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Category Archive for: 'at the lodge…'

A remote, exclusive Colorado lodging destination that’s not hard to get to and affordable?  The Last Frontier Lodge fits the description. As we put it, we’re on the edge of nowhere.

Sitting on the deck, it’s easy to forget we’re less than a mile from town. Close by, too, are Paonia and Hotchkiss. The people in this valley are up to many interesting things, from art to wine making.

In the other direction, it’s ten miles on county road to the less traveled North Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The West Elk Wilderness is even closer.

Our single night rate is affordable. If you can stay longer, we’ll tailor your rate to help make it possible. We have guests that become part-time valley residents, enjoying the peace and quiet for a week or even a month.

No, we can’t keep up with Colorado’s famous ski towns for traffic. Then again, if you’re looking for a place that’s remote and exclusive….

We’re doing our best to stay that way.

An often heard question, “How far is it to the National Park?

How about a visual answer? Follow the link to what appear to be three slides taken from the same spot. The middle one, though, is just an enlargement of the first. LFL is circled in yellow, above the two wooden fence posts.

To see all the way down to the lake requires being about three hundred yards outside the park. That’s almost six miles from here. It’s another four miles to the ranger station and canyon itself.

I can always count on the Forest Service to know the scenic vistas in areas I visit. Here, their choice is the view out the window as I write.

You can view it here.  Better yet, if you can break away for a few days, come and enjoy it for yourself, 970-921-5150 or email guestmaster@lastfrontierlodge.com

Jeff Burch has been busy documenting some of the lesser known views in Western Colorado and neighboring Utah.  Some are as beautiful as any I’ve seen, even as they don’t cry “Colorado fourteeners.”  A fan of the work of photographers like Tim Fitzharris, David Muench and Ansel Adams – other photographers who’ve worked the landscape in these parts – I’m not easily impressed.

When I met Jeff, I had no idea who he was – but having done some photography and encountered cranky people, I didn’t want to subject him to such treatment.  Thus he hung out with us for three or four hours, picking the ideal spot and waiting for the moment when the light made the landscape pop.

We’ve all spent many hours trying to get pictures which do our view justice.  Jeff, though, has spent a great deal more time selecting the appropriate equipment and developing the necessary skills.  Rendering truly panoramic vistas isn’t easy.

Still, there’s always more to the beauty.  While “our” poster – the one taken from the lodge – captures the central drama, Mendicant Ridge alone is a spectacular view.  Photographs struggle to convey the power of the uplifts involved in creating the pretty pictures.  Not only are the tops of the mountains beautiful; the sheer magnitude of the scene can be more moving.

Jeff has three posters (shown below) providing different perspectives on the West Eks.  You’ll find more information by clicking on any of them to reach his poster page.

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