Author Archives: Flying Cloud Photographer

Flagler is on I 70 and has a few interesting sites in town. I have not eaten at the diner but one of these days when I have more time! Flagler is where Hal Borland the author grew up. He is the author of several books about living life on the plains. His most famousContinue reading “Flagler, Colorado”

On the way back from Kansas on I-70 I was confronted with some amazing Cloudburst imagery. These were shot from the car on an iPhone and then taken into BW as this is the more dramatic presentation. “We” are in the monsoon season here which is when you will see rain shafts and cloud bursts.Continue reading “Bizarre Weather on I-70”

Once you come across the state like near Cope, Colorado is St. Francis. They have a motorcycle museum and then north of the town is the Arikaree Breaks in Cheyenne County. The day was already getting long and it was all of 100 deg F so I put off going to the Breaks to hike.

The far North East of Colorado is the tiny town of Cope. I have met folks from Cope and they are so surprised when they find out that I not only have been thru but have stopped to take pictures.

Thru the Harvest Host club we were able to boondock on the land of this ranch- they raise Bison for consumption had about 30 head. The next morning we were invited on a ride along into the pasture as Greg Nott and his wife fed the bison hay and nutrient cakes.

In retrospect this was likely a Dirt Devil – you ask what is the difference : A dust devil typically also has weaker winds than a tornado. A gustnado can have a circulation of wind on the ground with an associated thunderstorm nearby but there is not a direct connection between the gustnado and theContinue reading “Kansas Gustanado”

The Pratt family established a working sheep ranch on the high plains in the late 19th century. They would leave a legacy that includes unique stone structures and a large photograph collection. The fascinating story begins in Yorkshire, England, and continues. Abraham Pratt (1827-1901), came to America as a young man, arriving in California duringContinue reading “Cottonwood Ranch”

“Go to Kansas” Formerly enslaved African Americans left Kentucky at the end of the of post-Civil War Reconstruction period to experience freedom in the “Promised Land” of Kansas. Nicodemus represents the involvement of African Americans in the westward expansion and settlement of the Great Plains. It is the oldest and only remaining Black settlement westContinue reading “Nicodemus, Kansas”

It’s more truth than anything to say I feel that a visit to the Prairie , especially the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Preserve, is like getting recharged at a church of brick and mortar

This development with Too Large Houses on Too Small Lots is just outside the boudaries of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Preserve. Besides being ugly they are too close to each other which is one of the factors why the Marshall Fire of several months ago was so devastating. Yes the undergrowth was flammable andContinue reading “Little House on the Prairie – NOT”