If I Were Going...: 2026

Winterscapes

My initial calendar blog was long. Very much longer than I expected it to be. This month's should be much shorter.

Let's talk about our January pages. As is pretty obvious, I try to match the calendar theme to the season. So, January is generally cold or icy or snowy. Or all three.

Maybe, some year, I should switch that up and give you tropical shores to gaze at when it is chilly out and giant icebergs to look at when it is sweltering.

Something like this shot of Dubrovnik, Croatia, for January instead of July; Photo: Becca Stevens

But, I just can't bring myself to do that. January and December are always winter-themed. And, yes, I know many of our calendar recipients live in warm climates where chilly winter is seldom even a thing.

I hope you enjoyed my snow on a steamy New Year's Day; This is Vatnajökull* in Iceland

Oddly, I often struggle for enough wintery shots, even though I live in Colorado. We're just not too keen on driving in ice and snow, so we tend to hunker down rather than going out to get the shot. Gotta work on that.

But, this year, winter themes were a slam dunk. With trips to Alaska, Iceland and Greenland, we had lots to choose from, especially ice. So, you'll see it on multiple pages. For that reason, this blog won't have quite as many photos we didn't use. They just got moved to another month for consideration!

This shot of Bear Islands, Greenland, was in three "buckets" for possible use

By the way, unless I say otherwise, the pictures I am posting here were not used in the calendar.

The January pages are a great example of how two very different places can share characteristics. All the cover photos come from either Colorado or Greenland.

Basically, home and away; Photos: Scott Stevens

January features an old faithful: Garden of the Gods after a snowstorm. You have seen it in past calendars and you'll probably see it in future ones. Not because I get out to get the shot. Nope, these are all Scott's, as they usually are.

Located just 11 miles from our house, Garden of the Gods is a 1,341-acre public park and National Natural Landmark. The Park is famous for its red rock formations, including the Kissing Camels, which almost appear in January and are on the October page.

The formation is featured on the calendar page, but the angle
makes it hard to see the camels; Photo: Scott Stevens

They are a bit easier to see here; Photo: Scott Stevens

Garden of the Gods' rocks are ancient sedimentary beds of deep-red, pink and white sandstones, conglomerates and limestone that were deposited horizontally, but have now been tilted vertically and faulted into "fins."

The pressure that moved these formations are the same powers that created the Rocky Mountains. Once uplifted, the rocks were sculpted by erosion and glaciation. Popular for hiking, technical rock climbing, road and mountain biking and horseback riding, Garden of the Gods attracts more than two million visitors a year, making it our city's most visited park. There are 21 miles of trails, including the 1.5-mile Perkins Central Garden Trail, which is paved and wheelchair-accessible.

The pretty fences along the trails look good in snow, too; Photo: Scott Stevens

In 1879, Charles Elliott Perkins, a friend of Colorado Springs founder William Jackson Palmer, purchased 480 acres of land that included a portion of what is now the Park. After he died, his family gave the land to the City of Colorado Springs in 1909, with the provision that it would be a free public park. Best deal anywhere.

Main Page

The left side of the main page features Garden of the Gods' spikiest formations, which can be seen from a curve on the main road after you leave the north parking lot. This view is my favorite in the park.

And, in the snow, unbelievable! Photo: Scott Stevens

The Garden of the Gods photo on the left side of the main page contrasts sharp peaks with tilted rounded pancake rocks surrounded by snowy bushes.

Same kind of rocks; different look; Photo: Scott Stevens

The other three photos come from our trip to Greenland. The left side follows the "sharp" theme. The upper left photo, taken from a Zodiac as we cruised the Bear Islands is of one of the sharpest peaks I have ever seen.

As you can see, snow can't even hang on

The photo below that one was taken from our ship as we cruised the Denmark Strait along Greenland's eastern coast. I am not sure exactly where this is because the entire coast features mountain after mountain and glacier after glacier.

It is the quintessential "rugged coastline"

As seen from the ship

The Greenland shot on the right sight mirrors the gentler feel of its companion Garden of the Gods photo. It was taken farther north at Maria Island, which sits at the confluence of Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord and Kong Oscar Fjord. As you can see, while still rugged, the mountains are less daunting.

And the early morning reflection in the lake is downright peaceful; Photo: Scott Stevens

Calendar Page

The calendar page features additional photos from both Garden of the Gods and Greenland.

The featured Garden of the Gods photos include the shot of almost Kissing Camels I posted above plus ...

Another perspective of the spiky formations: Photo: Scott Stevens

And a close-up of red rocks covered with snow; Photo: Scott Stevens

Scott had a number of other pretty Garden of the Gods photos that we didn't use ...

Another angle on the shot we did use; Photo: Scott Stevens

Snowy vistas; Photos: Scott Stevens

This one looks really cold; Photo: Scott Stevens

Snow, snow, snow (of which we have had very little this winter); Photo: Scott Stevens

The Greenland shots, all taken on days graced with glorious blue skies, feature two shots taken in Alpefjord, another place with impressively steep mountains ...

Both shots feature some of the few traces of civilization we saw on this trip;
this one has a commercial jet

This one has a "vintage" plane

The next shot is back at Bear Islands, which had not only steep mountains, as seen in the calendar shot ...

This place is unbelievably gorgeous

But, also Muskoxen and huge icebergs ...

These will come up again in February, November and December

And, finally, there are two shots taken near Warming island, where the beauty is enhanced by the blue, blue ocean.

One of Greenland's more than 700 glaciers; Photo: Scott Stevens

Ocean, sky, mountains, glacier; It doesn't get better than that; Photo: Scott Stevens

As I said, many shots we considered for January went into other buckets in other months, but here are some additional Greenland shots that didn't make it in.