#195 Nautical

"My anchor holds."

One of the marinas on the Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Utah.

#79 Dusk

I saw this in my rear view mirror and slammed on the brakes. With all that gold from the setting sun, well, what else could I do besides capture it for my own? Kinda reminds me of Forrest Gump, too, don'tcha think?

Highway 40 between Craig and Dinosaur, Colorado.

#360 Wild

Rocky Mountain Sheep - my other favorite American wild animal. This is my second time to see these wonderful animals in the wild - the first time so close! - an right on the road somewhere between Red Canyon, Utah and Wyoming. They are a little blurred because I was so excited and they were running away. My enthusiasm was a bit startling to them, I guess! (Do you remember the Disney nature movie where the two bucks were butting heads and bouncing off each other. I loved that scene. So cool, even after all these years. It must have been a 1950-something movie.) Click to enlarge.

#343 Unforgettable

Even with a bit of saturation, the colors are still not as vivid as in person. The view from the Red Canyon Visitor's Center on the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area took my breath away. Even after all the colorful Colorado mountain vistas, this was unforgettable.

The canyon is 1,700 feet deep. The Green River reservoir fills about 250 of it. The red tone in the foreground fills the canyon walls although they look blue/purple in the photo.

I had expected the Flaming Gorge to be similar to Lake Mead and Lake Powell. How wrong I was! I'm sure it's hot on some days but this overcast, sprinkle-y day in August was gorgeous AND there is a lot more vegetation than at the Arizona reservoirs. Where is my houseboat when I need it! We followed the highway north to the beginning of the reservoir which is much flatter and located in Wyoming. Headed home!

#341 Under Water

Dinosaur National Monument is tucked into the northwest corner of Colorado and flows over into Utah. This area (like most of the Western U.S.) used to be under water a bazillion years ago. You'll have to google to learn exactly how many years it was. Anything over a couple thousand years and my eyes glaze over. Anyway, these stratified color layers have been lifted up so the paleontologists can explore and share their findings with us. We took a tour with a very knowledgable ranger who showed us some actual dinosaur fossils still in the rock.

#233 Reaching Up

The seventeen spires of Air Force Academy Chapel, Colorado Springs, Colorado reach up to the sky which is close since the Academy is above 6,500 feet altitude.

 Interior of the Protestant Chapel. You can almost see the tall aluminum cross in front of the window.

The building also houses Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, and Muslim chapels. Magnificent. I could have spent a lot more time soaking up the art, beauty, and quietness of these worship spaces.

Google for a virtual tour - worth your time!

#271 Slowly

After one hour, twenty minutes of slowly ascending Pikes Peak on the cog railway we are above tree line and almost to the top of the mountain. This view looks down to another train on a siding. It was well worth the ticket price! We could have driven the road which is now almost all paved (at $1 million per mile) but I enjoyed the relaxing ride and humorous and informative tour guide. We also had friendly seat mates from Italy. Another beautiful day in Colorado!