Altitude is Attitude

I'm now a mile high or so and, being a lowlander, I feel every inch of it.  This morning I went to Boulder to kill some time before heading west, and I went to Chatauqua Park to get some photos of the Flatirons.  After a short hike up the trail, about 1/4 mile, I was puffing hard.

Later, I went to Mt. Evans and climbed to the summit at 14,264 feet, and I thought I was going to die!  OK, I actually drove up the mountain, but I climbed the last 300-400 yards up about 130 feet in elevation and the air is really thin there.  At the summit area I saw a couple of raggedy bighorn sheep and a group of mountain goats.  Apparently these animals are used to getting fed, because they walked right up to my  car with an expectant look on their faces, and then went away in disgust when all they got was a photo.

Leaving Mt. Evans, I drove I-70 across Colorado to Grand Junction.  That stretch of road has to have some of the most spectacular scenery in the country.  Today was the first time I've seen Glenwood Canyon coming from the east, and you can really see how impressive it is.

Once in Grand Junction I made a quick reconnaissance of Colorado National Monument before dark.  I plan to go there before heading to Moab tomorrow.

Boulder Flatirons

Looking east towards Denver from Mt, Evans summit

Raggedy Bighorn

Mountain Goats

Glenwood Canyon and Colorado River

Fruita Canyon

Across the Plains

I crossed the plains today, from St. Louis to the feet of the Rockies.  Kansas is a long-ass state!  As I was driving across the plains today I thought about the emigrants in the mid 1800s making the 2000 mile trek to California and Oregon essentially on foot. 

Those plains are so open and empty...what must it have felt like to be walking across them.  For those settlers heading west, just making 20 miles was considered a very good day.  It took them the better part of 2 months to get from the Missouri River to the Rockies, a trip I made today in about 9 hours.

Today, you can see windmill farms across parts of the prairie.

As I entered Colorado, I could see a storm in the distance with sunlight shining down through the clouds and rain making triangular patterns.  Unfortunately, the storms prevented me from seeing the Rockies until I was almost to Denver.

Kansas Prairie

Sun and Rain

Windmills

Tomorrow I'm heading to Grand Junction, but I haven't decided whether its via Rocky Mountain NP or Mt. Evans.

The Road Warrior

I'm heading back to Colorado and Utah.  Not much to report today, drove 850 miles in ~12.5 hours to St. Charles, MO.  I did notice some severely distressed looking corn in southern Illinois and part of Indiana, from the drought I  suppose.  Looks like burgers are going to cost more in the near future.

Tomorrow I'm driving another 800+ miles to Boulder, CO.  I will be sleeping in the shadow of the Rockies tomorrow night.  YAY!!!

Might have a photo or two in tomorrow's post.