The Colorado Rockies

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Day 29:  Colorado is a state with it's head in the clouds; 54 of its mountain peaks top out at over14,000 feet (4,268 meters). In fact, the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains--Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet--lies in the Southern Rockies, in Colorado. I don't know which peaks I took pictures of, but it was tempting to snap one after another--they were all so beautiful.

Of course, it didn't take long for us to run into our old friend RAIN. Poor Greg drove through so many storms on this trip that I think he began to wonder if it was really summer.

The rain didn't last long, as you can see from this picture showing the same peaks ahead, but we managed to find another storm before getting all the way through the mountains.

  

At least we didn't have to deal with snow on the road. Just look at the height of that roadside marker in the foreground. The snowdrifts must get pretty high around here!

The sky lightened in between storms and we were treated to lovely views of freshly washed conifer forests with snow-melt (or rain overflow) waterfalls cascading down the steep hillsides.

Vail, Colorado is a famous ski

resort town.

Houses on the hill. Wonder how much these cost?                                                   These mysterious circles intrigued me.

Anyone have any idea what they are? If so, 

please leave a comment and enlighten us!

Talk about blending in with the environment.  Can you see the house on the top of this hill?

We had crossed the Continental Divide--the geological line that divides waters that flow to the Pacific from those that flow to the Atlantic--some miles back, but there had been ups and downs since. Apparently, we were in for a lot of downs for a while!

It was fascinating to see the changes in the color and composition of the rocks as we descended out of the highest mountains.

 

This was near a town called Gypsum. There is an old gypsum mine nearby. Perhaps the white rock is an indication of mineral deposits?

After coming out of the second storm, we passed this cloud-capped hill.

 

 Then we followed the Colorado River down out of the mountains. As with everywhere we traveled this summer, the river was full to near overflow levels

Eventually, we found blue skies, which stayed with us all the rest of the way home!

The Colorado flowing past a wonderful jagged hill.

Join us next week for a stop in Moab, Utah, and a trip through Arches National Park.