The Colorado River is one of the American West’s great rivers. It’s undoubtedly the West’s most well known icon’s as it meanders through 7 states on it’s way to Mexico and the Gulf of California. The Colorado helped form the canyons of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. The Colorado is the force behind the formation of the Grand Canyon. The Colorado has also been a bone on contention for many as it’s water’s no longer flow freely from the numerous Dam’s the have been built to divert it’s water away to growing cities such as Los Angeles and Phoenix. One of my favorite book’s, ‘The Monkey Wrench Gang’ by Edward Abbey details at length the supposed fictional account of a group of what we would loosely call environmentalists attempt to blow up the Dam at Lake Powell and free the Colorado again.
Of course all of this is relevant because the headwaters of the Colorado River begin in Rocky Mountain National Park. Above La Poudre Pass, The Colorado begins as a small dribble on a mountainside. As the Colorado makes its way down into the Kawuneeche Valley of Rocky Mountain National Park, it grows in size as it meanders unpretentiously through the Valley. The portion of the Colorado River that travels through Rocky has a unique style and personality. It’s subtle, small and placid. It’s nothing like the river it will become downstream.
In many ways the Colorado River should be a highlight of Rocky Mountain National Park but is in fact an afterthought to most visitors. It does not travel through majestic canyons in Rocky, nor does it plunge over dramatic falls. The Elk and Moose whom inhabit the Kawuneeche Valley and graze along the banks of The Colorado garner much more attention from Park visitors than the famous river itself. I’ve been just as guilty as the next photographer when it comes to photographing this icon. There areas of Rocky Mountain National Park in which the scenery is far more dramatic. There are few areas of Rocky however, which hold as much historical and iconic value as the Colorado River does. It deserves more attention, and I for one plan on taking more time to photograph along it’s serene banks.