Colorado

Tomorrow when we wake up, we are leaving Colorado. I have to admit, I'm a little heartbroken. What a place! From the moment we entered it, coming from the north in Wyoming, and stopping first in Steamboat Springs, to now, after our second day at Mesa Verde National Park, it has been nothing short of spectacular. I always think that California has it all over every place else in terms of scenery, but boy, Colorado is something. From the ski towns, like Steamboat Springs, Aspen, and Telluride, to the gorgeous red rock scenery and hot springs of areas like Glenwood Springs, to the silver mining towns like Durango, Silverton, Ouray, to the fabulous National Parks Rocky Mountain and Mesa Verde, it has been a stunning two weeks. The scenery! The foliage! The mountains! The towns with the architecture and personality of the Old West! It has been truly amazing. Each of these towns has been a place I would happily return to and stay longer. Each drive has been one I would repeat.

Among the things I will remember best are the lovely red rocks of Glenwood Canyon, where we had terrific bike rides on parts of two trails: one which goes along the Colorado River, and one which goes between Glenwood Springs and Aspen;

Along the bike path in Glenwood Canyon. This is the Colorado River 

the spectacular foliage, which lacks the wider color spectrum of the New England autumn, but which makes up for it with spectacular mountains;

Aspen trees in all their glory

The Maroon Bells in Aspen

The sky in Colorado has been a stunning blue

a gondola ride in Telluride which takes you to the top of the mountain, and the sight of the town below;

Looking down at Telluride

Telluride

the incredible and beautiful ride on the old narrow gauge railway between Silverton and Durango, which hugs the side of the mountain in apparent denial of physics, and which goes over the narrowest of spaces between rock canyon and river; and the beautiful cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. What
variety!



The narrow gauge railroad ride was pretty delightful. The train goes VERY slow, so it gives you plenty of opportunity to see the scenery. It also climbs or descends in each direction about 3,000 feet between Durango and Silverton, and it is a bit of a rickety ride. But it's a steam engine locomotive, and you can hear it say "I think I can I think I can " as it moves, and it goes "whoo whoo" and blows off steam. It's all really just a blast. And you get fabulous scenery as well.

Hanging out the window to take a picture of the train

I was thinking a lot about the men who laid these tracks in Rocky ground, next to sheer rock walls and along the River

Sometimes the train is pretty near the edge. Lots of times (not here) it is also very far above the ground. Sometimes there is a rock wall on one side and a cliff on the other! I didn't hang out the window to take a picture during those times!

I was just in love with how old fashioned it is

Whoo whoo, blowing off steam, making a rainbow

Mesa Verde is incredible as well, and representing history of a whole different sort.

One of the cliff dwellings

Another one, with the late day sun on the rocks

The cliff dwellings there are just astonishing to see, and we learned a lot of interesting stuff about the ancestral pueblo people. First off, when we were here with our kids in 1995, these ancestral people were referred to as Anasazi. But that is a Navajo word, and the Navajo people aren't descended from these cliff dwellers. So their descendants, about 20 different tribes, didn't want that word used. Of course they have about 20 different languages.  So now they are referred to as "ancestral pueblo people." (But wait, isn't "pueblo" a Spanish word?)  Anyway, we learned about their way of life, and  what the bones and pottery and baskets they left behind have told scientists about them. And even though all that was so interesting, the coolest part was that to go  up to the cliff dwellings with a ranger, you have to climb up really high ladders (pretty scary), go through tight tunnels, and hike up and down at  the 7000 foot altitude,  which is hard on the lungs! Gives a person a sense of incredible respect for how these people lived. Just awesome.

Sometimes you just have to walk from rung to rung and not think about it

This is what the Mesa top looks like

Can you see the cliff dwelling just under the Mesa top?

(Apologies to the man in front of me. I couldn't resist. If I just say it was a tight squeeze, you wouldn't really get it. And people were waiting behind me, so I couldn't stand there until he was all the way through.)

Tomorrow it is on to Utah, for about a month of National Park overload. What a spectacle that will be, with one park after another. But Colorado, we hardly knew ye. Thanks for the jaw-dropping pleasure.