Hot Pursuit!!

A call came across the radio stating there were two dogs blocking traffic on Thatcher Ave and assistance from animal control was needed. Colorado State Trooper, Steve Ortiz, was on scene and

ushered the dogs off the road and onto the golf course. Shortly there after  Colorado Department of Wildlife Park Ranger, Chris Hand, arrived to assist in the wrangling of the dogs until animal control arrived. The dogs on the other hand decided it was time to take a walk and wandered off the golf course and into a residential neighborhood off of Linda Vista causing both officers to give chase. The dogs led the officers down Linda Vista to Airlane. It wasn't until the corner of Airlane and Rice  that the officers had their first shot at capturing at least one of the dogs. Trooper Ortiz was able to get one of the two dogs away from the other and was close to slipping the capture noose around the dogs head but was unable to do so. After chasing the dogs down several more streets, Trooper Ortiz and Park Ranger Hand relinquished the chase to animal control, who was able to continue chasing the dogs in their vehicle. Eventually animal control was able to capture the white dog but the brown one is still on the loose.

A Helping Hand

The serving window at the Pueblo Community Soup Kitchen.

It is no secret that people in need of assistance has been on the rise in Pueblo over the last few years. People are making their way to Pueblo for multiple reasons , with the booming marijuana industry, legal recreational and medical pot, or what ever the reason may be, it can not be denied that people are choosing to move to the Steel City. With an influx of people and a lack of employment opportunities for those people, the need for services for people in need have risen drastically. The local programs that use federal, state and county funds for people in need are being pushed to their limits and people need help. POSADA is one of those organizations and on their website they state that right now, they are at their limit for helping and they are helping Pueblo people and families before they can help outsiders. POSADA also makes a suggestion that if you do not have enough money saved to cover a deposit (first and last month’s rent) and a $500 deposit for electricity, then people should reconsider moving to Pueblo.

A "Bright" Spot for Pueblo

Matt Albright is the Program Coordinator for the Center For American Values but more importantly he is a champion of Pueblo.

Over the last few months Pueblo has seen it’s reputation tarnished in the national and local media.  With all the reports of crime rates increasing, an abundant amount of heroin on the streets and gangs on the rise it can sometimes be hard to see all the people and organizations making good things happen around us, one of the people trying to promote the good in Pueblo and its people is Matt Albright. Matt is the Program Coordinator for the Center For AmericanValues located downtown along the Riverwalk. The Center’s objectives and programs include use of its gallery and conferencing space for organizations in need of meeting facilities specific to promoting character and leadership development curriculum's, educational training seminars, executive study groups, conferences, special events, ceremonial activities, educational outreach opportunities, and public tours. The three values the Center focuses on are Honor, Integrity and Patriotism.

Landscapes

This series of photos were done as a project for a class. I have lived in Colorado for almost nine years and have done very little photography of the land. While much of Southern Colorado is high prairie it can still be beautiful. A short drive from Pueblo, Colorado can put you in the foothills and into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. I was hoping to capture the beauty of Southern Colorado in Black and White, as a kind of homage to the great Ansel Adams.

Pueblo Nature Center, Pueblo, Colorado.

Arkansas River outside of Salida, Colorado.

Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Mount Herard, Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Blanca Peak, outside of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado.

Pueblo Nature Center, Pueblo, Colorado

Arkansas River. Pueblo, Colorado

Cliffs at the Pueblo Nature Center. Pueblo, Colorado

Sun set at Liberty Point. Pueblo, West, Colorado

The open prairie of southern Colorado. Pueblo West, Colorado

Pikes Peak across the prairie. Pueblo West, Colorado

Looking out from Liberty Point. Pueblo West, Colorado

Lake Isabel. San Isabel National Forrest, Colorado

Lake Isabel. San Isabel National Forrest, Colorado

Abandoned farm houses in the San Isabel National Forrest, Colorado.

View of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from the Silver Cliff Cemetery. Silver Cliff, Colorado

View of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from outside of Silver Cliff, Colorado

View of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from the Assumption Cemetery. Silver Cliff, Colorado

Spanish Peaks from outside of Colorado City, Colorado.

Abandoned farm house. Eden Colorado.

Changing Colors in Wetmore

GDFR as most people know is a song by Flo Rida not commonly associated with a season. A friend of mine tried to convince me that GDFR is in fact, a fall song that is talking about the leaves changing colors and falling off the trees. While personally I think it that is a bit of stretch I guess I could see it. Which leads to my next point, I have lived in Pueblo for over eight years now and had not made it to the mountains in the fall to see Colorful Colorado in all it’s glory. So about two weeks ago I loaded my wife, camera gear and myself into the Jeep and made the hour drive out on Highway 96 through Wetmore and into the San Isabel National Forest. I admit, I may have ventured out a little early but I was not disappointed in what I had found. As some one that waited eight years to make this trip, I highly recommend doing it sooner rather than later it is worth the drive and your time.

Silver Cliff Cemetery

The cemetery in Silver Cliff is known as a haunted cemetery. The dancing lights of Silver Cliff were featured in National Geographic in 1969. It is alleged that at night you can see lights of miners that have passed, people that were murdered in a mine deal gone bad or even the ghost of a little girl buried there. No matter why you go visit the cemetery and what you do or don't see it is east to agree that it is a pretty cool place visit.

Connie and Corrie, the ghost hunters.

Frozen in Pueblo

Pueblo is not what most people think of when you say a town in Colorado. Most people not from here think that winters are freezing cold with three feet of snow starting in December and not leaving until April. While that may be true of some mountainous areas it is not true in Pueblo. The average temperature for Pueblo is about 50 degrees. Pueblo is nestled on the high prairie it gets about 350 days of sunshine a year. I am not saying it does not snow here it does and here is some proof. It snowed two days ago, started to melt a little yesterday and got down to 5 degrees last night, so here some pics.