Out for a Holiday

This weekend for the Memorial Day Holiday, despite gas prices, I took my wife and daughter to Colorado to my son's home for the weekend. We had planned to go to photograph their perschool graduation program last October so really had no choice even though the gas prices have been going up 5 cents a day it seems for the last several weeks. In fact, we put gas in the car on Thursday as we were traveling to Denver in Fruita, CO @ 3.859 a gallon and at the same station Monday coming home put gas in the car @3.899 per gallon from the same pump. So it isn't quite 5 cents a day but still way to fast for anyone's good except the gas companies. (I wonder what their profits will be this year that they can brag about at our expense.) Well that's off the subject so back to it.
I missed thousands of great photo opportunities this weekend and will just have to live with the memories of what I saw. Isn't it a shame when you are so pressed for time and regulated by laws that you can't stop to enjoy and record such beauty. For instance, as we were going past Vail Summit around 8:30 PM we were obviously getting there not but a few minutes after a snow storm had blown through because the roads were really wet and the trees to the side of the road were freshly flocked with a light coating of snow. They were so beautiful with the new green leaves just coming out covered lightly with the fresh white snow and the sun casting the warm light of sunset upon them. The clouds had moved but were still somewhat lingering around the low hills. I wanted so badly to stop but you didn't really get to do that on a freeway. (You know the signs they post that say "No Stopping or Standing except in emergency".)  I guess I could have called that an emergency but would have had a hard time explaining it to a patrolman. Later there were the Colorado Rockies near Eisenhower tunnel that were lit on the very top by the final light of the sun before it set. Wow they were gorgeous as well and I finally asked my daughter to get out my camera and we took a few through the windows as we drove. Then again as we were descending the other side of that pass there were the clouds floating through the trees that were very light and low. Well needless to say I missed some beautiful images all because I couldn't stop or stand for just a few seconds. Of course if I had we would have really been late getting to our son's place where we had two beautiful granddaughters awaiting our arrival long past their bedtime. One couldn't make it and was asleep anyway but the 6 year old was still up and really excited.

So now that I have set you up for what I missed here is something that I was able to get while there. This little fellow was in the neighborhood and I saw him once on friday as I was walking with my oldest granddaughter to school. I went outside again Saturday and walked down a couple of houses to see if I could find him again but with no luck. Then Sunday as I was waiting for five families to come for pictures, (they were having a family reunion) I went back from the park behind my son's home to see if they were at his home yet and of course had my camera ready with my 75-300 mm telephoto lens mounted because I has seen the little fellow on y way to the park. I walked around the corner and found my friend munching in the grass and so quickly held a little photo session for him. The following were the results. 

This first shot was taken on my way to the park.
However when I came back he was on the ground and the next few quick shots in the sequence were what I was able to get as he wasn't really to scared of me and was a little bit more interested in food as he closely kept track on my actions.




Actually even though it wasn't a prearranged photo session he was just as curious about seeing what I was doing as I was having fun seeing what he was doing. This was the final good look that he took at me before running up into the branches again.