coloradosummer

oh sweet summer season, i have been anticipating your arrival.
to me summer is a time for days at the pool, grilling, riding bikes, fireworks, lake trips, camp, lazy afternoons, spontaneous nights, chicken salad, swings, all things fruit, playing tennis, bare feet, playing tennis while barefoot and dad getting mad, though this is just naming a few.

i remember when i was living in rome and other people i was studying with would dash off for single weekends at a time to other countries. and i'm not talking just the next country over. i'm talking like far across europe. it was cool and i'm sure they had a blast but i suppose i was more interested in what italy had to offer and what was just a bus a train and a jump away from rome.
as much as i wish i was still in school for the summer vacation and all that has to offer; i really can't complain too much. living in colorado is currently enough satisfaction. so, this summer i really want to traverse through this state finding little towns perfectly situated in the mountains, climbing to summits that lets me see for miles and even exploring more of denver. though most importantly, hoping to be constantly consumed by the beauty of colorado. so come on, work with me weekends.

let's go here:

steamboat springs
lumpy ridge
denver public library
durango
put my foot on the four corners
buffalo exchange on 13th avenue
black canyon of the gunnison n.p.
botanical gardens
summit of mt. of the holy cross
oh, and plenty of garage sales.

but first, an enterprise to montana.

passdeindependence

colorado has approximately 53 mountain passes. dang! that's a lot. this is just one:


as i was skimming through them i was trying to think back on which passes i had previously been to, though sadly couldn't recall more than about 5.
the pass of a mountain can often be compared to a saddle point and is almost always at alpine tundra, the point where there is no tree growth because of the high altitude. were talking high, at least like 8,000 feet sky high. here's a reference point--san antonio sits at a mere 650 feet above sea level. and well, who doesn't like to get up real high? hope i'm not being too much of a biased climber.
Q: why does one climb?
A: to get on top of something and all the gratifying emotions that comes with that.

i recently went to independence pass, at 12, 095 feet, located in between leadville and aspen colorado. [i sure thought the rocky mountains would be a little rockier than this] this place is b-e-autiful and beyond any doubt deserves a trip back to. this pass is colorado's highest paved road sitting in the sawatch mountain range. we totally lucked out and got to go the "short way" since the pass had just reopened memorial day weekend. apparently this area gets a hefty amount of snow and is only open from late may until early november. the intentions for the trip was to climb, nothing new there but i can't help but rant and rave that the places climbing take you to are worth the journey on its own. you get to camp on the arkansas river, you are perpetually effected by the elements [this is a soul awakening good thing], sit by a fire and drink p.b.r. oh, and look at sights such as this:

perhaps from here on out i'll pay more attention to the passes i'm driving on and stop to soak it up.