The best thing I saw in Colorado yesterday was… Colorado itself – above and below.

My morning photo excursion was not going well. I had covered a lot of miles and spent a lot of time to find nothing, it was 8:30am and I had not clicked the shutter once and that is bad. As I made a stop to look for critters, I looked to the south and saw some hot air balloons in the sky.

It had been a few years since I had a quality photo session with the famous Colorado balloon so I raced south to catch it. While I took pics of the other balloons too, this one, of course, stole the show, particularly when it descended and was in front of those gorgeous, snow-capped Rocky Mountains.

We’re lucky to live in a place where scenes like this are pretty routine. I do my best not to take it for granted.

Another one of those beautiful, “This is Colorado” scenes that we oftentimes take for granted here. Sitting at St. Vrain State Park this past Saturday, I could see this balloon rising into the calm, cool morning air far off in the distance. It was initially too far away but eventually it drifted east allowing for a nice capture. Yeah, we live in a pretty cool place.

A couple of quick snaps from this past weekend of hot air balloons I spotted. Balloons are a common sight on calm days and it is easy to see why – who wouldn’t want to fly with the Rocky Mountains serving as a backdrop?

One image, taken Saturday, shows some thunderstorms brewing far off in the distance over the mountains. The second, taken on Sunday, shows a different balloon that seems to mimic the landscape behind.

A beautiful spring morning is the shadows of the mountains photographing wildlife and just enjoying being outdoors.

Sunday found me in my element but I did train my camera on a different flying “creature” than what I normally photograph. This beautiful balloon was among a half dozen taking advantage of the calm weather along the northern Front Range that morning.

Years ago I flew in a hot air balloon at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and if you ever get the chance, I would highly recommend going for a flight. It was an experience that still resounds with me today. The quiet aloft was just amazing.

From last Saturday’s photo outing. It was a very calm morning with beautiful weather and that meant the hot air balloons that oftentimes take flight from the Longmont area were in the air.

This one was lagging the others which gave me time to get to a good spot that allowed me to capture the colorful balloon as well as the mountains behind. Mount Meeker is the tall mountain to the right and behind it is Longs Peak.

It has been many years since I have flown in a balloon and I keep telling myself I need to do it again. Truly is an amazing experience if you have never done it.