tell me--what is colorado like? (Denver, Durango: appointed, living, beach)

[junedubois@aol.com]

colorado is probably the only place i've always wanted to go, but never have. unlike people who want to visit everywhere in the world, especially americans going to europe, i'm quite content with the places i have already been...except... i've always wanted to go to colorado. i love places rich with nature, and i envision it that way. just this past may, i drove myself over 3500 miles just to "get away" from the concrete jungle of the city (i live in san diego), and i found just being in the redwoods, along the rogue, crater lake and so on was healing and invigorating to me, in so many ways.

i love the beach (like i said, i live in san diego), and the forest more than anything else in the world. is colorado as wonderful as i imagine? i know there are places that are plains, but the mountains must be forested. tell me--what is colorado like?

[brightdoglover]

"i love the beach (like i said, i live in san diego), and the forest more than anything else in the world. is colorado as wonderful as i imagine? i know there are places that are plains, but the mountains must be forested. tell me--what is colorado like?"

I have spent a lot of time in southwest Colorado, in the San Juan mountain range (which is sort of a dog leg off the Rockies, I think). It's the most magnificent place I've ever seen. Crystal air, snow on the high peaks, NO HUMIDITY, and of course trees, but only up to the tree line. The big mountains have no trees above, say, 9,000 feet. In southwest Colorado, say, in the town of Ouray and thereabouts, you can see 12 14,000-foot peaks- unheard of anywhere else in the U.S.
I used to vacation and ride horses there every summer. There was a geologist who also vacationed there every year. He said that the Ouray area was "the second most beautiful mountain range in the world," and he'd been to them all. Of course I asked what the first was, and he said it was Nepal.
OK, so I went to Nepal. Saw Everest and all the other peaks. My final take was, it's a whole lot easier to get to Colorado, and the food is much better. I don't remember much of the Nepal trip, due to the extreme altitude, but it's very deforested, unlike Colorado
I've also driven across the state many times, from the southwest to Denver (and back). There is a road from Ouray to Durango called "The Million Dollar Highway), which is about a 3-hour, very slow drive (due to switchbacks and unguarded dropoffs). If there is a more beautiful drive, I've never heard of it. It's like driving through a version of Heaven.
This is a long answer because, after years of not vacationing, I'm going to Utah and southwest Colorado in August, and can't wait. It's a place that everyone should see. Good luck!

[Fuzz]

Maybe these pictures will give you some idea of what Colorado (excluding the Eastern Plains) is like:

Mills Lake, Rocky Mountain NP:


Trail to Herman Lake:


A summer day on the Continental Divide:


Maroon Bells in fall:

[Nadine]

I have found that many people are disappointed when they first enter Colorado. Somehow they have Co. pictured as all mts. as in the beautiful pictures posted here. We are not. There is a great deal of prarie or some call it desert. We are semi-arrid. The Rockies definitely are here and beautiful. Very rugged as they are "NEW" mts. Not rounded soft mts and in Ozarks etc. Vegetation is not jungle type as in humid climates. I have not traveled as much as many and never into the east or much into the midwest. I can tell you this. A friend from Iowa came to visit and ride (horseback) with me on some trails in the San De Cristo range. We never made it because she was so frightened just pulling the trailer to the area to ride. It was a no nothing back road into the NF with a creek about a 100 ft below is all. This is what she said. "I thought, I knew what mts were, because I have been in mts in MO. and in the east. But they are nothing like the Rockie Mts." When they left here they traveled the Arkansas canyon and over Monarch Pass. Her husband said she traveled with her head under the dashboard the whole time and that was scary for him to drive .They have vowed never to return.The height scared them so bad. So we are not for everyone, I guess.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by Nadine

I have found that many people are disappointed when they first enter Colorado. Somehow they have Co. pictured as all mts. as in the beautiful pictures posted here. We are not. There is a great deal of prarie or some call it desert. We are semi-arrid.

You are absolutely right! I know so many people that get disappointed when they first arrive in CO-- especially people who fly into Denver for the first time at DIA. I know this guy from north Texas that told me Denver was one of the flatest and brownest cities he's ever seen! Granted, he only stopped through DIA as a layover, he didn't really get out, but that was his impressions.

