Thursday, November 20, 2008

Dragon Mountain Temple, Crestone CO

Getting ready for a hike in the Mountains.  Notice the multi-layer fashion of the day. Nights dropped down to 5 degrees. Days were sunny and perfect for hiking at the base of the nearby mountains.
This is the interior of Dragon Mountain Temple.  The Temple has passive solar as it's heat source.  The interior light is from windows during the day and candles and oil lanterns at night. Got to sit a one day retreat this visit which included oryoki style meals.  
This is a bear track I came across on my walk on the Southern trail into Crestone Mountain.  My last trip here in Summer 06 I actually saw a black bear ambling just 30 feet away from me.He/she looked back at me and casually walked away.  It was very cool!
Here is the view back down into the valley from the Willow and South Crestone Creek trail.  The altitude at Crestone is approximately 8,000 feet above sea level.
Here is the glamour shot of the mountain.  It is actually part of the Sandre de Cristo ("Blood of Christ") mountain range that in the correct light at sunrise turns a deep red.  
Sunset at the temple looking west.
The main gate into the complex.  The temple has 4 hermit cabins and additional rooms within the main building that can also accommodate another 12 people.  The abbot is interested in providing personal retreat space for zen practioners who are able to be independent and largely self-sufficient while on retreat.  The daily temple schedule includes morning and evening sitting periods.  And the Abbot leads 6-8 sesshins (intensive meditation retreats) per year.

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