400′-600′ View from a Copter!
Our new home from a different angle!
Loveland, Co is 4,984 feet above sea level. I was able to see the Front Range from a few hundred feet higher this morning. Over the past six months, I’ve driven or hiked by all of the places many times, but the extra 500 feet gives a unique perspective to it all.
Colorado State University is in Ft. Collins, a few miles north of Loveland. In the copter, we were there in no time—flying over houses, roads, and the busy pace of the world below.
Old Town Ft. Collins can be seen in this shot. Check back for a post showing some of the architectural details in the historic buildings there.
The Budweiser plant is just off I-25 in Wellington, CO. The highway and front of the building is on the opposite side of the large building.
The Budweiser Clydesdales’ barns are just to the north side of the factory. A.J. told me he sees them in the pastures on some days.
Horsetooth Reservoir rests above Ft. Collins on the west side of the valley. It’s a popular summer destination for residents and visitors hoping to get wet, paddle board, and water ski. Several dams hold the water behind the ridges.
Horsetooth Mountain rises in the west, just above the lake. Several trails take hikers to the ridge for a wide view of the high plains to the east and mountains to the west.
Horsetooth. We had a few recent snow storms, followed by cold days to keep the snow around. I think it added a lot to my shots today.
Looking west, you see the Rockies! Long’s Peak is in Rocky Mountain National National Park. From the vatage point of the helicopter, I could also see Pike’s Peak many miles to the south.
Since moving to Colorado, I have had to use an app called Peak Finder to help me identify all of the new mountains. I use it all the time now!
Seen from the east, Horsetooth Mountain is actually a ridge. Seen from the north or south, it looks more like a nipple.
There are several red rock ridges running north and south between Ft. Collins and Loveland and the base of the Rockies. Within the ridges, county roads wind, twist, and turn through them. Larimer County, in conjunction with Loveland and Ft. Collins, has preserved countless acres of land for outdoor recreationists. This one is Bobcat Ridge, roughly 10 miles from my home.
Masonville Road snakes its way through the area, connecting Highway 34 with the Poudre River to the north. The area is mostly rural, with a few subdivisions mixed in here and there.
The Devil’s Backbone is one of the red rock ridges of the area. The east side has numerous trails that continue on for miles.
The west side of the Backbone didn’t get the open space protection, and is now sparsely developed along the full length.
The Keyhole is a popular stopping point along the trails on the east side.
The general public is not allowed on the west side of the Backbone. Subdivision residents have access to it, however. The copter slid down both sides of the entire ridge with no problems.
This is not a view I would ever see! , There were several herds southwest of Loveland. I didn’t see large antlers on any of the elk, so either they were in other zones, or have already lost their antlers. Now that I know about where they are, I can go there in my car.
Loveland Lake is nestled in the middle of the City of Loveland. I drive by it almost every day on my way to Lowe’s, Home Depot, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and many of the chain businesses.
I’ve photographed this barn on numerous occasions. It is interesting to see it from the high angle! From the air, I saw numerous other barns that I will return to in my car. After criss-crossing the region so many times over the past six months, I knew about were we were during the bulk of the trip.
In other posts, I’ve mentioned how flat it is to the east. It would take several tanks of gas to get to the next mountains. On the positive side, there arent’t any mountains to delay the morning sunrise. You can see the benefits of the golden light on this page: Birds of Sunrise
Shooting Information: I used a Sony A1 mirrorless camera body and a Tamron 35-150mm lens today. I set the shutter speed to 1/3200th second, and the aperture to F/5.6. (depth of field is not an issue at these distances). I set the camera to Auto ISO and then adjusted the EV values to fine tune exposures as needed.
Special thanks to A.J. MacDonald for catering to my special requests to see wildlife, barns, and some of the geological features of the region! MacDonald Heli Tours