Rocky Mountain High

COLORADO IS AMAZING! I guess I never realized it was such a desert. There are little tiny tree's fighting for space in between all the giant rocks.

So I got up this morning and the temperature had dropped down in the mid 50's (I think left about 7:30 mountain time). The smoke from the fires didn't look quite as bad as they did last night. But but was taking a tole on my asthma. I don't think I used my inhaler more all year. By midday the smoke was more like a haze or like you just got out of a chlorine pool. The sun was pretty on the hotel though. Here is a shot - 

Off I went in the cold. I made a couple stop trying to find some gloves because it was freezing (60 is my threshold temperature without complaint by the way). And finally came across a cheap pair at the 7-11 that I ended up wearing for about 20 minutes. One - they were cheap; Two - as soon as the sun came up the temperature shot up a good 15 degrees. I threw them away somewhere on the route today. They had some other mechanical problems if you think I should of kept them for another morning. 

First stop - Garden of the Gods. This place is only like 5 minutes from downtown Colorado Springs and worth a good 30 minute drive if needed. It's also where all the rich people live. They do a good job of letting you know with all the "Houses 1,000,000 and up" signs. But here are some shots I was able to snag.

Next stop Royal Gorge - This was nice enough but I didn't want to spend the money, nor the time to walk across it when I could see it from the "pay here" box. It also looked like this place may had been hopping at one time. There were a ton of entertainment places coming up the hill that are now boarded up. Who knows?

There was a lot of road work going on across 50 and down 550. People were actually getting out of there cars they were so bored waiting. Caught this shot waiting. It really was a nice day!

Check out the terrain and awesome curves of highway 50

I stopped in a little town call Gunnerson along 50 for lunch. Actually I don't even know if it was lunch time I just saw the pizza sign. But was also thinking the name of this town sounded really familiar. So the glass they used for my drink actually said Crested Butte!! I use to ski here as a kid. No wonder it sounded familiar. Not to mention the pizza was amazing! 

A couple more shots of a lake I drove past. I'm pretty sure it was dammed somewhere, but I couldn't get close enough to see for sure.

A couple hours later I'm headed south on 550 to the Million Dollar Highway. To start with the little town at the beginning of the highway is really cute. I stopped there for a drink and met some really nice people. After that it was turn after turn after turn. At one point you are about 13000 feet in the air with no guard rail. Up here the temperature was exactly 30 degrees cooler than it was 30 minutes ago down in the valley. They actually called the area Switzerland America and for good reason. The peaks are sharp and the towns are tucked away in the valleys. Words can't do justice the next couple hours I spent on this highway. Here's a couple shots I got along the way.

That's all I have for today. Nothing as exciting as people trying to run me over, but the funnest day thus far!

Oh! One other note for those who might be wondering. I didn't see one cannabis shop the entire trip through Colorado. I saw one sign that had the green cross on it, but I don't think it was one of those shops. From what I could tell online you have to be in Denver for those shops.

OFF TO UTAH!