Heaven's Gate Ranch

This was shot from back porch of the ranch of one of my fraternity brother's ranch house. Aptly named Heaven's Gate Ranch above Ouray,Colorado and surrounded by protected land that cannot be developed.

The San Juan Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northern New Mexico, and is the largest mountain range in Colorado by area. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry of early Colorado. Major towns, all old mining camps, include Creede, Lake City, Silverton, Ouray, and Telluride. Large scale mining has ended in the region, although independent prospectors still work claims throughout the range. The last large scale mines were the Sunnyside Mine near Silverton, which operated until late in the 20th century and the Idarado Mine on Red Mountain Pass that closed down in the 1970s. Famous old San Juan mines include the Camp Bird and Smuggler Union mines, both located between Telluride and Ouray.