The Great OutDOORs

My task was to take a photo of a Door, but I took liberties with the brief. 🙃 Doors aren't just about the physical entry or exit, they're about transitions—moving from one space, experience, or mindset to another. The due date for this photo landed while we were off the grid, camping at the beautiful Brainard Lake in Ward, Colorado. So instead of stressing out about finding a literal Door, I opted to create one, using the natural elements around me. The empty space between two trees served as a frame, and Ken’s legs formed a teepee over Queso, which represented a Gateway to Adventure.

“The Great OutDOORs”:

The behind the scenes (BTS) look of how I created it:

Home sweet home for a few days. A really secluded spot, set back from the other sites. One of these days I’ll include a little interior tour of our trailer, but for now here’s the outside of “Millie”, our Grand Design 22MLE.

The call of this particular campground originated several years ago when I was heavy into wildlife photography. Which I still love of course, but I find I’m spending more time with my dog photography endeavors these days. But, we still love this campground and what it has to offer. I get up early each morning to see if I can spend some time with the local moose population. (I haven't had a chance to process the images from my camera, so all of these were taken with my cell phone.) This is what the area looks like just after sunrise. 😍

A little later, we took Queso for a refreshing dip. #luckydog

And then a walk around the lake to dry off and test out possible photo locations. 😉

Why is it that I always end up looking like Cousin It?? 🤣 #lottahair

And, I feel it's only fair that MY hair gets into Queso's mouth, since his fur is in just about everything I consume, LOL.

On the way back to our site, I asked Queso to pose on this rock. He went on his first camping trip when he was just a wee little nine week old puppy, so I recreate his portrait every time we camp here. (We missed 2023 due to a cross country RV trip.)

Instead of making lunch at our campground, we drove to the nearby town of Nederland, hoping to grab a bite and a drink. We landed at Busey Brews based on Yelp reviews.

Queso made a new friend in True, and we took her pawrents’ recommendations on food and ended up with yummy Bourbon Bacon glazed wings with a side of Nashville Hot and the Brisket Royale – both were amazing!

We took an evening walk and came across a mama and baby moose in the parking lot. We were on a path to intersect them, but they have the right of way, so we backed off and used a truck in the Day Use parking lot as a protective barrier.

When I don’t see moose in the morning, I head to lake for the pretty view.

Then back to the site for coffee. Mug on the left made by my friend Anna, and it's tradition for me to take a photo of it in each campsite we visit.

After we fueled up, we hiked up to Lake Isabelle, where once again, Queso got to take a swim.

Ken and Queso waiting patiently for me to finish taking wildflower photos, LOL.

Almost there!

Lake Isabelle.

Queso swimming in Lake Isabelle.

After the hike, we were relaxing in our camp chairs here:

Queso suddenly sat up at attention and gave a single gentle “woof”. I turned around to see what critter had caught his eye, and saw that a mama and baby moose had snuck up on us – they were 15 feet away on our tent pad!! 😲 Even though she came to us, I REALLY didn’t want to get into it with a moose, so I quickly gathered Queso’s line and we high-tailed it into Millie, dropping my phone in the process. After Q was secured, I went back out to get it, and to take a short video of the pair. They had already moved on a little bit, and apologies for the quick zoom around our campsite, but I want to show the scene.

The next morning, we swam Queso some more, packed up camp, and started the uneventful drive home. Fun long weekend!

(If I remember, I'll try to come back to update this post with moose photos once I have them processed. 🫎🙃)

Ginger Wick Photography is an award winning dog photographer specializing in creating beautiful custom artwork of dogs & their people. Based in Parker, CO serving the Denver area.