Durango Colorado, Chimney Rock, Then Continuing West; The Road Trip Continues

Chimney Rock National Monument.  The other images were made from up there! (click to enlarge)
iPhone 8+ snapshot

Note:  This post was was somehow overlooked during my writing and editing process and while changing travel locations about every day.  These activities and images were made while we stayed in Durango, Colorado.  In the next post, we will get back to the normal progression of things.  My apologies.

Our drive south on Colorado Route 550 brought us to Durango.  I had been to Durango once before in the mid-1990s and loved it then and still do today.  However, the biggest change I see is that now it has been "discovered" and is much more crowded.  That is unfortunate.  Still pretty.  The people are still very nice but the traffic and automobiles are no different than any larger city.  Durango is no longer a pleasure to visit as parking is almost impossible to find.  But don't let that stop you. It is a city all should visit at least once.

Our tour guide educating our group about the history and significance of Chimney Rock National Monument
(click to enlarge)
This narrow 20 ft. wide ridge had cliffs about 700 ft. down!  The ground was not level so it made it interesting to walk!
Couple that with the ground near both edges consisted of very loose pieces of rock.  On slip and over you go.  There
would be no stopping, grabbing or otherwise holding on to keep you from falling.
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, 12-100mm f/4 PRO lens @ 12mm; 1/640th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200

Instead of spending our two days here staying in town with the traffic, congestion and all of the tourist shops, we decided to drive east and visit Chimney Rock National Monument. Unfortunately, due to me getting way behind in my blog postings, I'm not going to be able to give you a detailed description of our activities right now, but I'll refer you to its website, found here, if you are interested in learning more about it.  I found it fascinating and awe inspiring.

As for which camera to use on this little hike, it was an easy decision.  The Oly with the 12-100mm f/4 PRO lens was the logical choice as the lens would cover most of what I anticipated I would find to photograph and the little Panasonic/Leica 8-18mm f/2.8-4 lens would cover the extreme wide shots that were too wide for the 12-100.  That little P/L lens is amazing.  Highly recommended!  I used to have the Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lens, which is equally amazing, but it didn't have filter threads.  To adapt filters, it would require spending more than a hundred dollars US to buy an adapter from a third party company.  I gladly gave up the half-stop of aperture at the longer focal lengths for the convenience of a filter thread.

Part of the archaeological ruins from the Ancestral Pueblos. (click to enlarge)
It appears through the evidence that the inhabitants occupied this location year round for several hundred years,
Their architectural prowess is quite remarkable.  To construct such a complex structure 1000 years ago on a narrow ridge
about 700 ft. up is nothing but astounding.  So good, in fact, that it still exists today!
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, Panasonic/Leica 8-18mm f/2.8-4 lens @ 8mm; 1/500th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200

Looking at the opposite direction as the last image. (click to enlarge)
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, Panasonic/Leica 8-18mm f/2.8-4 lens @ 12mm; 1/1000th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200

We weren't allowed to approach the actual Chimney Rock due to its sacred nature to the Native Americans and because
of its archaeological significance.  You can see that it is quite a fete to live, build structures and have ceremonies
in such an inaccessible place. (click to enlarge)
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, 12-100mm f/4 PRO lens @ 24mm; 1/320th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200

If you ever get an opportunity to see Chimney Rock National Monument, located between Durango and Pagosa Springs, Colorado, you should do it.  The Ancestral Pueblos were a remarkable people and left us many examples of their sacred sites, living quarters and other structures.

Join me over at Instagram @dennisamook or my website, www.dennismook.com. 

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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