Ruby Creek Press

... is a landing place for pictures I’ve taken en route, while moving or traveling. I live in Salida, Colorado (in the Rockies, about 3 hours south of Denver). Many of the photos were taken in Colorado, both north & south. But you’ll find a few shots from Indiana, Idaho, New Mexico, & Washington state. There’s no real theme to this page ~
just an attempt to save & share what I’ve seen & liked. There’s no real order either. My apologies ~ I know jumping around in time & place can be disorienting. But to some extent, this is how these experiences live in my head.



A note about the combined photos ~ a friend pointed out the lack of people in my pictures. It’s true. Usually I’m not brave enough to take a picture of a stranger. I don’t want to intrude. And my math isn’t good enough to quickly set my camera for moving objects. To address this, I added a few family members (pictures taken by me or someone else) to some of my landscapes. I don’t know that it worked, but it’s been fun trying.



Many of the pictures on this page were taken in Salida, or nearby. Like many mountain towns in Colorado, Salida is busy growing & changing. But there’s still much left of the early times. The alleys aren’t paved yet, just dirt. There’s lot going on there. Building ADU’s in the alleys, but people living in the old structures too.

I’ve always wanted to do something with this photo of nighttime Saguache. There wasn’t much in the shot. So, I added my grandparents. I don’t know that they ever made it to Saguache on their own. Below is a picture of my sisters (twins) taken by my father in Denver. I added them to a photo of an old gate in downtown Saguache.



