We started out a little upstream from Placerville, CO on the San Miguel River that flows out of Telluride on the Western side of the beautiful San Juan Mountains. With 4 Rafts, about a dozen kayaks, 3 ducky rafts, 25 people including 6 raft guides, and at least 10 cases of beer, our adventure began.
The first day was high speed and unfortunately high drag all at the same time. The river wound around in circles it seemed and dropped a lot of elevation so it was fast, plus the banks were overgrown with strainers and spring runoff debris. This led to swimming kayakers, raft highsidings, and cold campers, but spirits were great. There was a fire ban in effect, so we lit up the bucket of beer in the center of our circle for ambiance. It was perfect. I got a painting in that evening and then another the following morning.
The next day was a continual drop in altitude and a change from a sub-alpine micro-climate to more desert climate. The canyon walls began to climb around us. On the second night, one of the group, Kyle, had a 22nd birthday. This led to much beer loss and a hilarious prank war that lasted in to the night. This campspot was my least favorite and one that did not have a lot to offer this painter. I did get one done that I liked, it’s the one with the light cursing around an old Juniper, below.
On the third day we continued dropping into incredible canyons and cotton-wooded camping spots. This was a great campspot (right) and a few of us young Whipper Snappers played a long game of hide and seek. I hiked up the hill and got a couple paintings done of the broken cap rock at the canyon’s rim. Also shot the picture below as the San Miguel wound its way through the valley floor.
On the Fourth Day we started into what’s called “Hanging Flume Gorge.” This was by far the most spectacular of the day floats. The Hanging Flume can be seen in the picture below and the San Miguel Historical Society has re-built a small portion of the flume so people can see what the intended, but never completed flume would have looked like.
The campsite that night was deep in the Hanging Flume Gorge and was right in a bend of the canyon walls. The reflected light off of the lit side of the canyon illuminated the shadowed side in the deepest red I’ve witnessed in nature. Naturally I was out there painting it as quickly as I could. You’ll see the painting below in the body of work area. Before I got my painting gear out to paint, I shot the lot of raft guides and fun-loving folks on the trip that swam across the river to climb the steep walls adjacent to camp!
Below the photographs is the body of paintings that I did while on the trip. Enjoy.
