Long and not so winding road

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Leaving Denver, taking pics of the other side of the road.

The clouds play with light and shadow on the mountains,

sometimes making a grass covered mountain side shine like green velvet

The green of the trees, the blues of the mountains, the light and shadow of the clouds, almost looks unreal

One of the more interesting sites is the plane on the ground, on or near the Air Force Academy.

I couldn't find anything quickly on Google, so if anybody would like to contribute to my knowledge base, please comment.

This was 'way too good to pass up.

I now have a reason to go back to Colorado. Garden Of The Gods is now on my "Must See" list

I told myself I wouldn't take so many pictures on the way home, as the road was the same road, the grass the same grass.
Except this grass looks like velvet.

And this just takes my breath away

In Colorado, the green trees along a river stand out much more against the yellows of the prairie grasses

A siding of box cars. They were there on our way to Denver.
They were there on our way back. Just sittin' there, waiting for someone to need them.

Lovely old building in Trinidad, Colorado. I couldn't get a good shot of anything else, as there were signs, trees, trucks, the usual interference. There also weren't any convenient parking spots to pull over and snap pics. Ah well.

Construction on every road, everywhere we went. I stopped avoiding it, because I would miss taking shots like this. Do click on it and see the larger shot.

The road ahead, winding or straight, calls us on.

As the day got later, it became more difficult to take pictures into the west. Even with the sundogs, the clouds, mountains and green green grass delight the eye.

And I finally got some antelope!

As night falls, the rolling hills turn to dark green velvet slopes.

Clouds still lit by the sun over shadowed hills

And a sunset Hollywood couldn't have done better

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On the road again

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Another day, another road. Heading out of Santa Fe, we encountered more Pueblification, seen at the beginning of yesterday's report. Even the nice houses looked tacky after all that "adobe."

As we headed north thru the Rockies, we drove under blue, blue skies with cumulous and cumulonimbus clouds along the mountain tops.

        

The bones of the mountains showed thru, in some cases red.

In some cases beige.

In some cases, both.
  

As we came down onto the high plains, odd bits of rock stuck up like thumbs thru the soil

Thumb of rock, clothed in green velvet

High plains in New Mexico stretched away into the distance, edged with mountains at first, then just flowing away to the horizon.

The road ahead beckons, empty, clean. This is a different form of road hypnotism. Become lost in this road and you may never return. Each mile of road leads to the next, the far horizon is your only destination.

As the road tops a hill, grazing herds of cattle, horses, and antelope can be seen. Yes, antelope. They came in to and out of view so quickly, I could not photograph them.

The clouds and the sun cause shadows to dance across the land, changing the shape of the land and the color of the grass in passing.

It may be easier to transport wood to the prairies, but there are still reminders that wood is a precious commodity. These power poles are not much higher than the fence posts.

The colors of the grass change from golds and greens, to shades of green, and back again, as the road flows over the prairie.

The borders between states seem to be quite dramatic markers. Between Arizona and New Mexico, the spectacular cliffs. The northern border of New Mexico with Colorado has some marvelous mountains.

Above the mountains, the cumulous clouds gather, shading and sometimes raining on the ground below. Always a delight.

The Colorado side shows some mine tailings there on the left. And shows Mother Nature starting her cover of green in the pockets of soil.

The prairie on the Colorado side seems drier. The land is covered in golden grass as far as the eye can see.

Cumulonimbus gather on the mountains, rain and lightning dance in the distance.

In a very few of the low places, a carved wash will appear, attesting to the occasional ferocity of thunderstorms in the mountains.

And then you get the odd cloud formation. ET anyone?

As in New Mexico, the odd thumb of rock still appears.

The clouds and sun dance again, changing to brown the golden hue of the grass.

The house on the hill commands the heights, and is master of all it surveys. The view must be marvelous.

Finally, we make it to Denver. Just in time for rush hour traffic. Which works out well, as I got a partial shot of Invesco/Mile High Stadium. Go Broncos!!

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