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redroanchronicles) wrote2010-11-04 09:48 am
redroanchronicles) wrote2010-11-04 09:48 am
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Chronicles: Chimney Rock Farms pumpkin patch, Piedra Falls
Autumn is by far my favorite season; the combination of the bright fall color on the trees, the sharp bite in the air, the smell of burning woodstoves, the crunch of walking through fallen leaves, the bare branches of the trees, fogging breath and steam rising off the hot springs... there's no end to the natural wonders of autumn. It's got the best holidays (Thanksgiving: it is all about eating!), and the shops start stocking in the best of all possible foodstuffs, like baked goods with pumpkin in them and chocolate oranges and peppermint cocoa. The photo opportunities are endless and pretty much golden. The only thing that would make autumn better was if it was longer; here in the mountains, it seems to be finished practically in the blink of an eye, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to wake up one day soon and there will be a few feet of snow on the ground.
On the other hand, the fleeting nature of the season is pretty good for prompting me to get out of the house and take some photos, before all the spectacular color vanishes until next year. I've been wanting for years to visit one of those pumpkin patches that also has a horse-drawn cart (I don't really care about pumpkins, if I'm honest, aside from caring about how delicious they are), and when I saw one advertised in the newspaper recently, I just had to go. I made a little time on the last weekend of the Chimney Rock Farm pumpkin patch, and drove out to photograph some harness horses, which as a bonus, turned out to be Suffolks, a breed I'm not I've ever actually seen in person before, and definitely haven't photographed.
It turned out that the team's driver used to be Pat Parelli's pick-up rider in his rodeo days, which was cool. (It's interesting the things you find out about people when you stop to have a chat; the pathologically-shy me of days gone by had a much more boring life.) We had a bit of a talk about harness horses and driving, and he invited me up to sit with him on the buckboard while we drove a group of pumpkin-hunters around the field, and I learned that he also uses the team for plowing the fields there at Chimney Rock.
Several weeks before, my roommate Sharon and I went out hunting for fall color; we headed for Creede, because I'd seen some beautiful pictures of the area on Facebook, and we made a few stops along the way that were pretty picturesque.
Creede itself was a little disappointing; we'd missed both the fall color and the open season. Most of the shops and restaurants in town and on the roads along the way were shut, though we did stop in at a pretty cool outdoor outfitter store where even Trudeau was allowed inside to browse.
A few weekends back, I had a friend visiting from out of town, and we set out to explore the sights as well, this time at Piedra Falls. The drive in to the trailhead was gorgeous, but the falls themselves were a bit anticlimactic... so much so that I didn't even get a decent picture to share with you.
Trudeau enjoyed himself, but the path was also disappointingly short at just over half a mile; if you're not much of a hiker, it's a nice short jaunt, but it wasn't something I would've driven an hour for if I'd known. It was worth it for the road in though, and some of the views over the river were nice.
If you're inclined to visit Piedra Falls, you can travel up Piedra Rd from Hwy 160, about 17 miles. Take a right on Middle Fork Rd (Forest Road 637), and travel about 8 miles in to the end of the road. And don't wear your Fivefingers... not a comfortable walk in toe shoes.
On the other hand, the fleeting nature of the season is pretty good for prompting me to get out of the house and take some photos, before all the spectacular color vanishes until next year. I've been wanting for years to visit one of those pumpkin patches that also has a horse-drawn cart (I don't really care about pumpkins, if I'm honest, aside from caring about how delicious they are), and when I saw one advertised in the newspaper recently, I just had to go. I made a little time on the last weekend of the Chimney Rock Farm pumpkin patch, and drove out to photograph some harness horses, which as a bonus, turned out to be Suffolks, a breed I'm not I've ever actually seen in person before, and definitely haven't photographed.
It turned out that the team's driver used to be Pat Parelli's pick-up rider in his rodeo days, which was cool. (It's interesting the things you find out about people when you stop to have a chat; the pathologically-shy me of days gone by had a much more boring life.) We had a bit of a talk about harness horses and driving, and he invited me up to sit with him on the buckboard while we drove a group of pumpkin-hunters around the field, and I learned that he also uses the team for plowing the fields there at Chimney Rock.
Several weeks before, my roommate Sharon and I went out hunting for fall color; we headed for Creede, because I'd seen some beautiful pictures of the area on Facebook, and we made a few stops along the way that were pretty picturesque.
Creede itself was a little disappointing; we'd missed both the fall color and the open season. Most of the shops and restaurants in town and on the roads along the way were shut, though we did stop in at a pretty cool outdoor outfitter store where even Trudeau was allowed inside to browse.
A few weekends back, I had a friend visiting from out of town, and we set out to explore the sights as well, this time at Piedra Falls. The drive in to the trailhead was gorgeous, but the falls themselves were a bit anticlimactic... so much so that I didn't even get a decent picture to share with you.
Trudeau enjoyed himself, but the path was also disappointingly short at just over half a mile; if you're not much of a hiker, it's a nice short jaunt, but it wasn't something I would've driven an hour for if I'd known. It was worth it for the road in though, and some of the views over the river were nice.
If you're inclined to visit Piedra Falls, you can travel up Piedra Rd from Hwy 160, about 17 miles. Take a right on Middle Fork Rd (Forest Road 637), and travel about 8 miles in to the end of the road. And don't wear your Fivefingers... not a comfortable walk in toe shoes.