The Many Faces of Mount Sopris

We had never heard of Mount Sopris, but we soon found out that this was the iconic mountain of our new home town of Carbondale, Colorado. In a part of Colorado that doesn't have many mountains, Mount Sopris is a single mountain that still has a commanding presence. We had a great view of her from our motor home windshield at Gateway RV park, so we decided to take pictures of our changing view while we were staying there.

One day, she was hiding behind the clouds and we could only see a bit of her bulky outline.

We got rain several times during our stay, and she looked almost sinister with that gray sky and raindrops on our windshield.

But after the rain comes the rainbow, and this evening we could barely see Mount Sopris through a double rainbow.

Those two short bows began to stretch across the sky, and Mount Sopris was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbows.

As the sun was setting, the sky turned to pink with a pink rainbow right over our new favorite mountain.

It was interesting taking pictures every day to see the changing moods of our mountain. At 12,966 feet tall, she has twin peaks that are the very same height. It gives perspective to know that the peaks on top of that mountain are a mile-long hike apart. That's a massive mountain we've been watching through our windshield!

But what makes her special among Colorado's many special peaks, is her prominence. She rises 6,400 feet above the valley around her. One of the locals told us that made her the most prominent mountain in Colorado.

Sopris Mountain is part of the Elk Mountain Range, and has been protected by the designated wilderness around her.

One day we decided to try to get closer to our new favorite mountain, so we went for a drive into that wilderness. We found ourselves on dirt roads framed in aspen, with no views of Mount Sopris.

But occasionally we would get a glimpse. It seemed that the closer we got, the less impressive our mountain looked.

The road got steeper and narrower until we got to Dinkle Lake. We had envisioned an afternoon kayak under the watchful eye of Mount Sopris. But she was nowhere to be found, even though we were the closest we had ever been to this mountain. It's funny to us how mountains can change shapes and even disappear from different perspectives! It's from here that serious hikers start their summit of Mount Sopris. It is a two-day hike, and we're not that serious today.

Even though we couldn't see the mountain, we did see something peeking through the brush close to the lake.

The fox seemed to be curious about us, as it came out of hiding for a second before disappearing into the woods.

On our last evening at the campground, we were treated to our second rainbow show over Mount Sopris. This time we got only one bow, but it had brilliant colors.

As the approaching sunset storms turned into pink rain, our rainbow became almost florescent! God put on a great light and mountain show for our final night at Carbondale.

But we would see Mount Sopris the next morning, as we packed up the motor home to relocate to a new area. As we drove through Carbondale for the last time, Mount Sopris is visible from every street.

 As we drove along highway 133, we got a new angle on our new favorite mountain.

A biking trail runs beside the highway, and we saw many people enjoying some morning exercise in the shadow of Mountain Sopris today. If you look closely at the people in the picture below, you see that they aren't walking or jogging. They have wheeled ski contraptions strapped to their feet, and they are gliding along the path like cross-country skiers.

When we arrived five days ago, we didn't even know Mount Sopris existed. But after living in her shadow for close to a week, we feel that we would recognize the many faces of Mount Sopris anywhere. She's another of God's wonders that we are blessed to wander around.