Jennifer Merin Colorado is America’s rooftop, the place you go to get a natural Rocky Mountain high on crisp, fresh air and clean, outdoor fun.
The state’s average altitude is 6,800 feet, and it’s home to 32 of the nation’s highest mountains. Mt Elbert, at 14,431 feet, is Colorado’s highest.
But, Pike’s Peak is really the scenic standout. Its extraordinary vistas inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write “America The Beautiful,” when she reached the mountain’s 14,110 summit. That was a century ago, and she completed the arduous journey to the mountain top in a prairie wagon.
Now, you may choose to take an even more challenging route to the mountain top by trekking up Barr Trail, a hikers’ delight that definitely delivers bragging rights along with unparalleled enjoyment of its succession of splendid views. But, be prepared for a very strenuous hike. Bring sufficient provisions, including gear, sustenance and water.
Or, you can summit to see the nation’s “purple mountain majesties,” as they were described by Katherine Lee Bates, as effortlessly as you’d like, either by simply driving the distance on the Pike’s Peak Highway or chugging up the mountain aboard the wonderful and historic Manitou & Pike’s Peak Railway, the world’s highest cog railway. Still, be prepared for a trip that will leave you breathless -- because of it’s beauty and the altitude.
The Manitou & Pike’s Peak Railway is one of Colorado’s eight scenic railroads that traverse the state’s spectacular scenery. Most were built either before or around the turn of the last century, and they were intended to serve what were then remote mountain mines and mining communities. Many are narrow-gauge or cog rails. Both the train technologies and the isolated communities they connected are important parts of American history.
All of the state’s scenic railroads are musts for Colorado Rocky Mountain high vacations.
Rail experiences range from that on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to the Georgetown Loop. The Durango to Silverton run takes nine outs for the round trip -- including a two and a quarter hour layover in Silverton for rest, refreshment and shopping -- through breathtaking mountain terrain that skirts deep gorges.
The Georgetown Loop, is six-mile journey aboard a narrow gauge steam train, can be boarded at either Georgetown or Silver Plume. The route passes the Devil’s Gate High bridge, where the tracks actually loop over themselves to gain elevation, and includes a tour through Lebanon Mine.
Colorado’s ski resorts, featuring perfect powder snow during the winter months, offer perfect hiking, biking, mountain climbing, hot air ballooning, white water rafting and other outdoor mountain sports during warmer months.
Aspen, quaint and Victorian in style and ambience, has a thriving arts colony and attracts many show biz and literary types throughout the year.
Thoroughly modern Vail is thoroughly popular with jet-setter skiers, vacationing politicians, conferring business moguls and leading sports figures who enjoy the town’s high end schmoozing, dining and shopping.
Telluride is an historic mining town with a Wild West past (Butch Cassidy pulled his first bank robbery in Telluride in 1880!) and free-wheeling present. Because it’s relatively remote -- there’s only one road into town -- and the people who live there like it that way, Telluride maintains its small town ambience, although during the annual Telluride Film Festival, it becomes the world’s crossroads for cinema cognoscenti and celebrities. Which means, too, that there are plenty of high style and high price eateries and shops to enjoy throughout the year.
Steamboat Springs is a ranching town transformed into a tourist haven, but Western style still prevails. You’ll see cowboys and city clickers sharing the slopes for skiing and other sport, and everyone converges for nightlife at the town’s crossroads. Steamboat Springs also has, as its name indicates, hot springs that attract travelers from around the world.
Or you can stop in for a soothing soak at hot springs in the charming town of Ouray, or at Strawberry Park (near Steamboat Springs), Trimble Hot Springs (near Durango), Indian Springs (near Idaho Springs) or dozens of other such wonderful places.
Or, you can drink a variety of mineral waters from natural springs at Manitou Springs, which is near Colorado Springs, in the shadow of scenic Pike’s Peak.
If you’re drawn to natural wonders, don’t miss the incredible natural red rock formations at the Garden of the Gods, an ancient Indian worshiping place.
At Mesa Verde National Park, in the state’s northwestern corner, there are more than 4,000 cliff dwellings where the Anasazi Indians made their homes seven centuries ago. Additional Anasazi artifacts and those from other Indian cultures can be studied at museums and archeological institutes in Cortez, an historic town near Mesa Verde.
During Colorado’s Wild West era, riches accrued from ranching and mining created family dynasties that held sway over towns such as Black Hawk, Cripple Creek, Leadville and Durango. The legacy of rich families is evident in an abundance of beautiful Victorian mansions, many of which now serve as bed and breakfast establishments or inns which accommodate tourists.
Some of the mining towns maintain tradition by allowing tourists to pan for gold in nearby streams -- and keep whatever they manage to extract from the waters.
And, Durango even has a cowboy gathering each fall, where contemporary range riders celebrate their lifestyle and tradition in poetry and song.
Every Colorado town has its unique geophysical attributes and a special set of stories (or legends) to share, and each has its own roster of tourist attractions and accommodations that range from cozy cabins to ultramodern and extremely luxurious condos.
Copyright 2011 Jennifer Merin
Post a Comment | Share | Print
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.