Phantom Canyon Road, Gold Belt National Scenic Byway, Colorado, August 26, 2004

Cleome serrulata (Rocky Mountain Beeweed, Rocky Mountain Beeplant, Bee Spiderflower, stinking clover, Navajo spinach) is a species of Cleome, native to western North America from southern British Columbia, east to Minnesota and Illinois, and south to New Mexico and northernmost California. It is also naturalized further east in North America. (Wikipedia)

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Gallery: Gold Belt Byway – August 29, 2004

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Summit of Pikes Peak – August 25, 2004

Pikes Peak (originally Pike’s Peak) is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, 10 miles (16 km) west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County. It is named for Zebulon Pike, an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806. At 14,115 feet (4,302 m)[1], it is one of Colorado’s 54 fourteeners.

Unlike most other similarly tall mountains in Colorado, it serves as a visible landmark for many miles to the east, far into the Great Plains of Colorado. As one drives south on Interstate 25 towards the city of Colorado Springs, it comes into view from a distance of more than 65 miles (105 km). On a clear day, the peak can be seen from Denver (over 60 miles (97 km) north), points south of Pueblo (up to 76 miles) and from locations east from Limon (85 miles).

Originally the peak was called “Pike’s Peak”, but in 1891, the newly formed US Board on Geographic Names recommended against the use of apostrophes in names, so officially the name of the peak does not include an apostrophe.(Wikipedia)

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Gallery: Pikes Peak – August 25, 2004

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Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado, August 24, 2004

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is a national monument noted for its fossils in Teller County, Colorado, United States. It is located in a mountain valley just west of Pikes Peak and holds spectacular remnants of prehistoric life.  (Wikipedia)

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Gallery: Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – August 24, 2004

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Old Colorado City, Colorado Springs, August 22, 2004

There was some sort of festival in progress, including vintage cars, the day that we visited Old Colorado City, along with dark skies and a storm brewing up over by Pikes Peak.

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Gallery: Cripple Creek, Old Colorado City, Manitou Springs, etc. – August 22, 24, & 27, 2004

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Colorado Springs, Colorado, August 2004

Our second stop of our 2004 Colorado Springs trip was Colorado Springs, where we had a reservation in a hotel.  One of the first places we wanted to visit was Garden of the Gods, a free Colorado Springs city park.  We liked it so much that we returned the next day to finish see the park.  It has several trails as well as a nice auto tour

My first visit here, which I don’t really remember, was in 1957, when I went to Colorado with my grandparents and uncle.  I was 5 years old.

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Gallery: Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs – August 22 & 23, 2004

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I’ve been fascinated with volcanoes for a long time and, whenever, there’s a new eruption somewhere, I start looking for images and news on it. The newest eruption, located in Iceland, has fortunately not posed a significant danger. There have been some interesting raw footage available online. Here is the most recent that I’ve found:

The eruption is between between two glaciers, Eyjafjallajoekull and Myrdalsjoekull, and 3,600 feet above sea level. Since it’s not directly affecting either glacier there is little likelihood of flooding as long as the erupting fissure did not extend beneath the glacier. The area, called Fimmvorduhals, lies on a popular walking path over a mountain pass.

Sunflowers in field across from Frontier Park, Hays, Kansas.

In 2004, we took a short trip to Colorado, where we had rented a small A-frame cabin near Cripple Creek for a week.  We took two days to get there.  Our first stop was in Hays, Kansas, on August 21.

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Gallery: On the Road, August 2004

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Canton Lake’s Sandy Cove Recreation Area was our first camping stop on our 4 week western trip in 2009.  It was an early enough stop for some leisurely relaxation.  It also provided a wonderful setting for a glorious sunset – and plenty of photos!

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Gallery: Canton Lake – August 29, 2009

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Fern Falls Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, September 6, 2009

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Gallery: Fern Lake Trail – September 6, 2009

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