July 6, 2012
Sickletop Lousewort near Crested Butte, Gunnison National Forest, Colorado, and the Old Man Emu Lift Kit

I reached the Crested Butte area of Colorado yesterday. It's a good place to photograph Alpine wildflowers, and I was pleased to find that the bloom is about average this year even though the Colorado mountains received much less snow than usual last winter. The bloom is, however, about two to three weeks ahead of schedule and is reaching peak right now.

Paradise Divide (11,250 ft or 3429 m) is a favorite area of mine, and yesterday afternoon and evening it was cloudy and mostly breezy which wasn't very good for photography. However, by waiting around and exploring the area, I was ready to set up and shoot when the wind stopped. This image is the first one that I made yesterday evening. It was my first subject because I had never photographed a Sickletop Lousewort before and didn't want to miss the opportunity. I photographed several other blooms and subjects during the hour or so when the wind was calm before it picked up again and I packed up.

Old Man Emu Lift Kit

OK, this isn't really a piece of photographic equipment, but it's something that will help me get to my subjects. I recently purchased a used 2007 Jeep Liberty. It's a nice vehicle to use as a towed vehicle behind my RV because it's small and has some off-road capability. The off-road capability of the stock vehicle is a bit marginal, so I had an OME (Old Man Emu) lift kit and larger tires installed (245/75R16 instead of the stock 225/75R16). The OME lift replaces all of the springs and struts (shocks) and raises the Jeep about 2 in (5 cm) and the larger tires raise it about another 0.6 in (1.5 cm). The stock suspension is really stiff, and the OME is a bit spongy for my taste on paved roads. However, it really smooths out the ride on the trail — I love it!

I mention the OME lift kit because Slate River Road up to Paradise Divide requires high clearance and 4WD is useful. At the top, there are a few short trails where 4WD is definitely required, and my Jeep handled it nicely. Plus, I didn't get bounced around as much as I would have with the stock suspension.