Colorado: Rocky Mountain National Park and Garden of the Gods
Updated: Sep 2
Capital: Denver
Largest City: Denver
Population: 5.7 million
Admitted: 1876
Colorado is a western state. It is notable for the Rocky Mountains. The Rocky Mountains stretch from New Mexico to Canada. Colorado has the highest peaks in the rockies with the highest being Mount Ebert at 14,440 feet. To enjoy the rockies, you can go to Rocky Mountain National Park. Colorado has a lot of popular cities including Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder.
Visiting Colorado
In August of 2021, we visited Colorado on a western trip. Our first stop was at a restaurant bar to eat testicles -- three types -- lamb, bull and buffalo. They tasted much better than I thought they would.
Our next stop was at Rocky Mountain National Park. A popular lake, Bear Lake, in the park required timed reservations. Bear Lake is the stop for a popular hiking trail to three lakes that are further away. We chose the 5-7 a.m. reservation option as the 8 -10 a.m. reservation was unavailable at the time of booking. We awoke early and before sunrise for a hike around Bear Lake. While watching the sun rise, we also saw a few elk enjoying their breakfast. Once leaving the lake, it was around 8 a.m. and the parking lot was already full.
Rocky Mountain National Park is notable for having the highest visitor center of all the national parks in the United States. It stands at 11,796 feet. As we drove along Park Ridge Road to the visitor center, it was amazing to drive at that altitude, especially once the tree line ends around 10,000 feet.
Once finished with our Rocky Mountain National Park visit, we went to Red Rock Disney...er, I mean...Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Photos of Garden of the Gods make it look amazing, but after visiting other states with red rocks, I found it underwhelming. It was extremely busy, and one of the rocks had children climbing all over it.
Final Thoughts
Colorado was a state I yearned to visit for a number of years. The Rocky Mountains are glorious. I would like to revisit Colorado one day especially the bigger cities and see what else the state has to offer.
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