Snow Along Cottonwood Pass Road (Chaffee County Road 306) On May 7, 2009

**Snow Photos Along Cottonwood Pass Road**
**Photos of Mountains, Snow on the Road and Tire Marks From Getting Stuck - May 7, 2009**
	May 7, 2009 - My plan was to go into the mountain wilderness somewhere in the canyon that holds Cottonwood Pass Road. I desired some "downtime" to refresh my soul. I ended up driving as far as I could on Chaffee County Road 306 (the official name for "Cottonwood Pass Road") until the snow was too much. Adjacent is a photo as I traveled west with Jones Mountain South in view.
	At the first major switchback, approximately 2.5 miles west of the Denny Creek Trailhead and gate (which was open), this was the view. The snow was too much to get past.
	Snow Beautiful Snow! As you might know, I am quite obsessed with snow. I love snow so much! Photographing snow is something I enjoy practically around! And I will admit, there is something especially gratifying to display these kinds of pictures for my friends in hot weather states like Arizona, Texas and Georgia. :) TOP: Notice I wore shorts. The snow on the side of the road was really deep, but fortunately, my legs did not sink in. My feet would have been really cold! :p) CENTER: Crouching down on the snowy road. BOTTOM: I put my boots on and walked around for quite awhile. Now I must admit, I attempted to walk toward a beautiful creek surrounded by snow. See it? Well, I walked as far as I could but had to stop because the snow was practically to my waist! My feet fell through and I postholed ... just miserable. Somehow I returned to the road.
	I walked up the road to capture two pretty mountain photos of Jones Mountain South (top) and Turner Peak (bottom). I was fortunate to climb Turner Peak (alt. 13,232 feet) in 2007.
	I ventured into the forest near the road. The entire ground was covered in large mounds of soft snow!
	Those were some great mountain and snow photos, right? Well the highlight of the afternoon was getting my car stuck in the snow. Fortunately, with the help of "JJ" a local Buena Vista resident, I was able to get out. If this friendly gentleman had not been around, I probably would have been stuck for hours or longer! Don't get stuck like I did! The left photo shows the tire marks after we got my vehicle free. I don't think picture show how deep the snow was. The kicker was the thick layer of ice underneath the snow on the ground.
	I rode happily ever after back to Buena Vista, CO. Two photos along the way back... TOP: Great lighting. Nice greenery and mountains. BOTTOM. Mt. Yale. (alt. 14,198 feet) I climbed this mountain twice: Mt. Yale Hike (2006) Mt. Yale Hike (2007). Photos provided by Steve Garufi in Buena Vista, Colorado. Contact: Personal Web Sites: www.ColoradoGuy.com, www.MtPrinceton.org Facebook: Facebook Fan Page Twitter: www.twitter.com/stevegarufi

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