On the Road to Bierstadt 2022

There are 58 Mountains in the State of Colorado that rise above 14000 feet. Two are simple drives from Denver; Mt Blue Sky (formerly Mt Evans) and Mt Bierstadt. Mt Bierstadt is an imposing mountain at the summit of a pass where mule trains ferried goods used by miners during the silver and gold rush of the 1800's. Today, this path is a this scenic byway posted as Guanella Pass Rd. Along the evergreen mountainsides one encounters waterfalls, grassy meadows, and on a fortunate day, small herds of mountain goats. Bierstadt is a rounded peak covered in tundra and blanketing granite etched in ice.

When I drove this road in the 1990s, I was often alone in my thoughts. Today it is improved with pavement and campsites. Crossing the Pass from Georgetown to Highway 285, the road has become one of the most popular drives on the Front Range. As a boy, I was introduced to this road by my father's annual drive to admire the quaking aspens whose gold and red leaves break the forests of pine. In the past thirty years, since returning to Colorado, it has become my annual drive. Painting Bierstadt and its companion "Sawtooth" on the saddle between Mt Blue Sky (Evans) and Bierstadt has been a rewarding pleasure. If you make the drive, take in the little alcoves of streams and aspen along the road as it drops into Ward-Bailey CO. In 2021, I did two water color paintings of the stream that begins from the springs at the summit.

Last year I set up to paint a plein-air water color of Geneva Creek at a trailhead on the drive to the small town of Ward on the southwestern side of the pass.

What started as a cool mid-day sketch ended in a snow storm, but a wonderful day all the same. I named the sketch The Berry Bush.

On the opposite side of the road is a spring fed creek that creates a lovely waterfall. I took a couple of snaps and did a second watercolor in my home office. I just call it the Waterfall.

Over the years I have tried to paint this shocking sight on the road to Bierstadt. I love to chronicle the dramatic view; including this more impressionistic presentation of the sawtooth.

I sold my favorite painting of Bierstadt to a young car salesman about ten years ago, He was so thrilled to have it, and this is what satisfies an artist. I always wanted to try to recapture it. That is why I painted the oil on linen appearing at the opening of this post. I call the painting on "the road to Bierstadt." Now 68 years of age, I know this may be my final attempt, but then again maybe not. I am entranced with this old mule train road. I hope you have had a wonderful Autumn and are having a satisfying Holiday season, 2023!

David Austin Morton