ENTS,

   Yesterday Monica and I took a trail system behind the house we are staying in. A sweeping ridge rises immediately behind the house to an altitude of about 7,500 feet. We're at approximately 6,800 feet, so excellent views from the various rock perches are possible. Rocky Mountain juniper, Colorado pinyon pine, and isolated ponderosa pines frame rocky ledges. Were it not for the usual signs of people (broken glass and campfire pits), it would be idyllic.  

    I used the opportunity to check out the camera on my new iPhone. The image below looks westward into the La Plata mountains, a subrange of the expansive San Juan range, which is part of the long Rocky Mountain chain. The La Platas are virtually unknown to all but the local citizens. However, the La Platas are very worthy mountains, rising to 13,232 feet above sea level and between 5,500 and 6,500 feet above the lower points of Durango. A good dozen named peaks exceed 12,000 feet. The peaks in the photo shown on the horizon rise to 12,500 feet.

 
    The La Platas have many drainages and spectacular canyons, some of which are supposed to harbor big timber. Even though the terrain is incredibly rugged, the tall trees are mercifully at the mid to lower elevations. I doubt that I'd find big trees above 9,000 feet. The question is can I even get to the big stuff that is tucked back into the drainages? We shall see.

     I apologize in advance for the image below being a bit on the large side. I have a lot of feature mastering to do with the combination of my iPhone and Monica's MacBook Pro. I'll probably have to use other software to reduce the pixel count and do more image cropping. However, the iPhone camera is so simple to use that even a photography clutz like me can whip out the iPhone, select the camera icon, point and shoot. Unfortunately, I didn't get out the iPhone soon enough to photograph some extremely old looking ponderosas, pinyons, and junipers on our walk. I'll return to the spot to finish the job before we leave Durango in early July. So, with all the excuse making out of the way, the photo follows.

Bob