck before dark.

Now, if you head to Breckenridge in the Summer or Fall and you decide to take 285 to get there, you have the option of pulling off in Como and taking the back way up the Boreas Pass and then down into town.  I say Summer or Fall because I think it's only open from May to October.  We did this once and I'm not 100% sure I'd do it again because the back way up the Boreas Pass scared the crap out of us.

  Como is a historic railroad settlement.  It's a really small little town (blink and you'll miss it kind of small).  It's a cool little place to pull over and walk around...check out some of the historic markers, railroad depot, and whatnot.

   Going up the Boreas Pass through Como is white knuckle driving at it's scariest.  INsanely gorgeous, but really scary (for us, anyway).  The driving path is narrow and treacherous.  I'm pretty sure neither Adam nor I could breath for a good 10-20 minutes of our ascent up the Pass.  Bless it.  Once we finally made it to the wider portion of the path, we were in total awe.  Just STUNNING.

If you keep on driving past Como 10 more miles along 285 you'll eventually hit Fairplay.  We LOVE Fairplay!  The Java Moose is a great spot to stop as soon as you get into town.  This darling yellow building greets you as you turn onto Main Street from 285  and it's a great little place to grab a cup of coffee and stretch your legs.  We recommend the latte!  It's delish :)

Fairplay is a charming little town home to the South Park City Museum.  The museum is a 50-year-old historic outdoor area with buildings kept intact from the 1800's and filled with furnishings and artifacts representative of that era.  If you're interested in visiting, make sure you head that way in the Summer.  The museum is only open from May - October (I believe).  

We love walking down Front Street and hitting up some of the little shops (all carrying South Park souvenirs) and ice cream/cookie spots.  Of course, photo ops are a must!  Especially if you're a fan of the cartoon, lol!

When I picked up my family from the airport this past summer, we headed into Breck through Fairplay.  My dad has always loved the show, South Park, so it was a must that we stop here before taking them to the house.  We stopped in at the Silver Scoop Creamery for ice cream/malts and a cookie.  This was the most darling little creamery and everyone seemed to love it.

After leaving Fairplay, you'll drive through a little town called Alma.  Each time we drive through we'll say that we want to stop at the South Park Saloon - the highest saloon in North America. We usually have the boys with us and since we don't make it a habit of taking them into bars, we always pass it up.  When we visited a couple of weekends ago (just the two of us) we stopped in for a visit and were SO pleasantly surprised!  I think this was our favorite stop of the weekend!!! 

Unbeknownst to us, this little gem is kid-friendly.  We told ourselves we were going to stop in for a beer and then head out.  We wanted to say we imbibed at the highest saloon in North America :) We loved it so much that we ended up staying for a couple of hours.  We sat at the bar and enjoyed a local beer, ate deep fried mozzarella, and talked to the friendliest bartender, Mary.  She told us all about the little town of Alma and we asked a million questions about the salooon itself.  We absolutely cannot wait to get back and visit it again.  I HIGHLY recommend stopping in if you're heading into Breck through Fairplay...trust me!!!  

After driving through Alma, you'll ascend a bit further into the mountains and there will be several places you can pull over to admire the scenery.  This little area is one of our favorites...

Fall 2016

Fall 2017

You can also pull over and check out Hoosier Pass.  It's an easy stop with breathtaking views and gorgeous hiking trails.  This is a great spot for a Continental Divide photo op, too.  

If I'm not mistaken, I think that the Hoosier Pass it the 9th highest mountain pass in Colorado.  Breathtaking is an understatement ;)  This is the last stop we usually make before finally getting into Breckenridge.  

Fall 2016

As you can see, heading into Breck via 285 & Fairplay can take a while if you stop to check out all the sights along the way.  Even though it's less than 2 hours from the Denver airport, it usually takes us much longer to get into town because we love all the little stops along the way.  A couple of weekends ago when we visited, we arrived in Denver around 7:30 a.m. and were on the road by 9.  After all of our little stops...and a flat tire on the way...we finally made it to Breck around 1:30.  My advice would be to start early and give yourself plenty of time to get into town so you can enjoy all the little things along the way.

I'm all about making the most of every trip we take, so in my personal opinion, the more stops the merrier.  Life is short.  Slow down and live it.  See the sights.  Take it all in.  Enjoy every second.  We've adopted this mantra and have some pretty great memories because of it.  I HIGHLY recommend getting into town this way if you're ever heading to Breckenridge.

I have a post all about our Breckenridge favorites (hiking, food, lodging, etc.) all ready to go for tomorrow.  Several of my IG friends have been asking for this one for a while, so I wanted to make sure I posted before time gets away!!  If you're interested in that one, stop by tomorrow to read more about it :) 

 Happy Monday!

