Across Colorado

Denver sits at the base of the Rockies. Literally, the ground is flat, and then it rises up,



and up,


and up,




and up!







This is a picture of Georgetown, Colorado. The population is 1100, I would like to make it 1104!







And on our way across the Rockies, we saw an actual in-the-wild-beaver dam!







When I would tell people we were going to Colorado National Monument, several people would raise an eyebrow and ask, "Why?" Well, this is the why:
























It is desert-like on the west side of the Rockies. And the air is oh so dry! It is a challenge to keep hydrated. How do these people do it? They must have fits when they come east! But, hot is still hot. The boys took the temperature in the shade as part of a junior ranger activity. Shady temp = 80, Sunny temp = 110. That is hot, dry heat or not!





We saw our first wild growing cacti.....








and this cool tree is a Pinyon Pine.








Can I just apologize for the over-exposure on the pic.'s? It was a beautifuly sunny day, a bit too sunny. Oh well, I'll learn to adjust the camera settings.


Anyway, this formation is called Independence Monument. And if we look real close.....






at the top are two climbers. Can you click on the pictures to make them full screen? You can see them better that way. Seriously, the only way these two got there are being dropped off from a helicopter or climbing!


Lastly, here are Dempsey and Palmer exploring the new world in front of them. They had lots of fun looking at the little lizards, and playing in the dirt(such different dirt here!).





Tomorrow it's off to Arches in Utah!!!