It was one of those days where I knew I had to get out in nature for awhile, despite the fact that it has been quite rainy and dreary for a number of consecutive days now.

At the risk of using overly religious language, I simply needed to spend some quality time with God. Somewhere in wilderness. Somewhere quiet and without distractions. I am facing one of those crossroads where I have a choice to continue down the path of doing things "my way" with my life, or to surrender my will over to the care of God. I can tell you Jesus Christ has done great - no, downright amazing! - things in my life, but I still sometimes struggle with the foolish and delusional thinking that I know what's best for my life. It's all about letting go of my self-centeredness, pride and investment in my reputation, and becoming more like my master. "He must become greater. I must become less." (John 3:30)

So I ended up at an overlook near Cottonwood Pass, located about 0.5 miles west on Gunnison County Road 209. It was raining lightly and intermittently during my walk and wandering, but did not observe lightning and thunder anywhere out there. It was so nice to be out there and did my best with the camera. Enjoy the photos below!

All the best,
Steve

A Walk Along An Overlook In Gunnison County, Colorado

The Gunnison Timberline Overlook near Cottonwood Pass. Notice how gray the sky was. Ah well! :)

A nice shot of some wildflowers. With all the precipitation we have been having in Colorado, the Colorado wildflower seasonal has been greatly prolonged. Below are my photos of wildflowers from this year: Wildflowers at Ptarmigan Lake (Scroll Down) Wildflowers South of Cottonwood Pass (Scroll Down)

It is just a short walk from the parking area to a hill that offers a nice view (Cottonwood Pass is hidden just a bit to the left) of the Unnamed Peak directly south.

Looking towards the north, clouds engulfed much of the mountains known as the "Three Apostles."

Another example of how dreary the conditions were.

I took note of this dead tree that has been sculpted by the strong winds up at timberline.

I wandered just a bit into the South Texas Creek drainage area. I sat there for quite a bit to pray, reflect and snap some photos like the one above. It was very green out there!

Here is the view of Taylor Park Reservoir to the west. The clouds were unrelenting in their dominance of the sky.

A ridge immediately to the west.

Ooooh! Ooooh! Autumn is coming, my friends! :)

Lastly, I included a photo of me. Oh and no worries, I've laid off the Red Vines during the past couple of days! ;)