Pictures of the Day 7/3/25 - Telluride and Ophir Road Area

Today, we woke to building stormy weather, perfect for wildflower photography! Clouds helps to diffuse the bright sun, revealing fine details in the shaded areas of the images. Water droplets on the flowers just adds to the appeal. See "Photographing Forests" (Nov. 16, 2011) below for a good example.

We decided to check out the Ophir Road just south of Telluride, off Colorado Highway 145. To get there from Ridgeway, take Colorado Highway 62 west to CO-145 and head south past the turnoff to Telluride. Ophir is a small mining town, now populated with several summer cabins and a few permanent residents. The road is paved and graded gravel further up. Speed limit is 10 mph through town and they ensure this by creating deep dips in the roadway (opposite of 'speed bumps'). On to the flowers!

                                                                  Foxtail grass seeds (KW)

                                                                    Wild geraniums (KW)

                                                                  Scrubby cinquefoil (KW)

                                                                     Lupine closeup (KW)

                                                          Alpine yarrow with butterfly (KW)

                                                                           Groundsel (KW)

                                              Flowering prickly pear cactus, near Ridgeway (KW)

                                                                       Mule Deer (SW)