Photos



This house is no longer standing. There had been just a shell left anyway ~ Salida
A closeup of that shell of a house. I wanted to go inside but not enough to risk the wrath of the property owner.
It was seasonal ~ the neighbor’s elm branches would crash into our yard.  I thought they were beautiful. The wind can be formidable in salida
When i first got to Salida 11 yeras ago, I rode everywhere & was real excited when i found this in Smeltertown
I loved the shadow. The sun is a gift here. A friend gave me the candleabra
My younger sister, added to a rotated shot of S Hill balls left on the roof of the Bbox of Bubbles roof
This is a river town. The kayak is now gone but the adobe is still standing & occupied
In the Salida cemetery. That’s an old place that seemingly hasn’t been harmed by development
On a 6am bike ride in Salida during a hoar frost
One of the donkeys I met on a bike ride outside Saguache, in the San Luis Valley
The dead tree next to my first apartment in Salida, next to the evangelical & Latter Day Saints churches. The dead tree is now gone
Downtown Salida next to the liquor store. It’s looked like this for the 11 years I’ve been here. That’s unusual
Hikers on the Green Creek Trail (I think that’s where this was)
Half-a-cow. This one begs for a family member, though I kind of like the umpopulated distance between plow & end-of-cow
An old homestead outside Saguache
I stayed in Saguache for two weeks testing the cold, wondering if I could manage living there through a winter & beyond. It wasn’t a problem. What used to be one of the coldest towns in Colorado, had become normal for the high desert due to climate change
The path around Franz Lake, Salida
Dean’s back yard in downtown Saguache
On the way to the Climax Mine near Leadville
From my Denver hotel window
The Botanical Garden, Denver
BD at Independence Pass on the way to Aspen
An alley in downtown Salida
My mother superimposed on the San Luis Valley. My dad took her picture in 1950s Denver. I don’t know if they ever got to the Valley. Mom was from rural Texas
A compiled picture: onlookers at the Hooligan Race during FibArk in Salida, while BD & I watch on the shore of the Snake River in Idaho
Downtown Denver
Our G Street house in Salida, the backyard. Ed & Anna did an incredible landscaping job
One of the alley buildings in Salida & a rare cloudy day
The Smeltertown smokestack in Salida. Once a smelter, then a super fund site, now a landmark
My bike at the crest of HWY 285 going south out of Saguache in the San Luis Valley
Salida’s gun shop, now gone or re-imagined
The Saguache Diner, a very diverse gathering spot, ranchers & ranch hands, & everyone else
San Luis Valley outside Saguache. I thought of implanting a relative, but the expanse is enough as is. Be sure to click om this to see the it large
Salida, but I think of those condos in the distance, now old enough to be natives, as having a New Mexico flavor
The linotype at the Crescent newspaper in Saguache, one of the few active lintotypes in the country
My great aunt & uncle superimposed on my favorite door in Saguache
Downtown Lafayette, Indiana as seen from my Main Street apartment
Self portrait taken in Rick’s Antiques, Etc. in Saguache. Lots of treasures there, including the old building
An alley in Salida
Self portrait in Saguache several years ago
My neighbor in full regalia, Saguache
My neighbor’s mixed media pieces
My sister, “the twins” & an old gate in Saguache, superimposed
One of several hiking groups, near town, Salida
My bed, Salida
On the main drag in Saguache. No longer there
I took this from across the river (Upper Arkansas River), of people watching the Hooligan Race in Salida during FibArk
This is up S Hill. I liked the flow of hilltop & rocks
My windchimes out back on E Street, Salida
The road down to the HWY 291, near the Salida hospital, Chalk Cliffs in the distance
I think this is the Greens Creek trail, near Salida
One of my favorite sots of the San Luis valley. I always wanted to live out there somewhere, but only got as far as downtown Saguache
Salida Cemetery
The other cemetery outside Saguache
Dean’s window, downtwon Saguache, Magpie Gallery
Saguache Creek, near downtown
On a walk, a crossroads outside Saguache
My grandparents superimposed on dowtown Saguache on a very cold night
Homestead outside Saguache
A friend gave this to me to photograph
Old radiators, Saguache Hotel before renovations
Bernice Strawn’s studio during Art Walk, Salida
Downtown Salida
The garge at the E Street house, Salida
G Street house bedroom. This snow reminded me of growing up in Denver
A gift placed on a headstone, Salida Cemeteryt
The Magpie Gallery window, Judy & Dean’s bead collection
Heads talking to each other, Antiques, Etc., Saguache
The Saguache Diner, late on Christmas Eve
We saw these guys on the way back from Taos, NM
My kitchen window. The sun was so great, I grabbed what was near to capture some of it
The main street in Saguache late on Christmas Eve
The Saguache Diner, Antique, Etc. next door
On a hike outside Crested Butte, CO
Mudita camels when they were near Moffat, CO. They moved to Cupalin, further south. Now: the Camel Farm
Salida Cemetery
You ca point your camera in any direction in the San Luis Vally & find an expansive sky
The bike mentoring program, Silver City, NM
Formations like this cover a hill up & outside Saguache
A bike ride during a hoar frost, Franz Lake, Salida
Path down to Franz Lake, Salida
Don, the honey man, at the Saguache arts festival
During sunflower season, Saguache
Salida seen from the tower at the top of S Hill
FibArk contestants, the Hooligan Race, Salida
I stayed here when I visited saguache, the Big Valley Motel
Outside Saguache
Outside Saguache
Wall art, Antiques, Etc., Saguache
Contestant during FibArk, Salida
Downtown Saguache
Poncha Springs trailer park
Jamie feeding water to some of the kids in the bike mentoring program, Silver City, NM
Along the Upper Arkansas River, Salida
Saguache Hotel before renovations started
House outside Saguache
Along the Upper Arkansas River, Salida
The usual Saturday ride through town, Silver City New Mexco. Jamie’s commuity mentoring group
My bike out at the Chicago Cemetery, Saguache
Saguache. Residents hung on to their vacant houses, waiting for their children to return.
S Hill, Salida
Bike ride during a hoar frost, Salida
The path down to Franz Lake, Salida
Franz Lake
Salida has such great cloud formations
The approaching Uber was taking me to the Indianapolis airport. It was sad, but I was happy to be going back to Colorado
The view out my window in Bloomington, Indiana
A bar in Olympia, WA
A saturated pine cone on the Puget Sound in Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
A cornfield near Lafayette, Indiana
I liked this display in Rick’s Antiques, Etc. in Saguache
Me, on a picture-taking stroll through Salida alleys. I was trying to stabiilize the camera by putting it on my head
The Range gallery on the main street in saguache
BD connecting with the Snake River in Idaho, visiting my sister at the sky park
Left over cafe equipment in the Saguache Hotel before renovations started
The Saguache Hotel before renovations started
One of the donkeys I met on a bike ride out of Saguache
The hallway in the Saguache Hotel before renovations
On a bike ride, during Sunflower season, outside Saguache
BD at the homestead outside Saguache