Realistic Art & Paintings

Wolf Creek Pass is located in Southwestern Colorado in the remote San Juan Mountains, about 30 miles from the nearest town in any direction and at least 150 miles from any real help. So it doesn't matter where else you've driven, why you were there, and what the conditions were, if you're a professional over-the-road driver then nobody, but nobody tries to cross Wolf Creek Pass in the Winter time of Colorado without first crossing your fingers, saying a prayer, or - if you're really stuck in the past - sacrificing a virgin for good luck.

I mean, it's spectacular!  You climb from about 7,000 feet to almost timberline (which in Colorado is roughly 11,000 feet) in what a flying crow would measure as about seven to ten miles.  It's Colorado's version of the Alps. As a painter of realistic art, especially western landscapes, I have a unique perspective on the place. The view of the San Juan Mountains from the top of the pass challenges poets, but on the up (or down) and if you're the driver, you really can't take a moment to enjoy the view unless you want it to be your last.

Three of a Kind 18" x 36"

  The serpentine road winds like a snake, almost straight up in some places.  On the East side there's about a mile long tunnel which is more like an awning covering the road, because it's the only way to keep the ice and snow off the road in that treacherous spot well enough to make it passable in the Winter - sort of.  If you're an art show artist hauling a lot of equipment in a van or - in my case, a truck and trailer - it's really not too bright to prove you're tougher than the weather and risk this road in the Winter.  No matter what the weather reports say, when you approach the top of Wolf Creek Pass it can be like entering what astronomers refer to in the middle of a black hole as a singularity. You are at the whim of unpredictable events.  All bets are off.

Backing a truck hooked up to a trailer is difficult enough in good conditions.  Doing it down a mountainside, in slippery roads with no power but gravity to maneuver by is most definitely not recommended.  Fortunately,  Wolf Creek Pass is a well paved, very wide road near the top and I had adequate room to pull off my stunt: I took the vehicle out of gear, started rolling back, and when I had enough momentum I swung the truck around the trailer until I was pointed back down the mountain.  When I stopped shaking, I eased off the brakes and let the mountain do the rest. 

Amazingly, I was able to coast almost to my destination.  This is one really long pass, and when the switchbacks straighten out you can unclench your teeth, let off the brakes and allow your momentum to build, at which point you still have several hundred feet of elevation to lose and keep you going damn near to Pagosa Springs.  Not quite, of course, but close enough to let my thumb and a compassionate soul take me the rest of the way in.

It took three days  for a garage to order in my part and replace it, but I have been stranded in worse places (like the top of Wolf Creek Pass), and Pagosa Springs is really a very quiet, serene little mountain town to take a break in. In fact, I recommend it.

Just don't try to get there by going over Wolf Creek Pass in the Winter.   Hard Winter 12" x 36"

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California Earthquake I
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California Earthquake II