I agree, the mountains are the mountains, but most people need a job and cannot afford to live in some mountain paradise, even if that's their dream. They "settle" for Denver and the Front Range, so they can at least be close by, but in the meantime, what they get is a totally different environment than what they moved to Colorado for.

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by Nadine

Her husband said she traveled with her head under the dashboard the whole time and that was scary for him to drive .They have vowed never to return.The height scared them so bad. So we are not for everyone, I guess.

That's funny. "You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Nadine again." Rules are for fools, aren't they?

When we were training biomeds in late July one year, I took this guy from Alabama for a ride up Mt. Evans to show him a bit of Colorado during his very short visit. I drove my 67' Chevy C-10, 4-speed Manual, and just went right up the whole thing in 2nd gear. For me, I was going pretty slow. He said, "You don't have to go any closer to the edge there, buddy!" The switchbacks are so steep that I had to tell him, "Look out the Starboard there and tell me if someone's comin." We got up there and it was snowing. It was 95 F in Denver that day! That's incredible. I asked him if he wanted a beer at the top and he, um, declined.

[Nadine]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

That's funny. "You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Nadine again." Rules are for fools, aren't they?

When we were training biomeds in late July one year, I took this guy from Alabama for a ride up Mt. Evans to show him a bit of Colorado during his very short visit. I drove my 67' Chevy C-10, 4-speed Manual, and just went right up the whole thing in 2nd gear. For me, I was going pretty slow. He said, "You don't have to go any closer to the edge there, buddy!" The switchbacks are so steep that I had to tell him, "Look out the Starboard there and tell me if someone's comin." We got up there and it was snowing. It was 95 F in Denver that day! That's incredible. I asked him if he wanted a beer at the top and he, um, declined.

What? Don't getcha. I know you are teasing but I guess I am dense. Yes that is exactly what V said when I was driving. She even accused me of trying to get closer when all I was doing was dodging some big rocks. There was plenty of width. Sure glad I didn't choose Shelf Road. She would have died instead of getting out and walking, which she did coming back. Poor gal, I didn't even unload the horses. She just wanted OUT.

[McGowdog]

You don't get me? When I try to put in a rep point and it's not within CD rules, I get this screen which says "you can't do that", so I just cut and paste the thing because I'm honery that way.

It's kind of a catch-22 for me. I want to praise this state that I live in because I've been elsewhere and I know. But at the same time, I don't wan't anybody else to discover it. I want it all for myself.

[DannyBanany]

I am from South Dakota and we often vacation to Denver or along the Front Range to get away for the weekend. The first time I entered Colorado I was 15 and I was also disappointed.

I always pictured Denver IN the mountains.... it is actually on the plains with the mountain backdrop to the west. I am from Rapid City and we actually have way more hills and vegetation (pines) than Denver does... however, a 20 minute drive west of Denver and you are in the lush mountains and you will be surrounded by beauty!

Don't let first impressions get the best of you!

[Nadine]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

You don't get me? When I try to put in a rep point and it's not within CD rules, I get this screen which says "you can't do that", so I just cut and paste the thing because I'm honery that way.

It's kind of a catch-22 for me. I want to praise this state that I live in because I've been elsewhere and I know. But at the same time, I don't wan't anybody else to discover it. I want it all for myself.

I did not realize, I sounded like I was running Colorado down. Not at all, I am a native and can not picture myself ever living anywhere else. When I do travel away from my mts, I find myself taking a deep breath when I can see them again. I can't tell directions without them. I just realized with V that we are not what some people picture. In her case she did not realize what the rockies where like and she is afraid of heights. I knew that so I had picked an easy trail, I thought. She also will not fly. Also one time we happen to be in Lamar. It was a hot dry summer day and this couple had just come across the state line from western KS. The women got out and said 'Welcome to cool colorful Colorado! HA!" I guess she thought a sign on the road made things change from western KS to CO. I was under the impression that MO was always fairly warm. I found out their winters can be terrrible. Worse than ours because of humidity. Ice storms etc. We seldom have those. Temp does not tell everything does it?