Pagosa Springs
&
Southwest Colorado Photography
This is Pagosa Peak, elevation 12,658 feet, in the San Juan Mountains north of Pagosa Springs and visible from many places in town.
I had lived in medium to large-sized cities all my life, but when the option to move arose, my wife and I came to Southwest Colorado. Pagosa Springs offered silence when stepping outside, darkness and a lot of stars at night. And it was close enough to the trails we loved so we could hike them more often.
This scene was found on a walk along the San Juan River Walk in town. McCabe Creek flowed beneath the walkway just before it joined the San Juan River, a small, quiet convergence that felt like a private reminder of why we moved here.
Birds & Wildlife Around Pagosa Springs
A pair of House Wrens bringing food to their newly hatched young in a cavity to the right of this photo. Seen on Jackson Mountain, east of Pagosa Springs.
A pair of American Dippers. The female (right) had been incubating eggs in a nest under a bridge east of Pagosa Springs. When the male arrived with food for her, she left the nest to be fed on a nearby rock.
A Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel, seen south of Pagosa Springs.
An American Crow that had flown to the ground near me to check something out. Seen on the San Juan River Walk in Pagosa Springs.
An Abert's Squirrel, photographed south of Pagosa Springs. These are said to eat nothing but Ponderosa Pine seeds and bark on small twigs, but they will also rob bird feeders.
A Great Blue Heron resting on one leg near the San Juan River Walk in Pagosa Springs.
A Least Chipmunk, pondering what to do next. Seen south of Pagosa Springs.
A male Western Bluebird that had recently fledged several young from a nest box south of Pagosa Springs.
Two Red Fox kits, just a few weeks old, playing near a culvert where they had been hiding while their mother watched them (and me) from a nearby hillside south of Pagosa Springs.
A Yellow Warbler, nesting along the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs.
This Bobcat was resting on our deck about six feet from me, but still not aware of me. After it appeared, we no longer saw rabbit tracks in the snow around our house.
A puffed up American Turkey Tom, trying to get the attention of several nearby females that were ignoring him.
Landscape Photography Near Pagosa Springs
Squaretop Mountain (right) and Blackhead Peak before dawn in September, southeast of Pagosa Springs.
Looking west from 8 Mile Mesa Drive, south of Pagosa Springs.
Treasure Falls east of Pagosa Springs on the way to Wolf Creek Pass.
Opal Lake, after a short hike, southeast of Pagosa Springs.
Mill Creek Road in fall, east of Pagosa Springs.
A turn in Plumtaw Road, north of Pagosa Springs, beneath Pagosa Peak.
Plumtaw Road, north of Pagosa Springs in fall.
Cliffs near the Fourmile Falls trailhead, north of Pagosa Springs.
Autumn colors in Narrowleaf Cottonwoods and Aspens below Piedra Falls, northwest of Pagosa Springs.
Looking northwest off of US Hwy 160 near Allen Creek on the way to Wolf Creek Pass.
Nipple Mountain (left) and Blackhead Peak southeast of Pagosa Springs in winter.
Saddle Mountain in winter, looking northwest from US Hwy 160 on the way to Wolf Creek Pass.
Pagosa Springs Fine-Art Prints
Selected Pagosa Springs and other Colorado photographs are available as fine-art prints for collectors and for those who would like to bring the character of the Rocky Mountains into their homes or offices.
Prints are produced in a range of sizes and presentation options. Visit the Print Shop to explore available photographs, sizes and materials.