Colorado

Before embarking on our trip people told us we're crazy driving such a big distance especially with a baby and a dog. We agree it can be challenging at times, especially towards the end of the day when all 4 of us are tired. Today we faced a challenge we did not expect, we were over- whelmed by the dramatic and extremely diverse landscape of Colorado. We started our day at Estes Park, a town on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, and made our way south west out of Colorado and into Moab, Utah. As we left the snowy mountains of the park, the temperature got higher, and the views changed to green pastures with horses and cows scattered in large ranches. The dramatic, snow- capped mountains were still visible in the distance. Soon we neared Denver, a big metropolis that looked ugly on this beautiful land. We zoomed by it, entering a magical land of ski resorts. The mountains were heavy with pine trees; snow covered their tops and melted into rolling streams and many small waterfalls. We met some buffalos in a valley where a nature preserve was set aside for them. Suddenly the scenery changed again. The dense, deep green, pine forests were replaced by smaller and sparser shrubs. The mountains now revealed their geological qualities - vertical layers of brown, grey and black stone, large red rocks in impossible angles. The road winded through canyons, formed by the mighty Colorado River. The Colorado River appeared wide and brown in some places and narrower and blue in others. As we continued to travel west the canyons became wider and lined by red cliffs. The highlight of that region was the "Colorado National Monument" – a national park that is composed of those amazing red cliffs. There is a road on the rim of the cliffs. Exhausted but still not ready to stop for the day, we decided to drive to our next stop – Moab in Utah. Now, there was no trace of the snow we saw in the morning. A large desert surrounded us with the exception of the Colorado River, which still flowed near the highway. As we neared Moab, we were pleasantly surprised to see to our south - mountains topped with… Yes, you guessed it, snow! So here we are, past midnight, sitting in our hotel room and literally amazed by all this diverse natural beauty we passed by today…