This week it’s Tina Schell’s turn to challenge us with our camera’s take on “cold.” She’s got a few snow covered images captured when her normally warm climate rarely presents them with a white landscape. Having gone through over 40 years of winters in Minnesota and North Dakota, I can speak with expertise on the subject of cold. I don’t like it. >grin< You can read Tina’s challenge post here.

To begin my challenge response, on a chilly November day in Rocky Mountain National Park, we walked a small but icy trail that circumnavigated Sprague Lake. The nearby peaks were punctuated by an interesting rectangular cloud formation. I used a nearby tree and the trails edge to “frame” the photograph.

Mid-January 2016 brought us on a trip to Iowa from Arizona. On our return to Arizona, we stopped at a rest area near Colorado Springs. On that cold January day, we got a great view of a wind-blown Pike’s Peak and the U.S. Air Force Academy’s air port. Standing at the observation post, that 22 degree F (-5.5 deg C), in the light winds, it felt quite cold. Needless to say, I didn’t stay long. You might wonder how I remembered the temperature and wind for that day. The Colorado Springs weather history page of Weather Underground’s website refreshed my memory. The temperature recorded at 8:54 AM was within 20 minutes of the time stamp on the image.

We usually head back to North Dakota for the Christmas holidays. One evening, just before sunset, we stopped at one of my favorite Red River vantage points to capture this cold, North Dakota Sunset. Technically, this shot was captured in Moorhead, MN as the Red River borders the two states.

On one of our Christmas visits to friends who live in Horace, North Dakota, I happened to look out the window to see the colors of the golden hour reflecting off the snow. I stepped out onto the front porch to capture this cell phone image of the setting sun through the trees.

When transiting Nebraska’s sand hills near North Platte, I’ve enjoyed the hilly beauty of the area, but never so much as the November day in 2018 when we saw the hills covered with a light dusting of snow for the first time. The stark white adds contrast and beauty to the plain brown grasses.

Finally, for my last image this week, here’s a shot of the Paria Viewpoint at Bryce Canyon National Park after an early October snowfall. Thanks again to Tina for a great challenge that reminds me why I go to Arizona every winter. As always, you can click on an image to enlarge it for a better view if your browser supports that function.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate the holiday today.

John Steiner