Colorado Rockies.

Camera Club competition getting a little flat? Colors fading, scenes lacking impact? Here is the perfect antidote. Join our July PSA Travel Adventure to photograph the Colorado Rockies. Here is majestic mountain scenery, glorious wildflowers, elk and deer, lakes, peaks and high alpine meadows at a beautiful time of year. Warning: If this summer is your first visit to Colorado's Rockies, it won't be your last. You'll be back for autumn color and the 1994 PSA International in Colorado Springs.

With PSA Travel Adventures, every detail has been arranged with you-the PSA photographer-in mind. Guides Don Lyon and Nick Nicholson drive the two large vans and make sure that you get the pictures you want and have a great time doing it. Sign up now. The group is limited to 16.

Join Nick and Don on this photographic travel adventure into an Alpine wonderland. Summer weather is balmy and beautiful. You'll travel with a few like-minded photographer friends in stop-anytime, go-anywhere 15 seat vans --limited to eight each. Your driver guides are professional photographers, ready to show you their secret places and help you bring home wonderful memories and spectacular images.

Don Lyon apprenticed with Thru the Lens Tours and has operated and led PSA Tours and Close-Up Expeditions since 1979. His two-projector AV programs on Turkey and Indonesia will be screened at the 1993 PSA International Conference. Nick Nicholson is a freelance travel and location photographer. His sense of humor, attention to detail and abundant enthusiasm, make him the perfect co-leader for a lively group of PSA members.

We meet in Grand Junction, where Don and Nick meet your midday flight in this little town out on the arid edge of Western Colorado. Early arrivals can explore the sculpted buttes and canyons of Colorado National Monument. We'll all have dinner together tonight and get acquainted. Accommodations are at the Best Western Horizon Inn for one night

On Day two, we head for Ouray. What a change as we drive Southeast towards the first of many Rocky Mountain ranges. Boomtown "You-ray" is our base for exploring up into glacier-carved Yankee Boy Basin's wildflower meadows and ghost towns. The alpenglow on the San Miguel Mountains from Last Dollar Road is, alone, worth the trip. A definite Michelin three star attraction. Aspen groves, fields of Mule's Ears Daisies, and Owl's Clover with split-log fences have been scouted out-and you can't get away from incomparable mountain backdrops. We stay three nights surrounded by frontier fun in Ouray, at the Best Western Twin Peaks Lodge.

Crested Butte comes into the viewfinder. Deep in the Rockies is a land of lush meadows and perfect mountain lakes. Horses prance among the lupines. Weathered barns and cabins reveal the rich textures of a 100 hard winters. Former mining camp, now ski boom town, Crested Butte offers cozy European-style inns with interesting cafes and restaurants. Most important, though, are the vast meadows of wildflowers with gorgeous backdrops such as Ruby Peak, Crested Butte, and Maroon Bells. We'll picnic at heavenly Emerald Lake midst fields of columbine and lupine. Rosie and Martin Catmur are our hosts for three nights at their pleasant Cristiana Guesthouse, close to village activities.

On to Aspen-well known for skiing and music festivals-and our base for exploring the picture perfect northern side of the Maroon Bells. Early morning light is most dramatic here. There is time for the easy hike to Crater Lake, too, surrounded by peaks more than 14,000 feet high. Sprightly columbine bouquets challenge you to find the perfect angle. We usually have the opportunity to photograph colorful paragliders as they land in a beautiful meadow.

The town of Aspen has a friendly holiday atmosphere with pedestrian lanes, street entertainers and outdoor dining. Our accommodations are quiet and comfortable with pool and jacuzzi. We'll be glad to have three nights at the Christiana of Aspen.

Now it really starts getting good. We drive to Estes Park, gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. Here are grazing elk, marmots and pikas, unusual Alpine plants and beautiful "top of the world" landscapes. Early and late light adds a very special quality. Nick and I are eager to share Fall River Valley, Nymph and Dream Lakes and other special scenes that will add to your Rocky Mountain High. We'll have a dinner together in this beautiful country and talk about the beauty we have seen. Our comfortable Trapper's Motor Inn is in a quiet forested area where mule deer and elk are easily photographed. We stay four nights before driving back down to Denver for our final night.

Who Should Go? This PSA Travel Adventure is planned for active seniors and younger photographers. You will find wonderful photographic opportunities within a few feet of our go-any-where, stop-anytime vans, however there are numerous opportunities for optional easy hikes. Aficionados of early and late light will not be disappointed. As elevations are usually 8,000-10,000 feet, all participants should be in good physical condition, prepared to fully participate in outdoor photography.