Rocky Mountain High - Colorado

Words cannot describe the beauty of the state of Colorado. We were in awe and amazement because around each corner and at the end of each mile there was something more beautiful than what we had already seen. This is truly God's country - such majesty and mightiness we have never seen.

Alamosa was our first stop where we visited The Great Sand Dunes National Park. Now how many of you knew that there were sand dunes in the middle of Colorado? Even when looking at them it was hard to comprehend.

The dunes were a challenge as we attempted to hike to the top of the highest (750 ft). With the sand being soft, we had to zig-zag and trailblaze as best we could. Difficulty was inhanced due to elevations in excess of 7800 ft. Pretty breath taking in more ways than one. We were able to walk and crawl about 2/3 of the way up on a 90 degree day. The stream at the bottom was a relief to put your feet in at the end of the climb.

While in Alamosa we were fortunate to see another rodeo - the Little Britches Rodeo. This was a kids rodeo - from ages 5-18. What was unique was watching 'future cowboys (and girls)' at age five and six riding full size horses and yet galloping at full speed. The pictures below show one little girl dismounting, grabbing a ribbon off the goat's tail and running across the finish line. (Getting off the horse at that height was a major feat). They all had complete control of their horse. They were amazing kids. It was a fun evening!







From Alamosa we relocated to Durango but enroute we had to venture through Wolf Creek Pass
as was described in C W McCall's 1975 trucker album "Convoy". His description of 37 miles of hell is pretty accurate. Even with exhaust brakes, we probably ate up about 20,000 miles worth of brakes. Was a good 'one time' experience. Barb was snapping pictures the whole way because the scenery was breathtaking in spite of the hills and curves. At the top of Wolf Creek you are at about 11,000 ft and you have to get down once you go over the top!

While in Durango we took the Durango to Silverton train up the mountain. For 3 1/2 hours we paralleled the gorges of the Animas River. Another Colorado wow!!!!

I guess I overdid the pictures from the train but there were no words for the beauty and as you can see each mile brought another wonderful picture. We ended up in Silverton, an old mining town in the mountains. We had lunch and strolled around the town and felt like we were back in the 1800's.

While in Durango we visited Mesa Verde National Park where the largest cliff dwelling is located. We took a tour and it was extremely interesting. These people were very primitive but in studying their buildings, they appear to have been very intelligent. It is amazing what we still do not know about their culture.

From here we travel to Utah where there are so many more national parks and adventures.

See you next time! Take care!