winter whitewater

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
--Albert Schweitzer

It's a different kind of whitewater this time of year on the Arkansas River.

excellence

We should not judge people by their peak of excellence;
but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.
- Henry Ward Beecher

Above: Garden of the Gods with Pikes Peak in the distance.

This was taken from the Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center, which I highly recommend -- for the educational displays and video and for the views!

stepping stones

The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is the way you use them.

--American Proverb

 Bishop's Castle in located along Highway 165 in rural Southern Colorado, between the small villages of Wetmore and Rye.  With its narrow, winding stairways, dizzying towers and playful architecture, this castle is an absolutely thrilling experience. For a full description and more photos, click here.

lofty heights

There are four ways you can handle fear. You can go over it, under it, or around it. But if you are ever to put fear behind you, you must walk straight through it. Once you put fear behind you, leave it there.
--Donna A. Favors 

Tackle your fear of heights by riding the gondola across the Royal Gorge! This thrilling ride, 1000 feet above the Arkansas River, is included with the purchase of a ticket at the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park.  For more information click here.   For more photos of the Royal Gorge, click here.

peaceful change

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. 
--John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

Some photos from my recent hike at Red Canyon Park, north of Cañon City.  Click here for more information about this park.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
--Sarah Frances Brown

Above: Lawrence Ross snowkiting across the frozen Twin Lakes near Leadville, CO.

courage

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
--Eleanor Roosevelt

View heading west on County Road 123 to Canon City, CO.

mountain path

Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley. --Theodore Roethke

County Road 45 near Howard, CO. The burn scar from the 2016 Hayden Pass fire can be seen with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the distance.

reflections

Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it.
--Anonymous

Blue cooperated with me to stand in a puddle on the Tunnel Drive Trail outside of Cañon City.

Today

Yesterday, you said tomorrow. 

--Nike ad. 

After years of thinking and dreaming, talking and planning, and then delaying… it was time to explore other career opportunities and to take a big leap of faith and move out to Colorado. Tennessee, you've been very good to me. I moved there not knowing a soul, and it's amazing, looking back, at how it all came together. It was often stormy, especially those early years of getting settled into a career, but I met many amazing and supportive friends and had wonderful opportunities to get involved in the community along the way. So I set out to Colorado this week, not knowing what lies in store. But hopeful and optimistic, and trusting that there's something bigger going on in my life and if I hesitated or relented, somehow I'd always regret it. So here's to today, it's all we have. Let's live it fully without regret. 

Above: Rain clouds welcome me to the plains of eastern Colorado.

Canyon Rim Trail

In life, one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day--or to celebrate each special day. 
--Rasheed Ogunlaru

Visitors to the Royal Gorge Bridge could be forgiven for hurrying past the sign pointing the way to Canyon Rim Trail on their way to the spectacular main attraction -- but this trail gives visitors a chance to explore the park further and experience what may be a very different kind of terrain than they are used to.  The trail head is located on the road to the bridge across from the main picnic area. The Canyon Rim Trail is a wonderful addition to the park and worth exploring. You'll be treated to overlooks of the river and incredible views of the Wet Mountains and the Sangre de Cristos in the distance.  Coming from Appalachia, the plants and southern Colorado terrain fascinate me, it's all so different. It was HOT the day I went -- very glad to have a wide-brimmed hat, water bottle and sunscreen! There's not much in terms of elevation gain in the first section, so that part was helpful. While much of the trail is inland from the actual canyon gorge, there are many overlooks you come to along the way. No fences or guard rails ... so be careful with kids and pets. The trail ends at the East Ridge Campground.

Thanks to members of the Mile High Youth Corps who built the trail in July 2014.

Directions: From Cañon City, take US Hwy 50 West to the turnoff for the Royal Gorge (County Road 3A). Turn left and continue on 3A for ~3.5 miles until you reach a picnic area on the right side of the road, park here. The trailhead is across the road, at the fork, go left.

To see stunning views of the gorge and the bridge, take the right fork at the trailhead for the Overlook Loop Trail.

the little things

I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.
--Leo F. Buscaglia (1924-1998) American author.

Above: Aspen leaves. 

achievement

No man ever achieved worth-while success who did not, at one time or other, find himself with at least one foot hanging well over the brink of failure.
--Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) American author.

Above: Rock climber at Garden of the Gods on the North Ridge of Montezuma's Tower.

For more on rock climbing at GOTG, click here and then click on 'climbing.'

More images and info on climbing Montezuma's Tower, click here. Lots of videos of this climb on You Tube.

lofty goals

If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes. 
--Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) Industrialist and philanthropist.

Above: The view from Skyline Drive in Cañon City looking west toward Fremont Peak (7,233 ft). For hiking information, click here.

balanced rock

The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.  
--Euripides (c. 480-406 BC) Greek playwright.

Above: Balanced Rock at Garden of the Gods. The rock has long been an attraction for visitors to Colorado Springs. It wasn't part of the original gift of land (480 acres) by the Perkins family to the city in 1909. Instead, the owner charged visitors twenty-five cents to have their picture taken next to it. Eventually the 275 acre parcel containing Balanced Rock was sold to the city for $25,000 in 1932. It remains a very popular attraction.

The photo to the left, taken sometime between 1898 and 1905, is from the Library of Congress.

Click here for an interesting article about the rock.

Climb Ev'ry Mountain

Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it. 

--Andy Rooney (1919-2011) American journalist.  

Above: A view of Garden of the Gods with Pikes Peak in the distance. 

Sangre de Cristo Mountains

A large volume of adventures may be grasped within this little span of life, by him who interests his heart in everything.
--David Grayson (1870-1946) American journalist and author.

The Sangre de Cristo mountains (Spanish for 'Blood of Christ') stretch 242 miles from southern Colorado to northern New Mexico. Of the fifty three mountain peaks in Colorado with an elevation of 14,000 feet or more, ten of them are found in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. The tallest peaks found in New Mexico (all 13,000+ feet) are located in this range as well. The photo above was found west of Westcliffe, CO, while the one below was taken just north of town. Driving in the area around Westcliffe left me utterly speechless, what a gorgeous, glorious place.  [click photos to enlarge].