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Shoot the Moon

Nearly six years ago, we ventured southwest to Durango on a special photography pass to photograph the rising moon between two rock towers from a viewpoint considered holy ground by ancestors of modern Pueblo Indians.

The lunar phenomena occurs only once every 18.6 years, at the end of the cycle called Lunar Standstill. Paid viewing was offered at various times from 2004 to 2008, as the moon passed between Chimney Rock and Companion Rock many times during that period, but not rising directly between the two rocks more than a handful of nights during the four years. Viewing space atop Great House is limited, and reservations were sold out long before I found out about the event. Lucky for me, I still had a valid press pass at the time, and I was still creating and producing a weekly calendar for a national company every year back then.

In 2005, the November perfectly centered full moonrise between the two rock towers fell a year and a week after emergency back surgery that changed my life and made the mild hike to the summit of Great House much more difficult for me than it would have been had I been whole. The unpredictable moon had other plans in mind, and I had to get a wee bit creative in order to share a magnificent moment I didn’t really get to see. Below are highlights from my journal entries during the lunar standstill.

Be sure to check here again tomorrow to see the video I created from the photos I shot during the standstill and the special effects I cooked up with a little help from PhotoShop and my plethora of moon shots.



17 November 2005

We drove by Chimney Rock on our way to Durango, and I saw Chimney Rock for the first time silhouetted against the dusky winter sky. Although the forecast called for clear skies, the moon was completed clouded over.

We may not get to see the moon tomorrow. It would be awesome if the Forest Service offers us another night. If they have a date open with the moonrise closer to sunset, I would come back here. I would enjoy coming back. I absolutely love this part of the world. We both love the San Juan Mountains and think this is the most beautiful part of Colorado.



18 November 2005

I checked the weather before we headed back to Chimney Rock, and the forecast said “plentiful sunshine.” It didn’t say plentiful moonshine.

We got great shots of the sunset and dusk. But no moonrise. The clouds perfectly hid the moon the entire drive back to Durango.

The Forest Service asked me to send them one of my photos. None of my moon shots will turn out. I told them I don’t have much. They said just send anything.

Some of the other photographers kept complaining about the cold. I couldn’t resist rattling off the famous Mark Twain quote, “There’s no such thing as bad weather. Only inappropriate clothing.” Silenced ‘em!

One guy had five cameras and took up half the deck. I stepped back so he could set up a tripod next to me. He took my spot. He took my spot!!! Then cracked a joke about getting one or two more cameras out of his car.

He told everyone not to touch the railing because he had a camera mounted on it. I was shooting using the railing as a tripod because there wasn’t room for my tripod, thanks to him, when he started messing with his mount and shook the railing. During three different timed exposures. He ruined my shots!

So I have nothing. And he has five cameras that all worked with no interference. Except he got the same absence of moonrise I did. I can't help but smirk.



19 November 2005

I worked on my lunar standstill photos, and I’m actually pleased with what I captured and created. I made a fake shot, which I can’t really do anything with because I don’t want people to think it’s real. But it rocks. It makes up a little for not having a moonrise between the towers.



15 December 2005

We were invited back to Chimney Rock after a cancelation, and we made the seven-hour drive as soon as we could escape the metro area. We got a terrific moonset above Mount Columbia on our way back to Durango. We caught a lovely plume of spindrift in front of the moon, too.

The moonrise tonight in Pagosa Springs was awesome. A very light layer of clouds made the moon look eerie. I could live with that if it happens again tomorrow on Great House. But a perfectly clear moonrise would be awesome, too, even if it comes up in clear skies and then gets haloed by a thin veil of clouds before being cloaked. Just give me the moon. I’ll take it any way I can get it.



16 December 2005

What a fantastic day. We got up on time, and we headed west. We arrived at Chimney Rock about half an hour before sunrise and about 45 minutes before moonset. We got pictures! Clear sky, and the moon in between Chimney Rock and Companion Rock.

Now of course, the official Chimney Rock Lunar Standstill occurs when the moon rises, not when it sets. The official event is viewed from a higher elevation, where there is just barely enough room from that angle for a moon or sun to creep between. We were down on the highway, below Chimney Rock; Companion Rock was down the road and not really looking like a tower, and we could move around until we positioned the moon exactly where we wanted it between the two formations. You can’t do that on Great House, which has limited space and some pretty steep drop-offs on three sides.

What we captured this morning is not official. But it’s the moon between two big rocks. The best part about this morning is we weren’t elbow to elbow with scores of photographers, and no one else on tonight’s guest list came up with our brilliant idea. We are the only ones who got the shot.