Source: http://pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-mountains-are-calling-part-1.html

[thorsenmark]

It Is Commented How Life Can Imitate Art (Joshua Tree National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: It Is Commented How Life Can Imitate Art But there are some times when life can look like an art painting A snowy landscape amongst the Joshua Trees It is almost a surreal feeling That the eyes just have to tell the mind That is really exists and wasn't painted I hope others experience a nature painting seen with the eyes And have that chance to stand in awe of the creation all around that we see in life. Another work of short poetry or prose to complement the image captured one morning in Joshua Tree National Park during a snowstorm. This is at a roadside pullout along the main park road around the Ryan Campground area. The setting is looking to the east across a the mountain desert landscape present with sage brush, creosote bushes, and Joshua Trees seemingly all covered with snow (with more snow falling!). The painting idea came from the look with the snow and an almost surreal look with the many typical desert colors muted or covered in that whiteness. I later worked with control points in DxO PhotoLab 6 and then made some adjustments to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted for the final image.

#Azimuth 102 #Canvas #Central and Southern California Ranges #Creosote Bush #Day 2 #Desert Landscape #Desert Mountain Landscape #Desert Plant Life #DxO PhotoLab 6 Edited #Free Verse Poetry #Joshua Tree #Joshua Tree National Park and California #Joshua Tree Ranges #Landscape #Landscape - Scenery #Little San Bernardino Mountains #Looking East #Mojave Desert #Nature #Nikon D850 #No People #Outside #Pacific Ranges #Peninsular Southern California Ranges #Poems Used #Poetry and Prose #Portfolio #Project365 #Roadside Pulloff #Rock Formations

[thorsenmark]

Honda CR-V (2015) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: I got the idea for this image from this Flickr image (www.flickr.com/photos/kagirohi/11854685244/in/gallery-147...). I'd been looking here and there for times I might capture a similar type image with the inside of a car. I hoped to be able to catch something where the light was coming in from the other side as it crossed the dashboard of a car. So there I was enjoying a ride along the Trans-Canada Highway 1 when I got out for a view of mountains. After getting back in the car, I finally noticed the inside dashboard view and capture this image.

#Alberta Highway 1 #Alberta Provincial Highway No. 1 #Banff National Park #Capture NX2 Edited #Color Efex Pro #Dashboard #Day 2 #Honda #Honda CR-V #Inside Car #Instrument Panel #Looking SW #Miscellaneous #Nikon D800E #Project365 #Roadside Pulloff #Steering Wheel #Trans-Canada Highway #Trans-Canada Highway 1 #Alberta #Canada #flickr

[thorsenmark]

Snow on the Upper Peaks of Mount Rundle (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A roadside pulloff along Tunnel Mountain Rd. With the low clowns and overcast skies, there wasn't really many vista like views to take in that afternoon in Banff. Here I decided to focus on the side of Mount Rundle and the snow that was still present on the upper peaks while looking across this valley with the Bow River.

#Banff National Park #Canadian Rockies #Capture NX2 Edited #Clouds #Clouds around Mountains #Color Efex Pro #Day 1 #Evergreen #Hillside of Trees #Looking South #Low Clouds #Mount Rundle #Mountains #Mountains in Distance #Mountains off in Distance #Nature #Nikon D800E #Project365 #Roadside Pulloff #Rundle Peaks #Snowcapped #South Banff Ranges #Southern Continental Ranges #Trees #Trip to Alberta and Canadian Rockies #Tunnel Mountain Rd #Alberta #Canada #flickr

[thorsenmark]

Snow had fallen, snow on snow (Joshua Tree National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at a roadside pullout along the main park road with a view looking to the southeast across a snow covered open plain in Joshua Tree National Park. My thought on composing this image was to take advantage of that snow in the way it minimized colors, but also added shade and details across the plant-life present at this location. In the distance of the image, one can see a faint outline of Ryan Mountain. That much snow was falling that day! I felt including a portion of the mountainside, faint as it was, would help in adding a backdrop for the image captured. In the Bleak Midwinter, by Christina Rossetti

#Azimuth 102 #Central and Southern California Ranges #Creosote Bush #Day 2 #Desert Landscape #Desert Mountain Landscape #Desert Plant Life #DxO PhotoLab 6 Edited #Joshua Tree #Joshua Tree National Park and California #Joshua Tree Ranges #Landscape #Landscape - Scenery #Little San Bernardino Mountains #Looking SE #Mojave Desert #Nature #Nikon D850 #No People #Outside #Pacific Ranges #Peninsular Southern California Ranges #Poems Used #Portfolio #Project365 #Ridge #Ridgeline #Ridges #Roadside Pulloff #Rock Formations

[thorsenmark]

Oh, the Beauty of Snow! (Joshua Tree National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: In Joshua Tree National Park at a roadside pullout looking to the southwest and across a snowy landscape with Joshua Trees and other desert plant-life. One thing that did draw me into the setting was the almost peppering of snow across the more distant hillside with its rock formations. It brought out this combination look of the red and brown colors mixed with the whites of the snow.

#Azimuth 248 #Central and Southern California Ranges #Creosote Bush #Day 2 #Desert Landscape #Desert Mountain Landscape #Desert Plant Life #DxO PhotoLab 6 Edited #Joshua Tree #Joshua Tree National Park and California #Joshua Tree Ranges #Landscape #Landscape - Scenery #Little San Bernardino Mountains #Looking SW #Mojave Desert #Nature #Nikon D850 #No People #Outside #Pacific Ranges #Peninsular Southern California Ranges #Project365 #Ridge #Ridgeline #Ridges #Roadside Pulloff #Rock Formations #Sage brush #Scenics - Nature