Streets of Gold

Moving from dry desert lands and explorers uncovering towering canyons, to a landscape rich in resources, where 1870’s miners sought their fortune in harsh territory. The rivers run yellow from the spoils of gold, iron, copper and silver drilling and fossicking. The area labelled ‘Little Switzerland’, although surrounded by the beautiful San Juan mountain passes and lush valleys, is a far cry for the early miners from the streets of bank lined Zurich. Dubbed the  Million Dollar Highway, due to the ore in the roadbed, the…

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Canyons with Conviction

We’ve about used up all the synonyms for ‘beautiful’ travelling this countryside. Adjectives such as spectacular, dramatic, striking, eye-catching, breathtaking, glorious and of course ace, cool, awesome and grouse don’t seem to do justice to the ever unfolding layers of natural wonder. Dramatic juxtapositions of rugged and serene, gentle and ferocious, grandious and unpretentious; prompt the questions, “Can anything top this?”, “How do you rank beauty?”, “How do you begin to describe beauty?” To wax lyrical, or borrow from those much wiser, there are volumes of…

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Grand Monuments and Golden Arches

  Hugging the Colorado river from Boulder towards Grand Junction, it is clear this country has never done anything by half. The Colorado River has etched, poked, forced, ravaged its way through forest and desert. Creating scapes of idyllic streams, raging canyons, desolate deserts, and towering plateaus. A mighty force, unrestrained and relentless. Stretching beyond time. An unyielding creator of the past, present and future. In this semidesert land of pinyon pines, Utah junipers, Mormon’s tea, desert sage and the frustratingly all evasive Big Horn Sheep;…

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Wanderlust Wonderings

(A small detour from normal entries as we explore wider horizons). Landing in Denver, it was obvious this vacation was going to be huge. So huge. Better than you can imagine huge. The best vacation ever. Just huge. Actually, it was clearly going to rock, totally rock. Boulder Colorado, Rocky Mountains, Peak to Peak (rocks), Colorado Monument (more rock), The Arches National park; even more rock. Totally rocking in the first few days. Rolling into Boulder, a university town bustling with parents and students moving all…

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