Impression Evergreen

Queen of the San Juan Mountains, Colorado East out of Ridgeway, Colorado, the quiet countryside is a subtle landscape of lower hay fields that give way to a riot of colorful wildflowers and quaking aspen. Rising above tree line is a sweep of rugged terrain composed of sharp pinnacles and serrated ridges. A scenic sub-range of the San Juan Mountains, this confusion of untidy crags is an everlasting remnant of an ancient volcano. Positioned majestically amongst these picturesque peaks is Mount Sneffels, also known as the "Queen of the San Juans". I've photographed Mount Sneffels from every direction, during different seasons and in all kinds of weather so attaining the summit was an awesome experience. This region is one of the most beautiful destinations in the west and probably my favorite place on earth.

"Last Dollar Road" Colored Pencil It's a wet spring day in southwestern Colorado. Along a rough edge of the San Juans, sculpted spires are an astonishing work of art. Standing in an ochre meadow, a grove of gray aspen is topped with a canopy of fresh green while olive-colored hills rise into a seamless transition with the silver mountains. Hayden is the prominent centerpiece of this fine bouquet of pretty peaks. Slightly offset, the festive summit to the right is aptly named North Pole. This open passage over the magnificent mesa described here will lead the lucky driver on an epic adventure. To find this place, come down out of the Black Canyon, head south from Montrose along the Uncomphagre Plateau, take a right at Ridgeway and you'll discover the Dallas Divide. Up top there's a dirt path that's an obscure shortcut to the town of Telluride. Snaking through the Sneffels Range, the scenic side-trip may slow your car down but the divine drive will ra...