Tonight, for the last chance for 18 more years, the clouds didn’t part until the moon was up above and to the right of Chimney Rock, far from the centered spectacle everyone came to see. So everyone who made the trip just to capture the moon between Chimney Rock and Companion Rock got nothing. And we have our cheater shots from this morning!

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To Sag or Not to Sag

Day Five
Durango to Pagosa Springs
88 miles
17 June 2010

I asked The Lizard when the alarm went off at 4:30 this morning if we could ride to Pagosa on the highway instead of following the hilly route (with tons of climbs). It would cut the distance by nearly half.

The Lizard didn't want to ride "that busy highway." I can't blame him for that at all, but I just wasn't sure I could ride any more. I thought once again about trying to track down my co-worker's husband who also is riding and whose father is following along in an RV. I could ride into Pagosa with him and give my body a day to recover. If I could find them.

In addition to being tired and still a little sore and stiff, my lips were extremely swollen. I think they are wind burned. I used chapstick, and I think I drank plenty of water. I never got to ask a passing medic, so I'm not sure what caused the swelling.

As if on autopilot, I got dressed and got ready to go. The Lizard said he'd ride along with me to get me through the day.

That was so encouraging for me, especially after riding 12.5 hours alone yesterday. But I know The Lizard would be miserable if I made him ride at my slow pace all day. I couldn't do that to him. I wanted him to enjoy his vacation. I wanted him to feel exuberant at the end of the day. Not as if he'd spent the day nurse-maiding me.

He sent me on and finished taking down the tent and packing by himself. He caught me just before the first rest stop.

I was totally intimidated by the route before I began riding because yesterday was so demanding and took so much out of me. After about a mile or so, though, I was having fun. I remembered the terrain from our previous trips to Vallecito and Chimney Rock, and none of the climbs would be as gruesome as yesterday. I tried to look at today's ride as just another Elephant Rock, but with prettier scenery, and I knew I could do it. So I was in a really good mindset by the time The Lizard caught me.

I wanted to ride with him. But it would have been selfish of me to hold him to my snail-like pace. He needs to train for the Triple Bypass and the Mount Evans Hill Climb. Riding alone isn't going to kill me. I know The Lizard will be waiting for me at the end.

If the situation was reverse, I know he would make the very same sacrifice for me.

So after a delicious breakfast (he had all-you-can-eat pancakes while I had two scrambled egg and cheese burritos), I sent him on. At first, he was nervous about leaving me alone. He said he felt as if he was abandoning me. I assured him I would be fine. Three times! The kiss when we parted was magical. It carried me the rest of the day.

The Vallecito Valley is so beautiful, but you can't really soak it all in when you're riding into the sun. When we finally looped around and headed into the opposite direction, I enjoyed gazing at the rolling lush green hills, horses, ducks, geese and meandering Vallecito Creek. Looping around, of course, points us in the direction of New Mexico. New Mexico is not my home anymore, but it still holds a special place in my heart, and I enjoyed basking in the memories as the terrain changed into juniper- and pinon-dotted sageland where desert touches hills.

Seeing Chimney Rock again brought back more wonderful memories. Remind me to tell you the tale of Chimney Rock one day. The photos and story from that trip are literally out of this world.

I didn't take many photos today, but I had a good attitude. One of the things I've notice about doing big rides is the more the miles wear on, the more exhausted I become, and the fewer photos I take.

On two long, straight, smooth, windless stretches today, I got to let the demo bike go. How I wish I knew how fast I went. The Lizard said it is a fast bike. Boy, he wasn't kidding.

Here is something I wanted to include yesterday, but I was too beat to write at the end of the day:

I was on Molas Pass with Alison Dunlap! I'd like to say I climbed the pass with her, but I think in reality, she was in Durango by the time I got to the top of Molas. She's FAST!


As she sped away, if you pretended the sun was just poking over the horizon, when shadows are four miles long, I could just barely touch the very tip of her shadow.

She was supposed to speak at 5 but didn't get started until 5:30. That's when I pulled into Durango. So I got to see the tail end of her presentation, which was, by the way, fabulous. She shared pictures from her Olympic and World cycling adventures, and she described how differently women are treated on stage races compared to men. Men are pampered in comparison, and they don't have it easy. The women really rough it.

I had been hoping since the day before we started I might get to meet Alison. Stopping at the same overlook she did and getting to talk and take pictures was such a bonus. The experience powered me over the three mountain passes I had to climb. That she remembered me after her presentation further boosted my attitude. She high-fived me when she found out my ride was 12.5 hours and I didn't sag.

That makes it all worth it!

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