North of Penitente Canyon

I decided to visit someplace that I've never been before today.  Many people have talked about Penitente Canyon and Peg Immel even had talked about going there to paint sometime, but I was never sure that I had actually been to Penitente Canyon.  I know that sounds stupid but there are so many rock outcroppings around La Garita that I thought that maybe I had driven through it and just not known it.  So today I was going to find the answer to the question- "Have I really ever been to Penitente Canyon?"


Well I hadn't- I took off from Del Norte and took the road from Del Norte to La Garita, which is something I don't do-( I usually go to La Garita from highway 285) and  there was a sign for Penitente Canyon and so I took off down the road.  Just to make sure that I didn't pass it by, I stopped at every forest road that had a canyon marker just to make sure that I didn't miss it.  I had almost reached the small La Garita church which I could see in the distance and do love so well and lo and behold -- there it was- a large sign for Penitente Canyon!  I drove in and there were people everywhere. Here all this time when I was painting the La Garita church I felt like I was in this isolated little area and not two miles away is this major pilgrimage to Penitente and I didn't even have a clue.

It was cool- little rocks sticking up everywhee and beautiful green bushes but- IT WAS CROWDED! So, I knew some spots that look just like it on the La Garita Road and went there.  This area is north of Penitente and there is a trail that takes off between the rocks and probably in all likelihood, ends up at Penitente Canyon. This was tough to paint - not too many shadows...