Colorado Trip

We recently went to Colorado for a conference. It's a beautiful part of the country. I'm amazing at every bend in the road how picturesque the landscape is. I saw less wildlife than when I was there two years ago. Maybe because we were at a lower altitude? Who knows.

After driving to the Denver Zoo and reading the sign which said they were closing at 2pm for a fundraising event, we drove to the Botanical Gardens. We could not find a parking spot anywhere. So plan C was in effect. We headed on down to road to see "The Wildlife Sanctuary." A home to over 220 carnivorous animals that have either been confiscated by the USDA or surrendered by owners. You have to wonder what goes through someone's head when they take a tiger or bear into their home as a pet.

The sanctuary was on 320 acres. All the animals are kept initially in a smaller enclosed area as they adjust to their new surroundings and routines. We walked over these animals - about 20' above them on a shaky deck, so as not to disturb them or get too close to them. That itself was a little unsettling for me; hovering 20' above 32 very large tigers. I wished I had binoculars to see the animals that were far off in their more natural habitats - the bears, lions and wolves.

We saw Red Rocks again. What a beautiful place to see a concert. They were gearing up for one that evening. But we had time to explore and be in awe before they chased us away for the concert goers.

We saw Garden of the Gods. I loved how the name perfectly described the huge rock formations. Impressive red rocks jutting out the earth in strange shapes. Shapes that only God would have thought of to create. I think this photo looks like an ad for Chevy though.

We drove up to Pike's Peak. It is 14,110ft. up. The air was thinner up there and I felt a little drunk at times. We did not take the cog rail up but rather drove. It was a little unsettling at times as we slowly wound our way around the mountains. Very few guardrails and some dirt roads made us wonder how the pioneers felt as they traveled up this mountain on burros.

In this photo is the park ranger, checking the descending car's brakes so be sure they are not overheating. If the brakes were over 300F, then they were asked to pull over and enjoy the gift shop for 30 minutes or so, as their brakes cooled. We kept the jeep in low and our brakes were only 120F.