This post is for Miles and his bright and entertaining blog mates.
Normally I focus on nourishing food, but sometimes there’s nothing more nourishing than fresh air and the great outdoors. In his journal entry dated January 7, 1857 Henry David Thoreau wrote, “I thus dispose of the superfluous and see things as they are, grand and beautiful.”
Enough said. Enjoy a big, virtual gulp of Colorado’s crisp mountain air!
* These photos were all taken by me with my inexpensive little Canon camera (copyright applies, no lifting my photos, please).
Go forth and explore.
Melissa
Wow Melissa, those pics are STUNNING!!! You’re really making me yearn for the outdoors right now. Truly, you’re blessed to live in such a beautiful State 🙂
Ah….cool weather…how beautiful!
Xenny, yes I am blessed — truly blessed. Colorado is a beautiful state and I’m 3 generations into it. I was born here and although I’ve lived in other places off and on, this is my home. I love it!
AOF — Gosh, I feel bad posting pictures of snow and crisp air when you are sweltering down under. Stay cool!
Melissa,
This is truly stunning scenery. I agree with Xenny, it makes you want to get out there. Switzerland is the nearest to this I have experienced. I picture you like Heidi in the Alps with the mountain goats (in Switzerland it is happy cows, of course :)).
Thank you for sharing some of your photos. I would love to see some of your spring flowers when we get there.
Elsie
Elsie,
As I went through my photos to put this together, I realized I have well over 7,000 pictures in my iPhoto program, most of them of my wilderness wandering. I also realized most of them have snow as a main feature. I do like winter! Part 2 will come in a day or so.
I’ve also spent time in Switzerland. Where were you? We have very close family friends in Wengen.
Heidi? More like Heidi’s mom.
🙂
Melissa,
Regardless of camera, these are spectacular shots. It’s snowing here on and off at the moment but our part of the world is very flat so wilderness fits the description! The poor old Uk always closes down at the first sign of a snow flake and yet on the other hand there’s always road accidents with people speeding along…. let’s face it we’re no good at winter and not much better at summer 🙂
Looking forward to more photographs.
Cid
I wish I was there! It looks fantastic.
Michelle
Cid,
Half (probably more than half) the people around here own 4-wheel drive vehicles, which gives them the impression they can go faster on snow and ice. That may be true, but you don’t stop any faster with 4-wheel drive.
🙂
Michelle,
Yes, it is. You’ll have to come and visit!
Breathtaking, Melissa. Thank you for sharing those. I love the goats at the end!!
Great rice post too! Super informative.
Melissa,
We stayed at Interlaken, not too far from Wengen which is a lovely and very popular alpine village. The little railway in Wengen took us up to Kleine Scheidegg at the foot of the Eiger and we had a lovely walk back to Wengen. We toured Switzerland a number of times.
Miles has also worked there.
I spent some time in the Black Forrest and could never decide whether I liked it best in Summer or Winter. Both seasons have their charm and your area must be wonderful in Spring too.
Elsie
Liz,
I’m going to do a “part 2” post with another one of my favorite goat photos. I’ve run into them on several occasions while out exploring the high country.
🙂
Elsie,
Interlaken is wonderful, as is Wengen. I love that part of the world. The photo above of the climbing sign was taken in Ouray, Colorado which is known as America’s Little Switzerland.
You sure have done a lot of traveling! Very nice — no wonder you have such diverse “tastes.”
AWESOME! Can’t wait for more!!!
Melissa,
You have made me reach for my atlas to try and get a real feel of your wonderful area.
I have only had a taste of travel, considering our wonderful world. Regretably, I have not had the opportunity to visit your country with all the wonders that nature has to offer.
BTW – Heidi’s mother was little once and that part never grows old in us :).
Elsie
Gorgeous, Melissa! The closest I have come to scenery like this is Glacier and Banff. Just stunning. Colorado is on our “to visit” list. A good friend of my husband’s from high school lives in Avon. She’s a huge outdoor enthusiast like you (she actually tracks how many days she gets to ski and notes it in her holiday letter!). She’s always inviting us, but we haven’t made it yet. So many places, so little time. 😉 Anyway, thanks for sharing these pics … I’m looking forward to part 2!
Oh, BTW, I am borrowing an inexpensive Canon right now (as I learn) to take all my blog photos. I think it’s been great. Any problems are due to my deficiencies!
Shirley
Kelly,
Thanks! Awesome indeed, especially when you’re in the midst of it — up close and personal.
Elsie,
These photos highlight the Rocky Mountains, which run from northern Canada down through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and into New Mexico. Colorado got a good chunk of the Rockies with 55 peaks over 14,000 feet and something like 640 over 13,000 feet. That’s a lot of high mountains! I’ve been on top of the peaks in the first 3 photos and many in the distance in the other photos. We definitely are blessed with lots of fun places to explore.
And you’re SO right, it’s important to hold onto that childlike wonder!
Shirley,
Thanks for your comments. Glacier and Banff are part of this wonderful chain of mountains, so you’ve seen some beautiful country for sure! I know what you mean about too many places, too little time!
Melissa,
Thankyou so much, they are wonderful photographs, you have fine taste in Canon cameras 🙂
Sorry I haven’t visited sooner but I’ve barely any time for my own posts at the moment. This post shows the US in the way I like to think of it, you’ve blown my post to you out of the water.
Kind regards
Miles
Miles,
It’s about darn time you came to visit. This was in your honor, you know (well, you and all your colorful mates). Although after looking at what you’ve been dealing with as far as weather and remodeling goes, I don’t blame you! I can’t imagine you have much time for anything, let alone cruising around visiting blogs.
🙂
Melissa
Humble apologies Melissa, we’ve had no electricity either! It’s really snowing heavily this morning-I could do with your dog!!
No worries, Miles. I was just teasing you. It sounds like you are over-the-top busy and to deal with nasty weather and no electricity in addition sounds horrible. Good luck with your kitchen remodel.
Fairbanks is a good (and very big) guy, but a bit too pampered to be a true sled dog. He’d probably pull you around for a few minutes and then expect a treat in return. He’s not exactly a “working” dog.
🙂