Beautiful Colorado

     I took a trip to the mountains this weekend with my wife, my son and his wife and daughter, and my granddaughter and her husband.  We spend a wonderful time in a cabin by a creek.  The only drawback if you’d want to call it that was that wind was unbelievable.  Probably about 50-60 mile-an-hour gusts.  But the overall experience was most wonderful.

     We drove along the “Highway of Legends” which is about an 80-mile route that runs from Walsenburg, Colorado to Trinidad, Colorado along Colorado Highway 12.  The many twists and turns in the highway give you more than ample opportunity to see the many sites.  Of course, you still have to watch the traffic, so it’s nice when you get to spots where you can pull over and park to get out and really enjoy the magnificent scenery. 

     I’d like to share with you some of the points from a publication from the Colorado Department of Transportation about some of these “legends!”

     “The large rock wall rising 250 feet above Stonewall is part of the Dakota Sandstone Formation, created millions of years ago.  The formation, once lying at the bottom of the ocean, was pushed vertical at the time the mountains were formed.  One of the oldest legends of the Stonewall Valley is the tale of the ‘lonesome water’.  It is said, many years ago, when the earth was young, water flowing down the Sangre de Cristos fell in love with a little green valley that lay in the cool blue shadow of the great stone wall. It refused to leave the valley, sank deep into the ground and loitered where the roots of wild roses were tucked into the ground.  To this day, the water comes up in clear, little springs among the rocky ridges.  They say it has a peppermint flavor and looks like green ice, but once a person has tasted it, he is forever a lover of Stonewall Valley.”  An interesting story, however, the sight of the sheer stone wall of rock is breath taking.

     A brief second “legend” I think you will find very interesting:  “The earliest records of the Cuchara Valley show that it was not called Cuchara at all, but rather Nunda Canyon.  Nunda is an Indian word for ‘potato.’  Sometime in the late 1800’s, it was referred to as Cuchara Valley, possibly taking its name from the river.  Cuchara is Spanish for spoon.  Some say that the valley was given the name because of its spoon shape.  It got this shape (according to legend) when the giants roamed the earth and one left his spoon on the side of the mountain in a heavy rain – thus leaving an impression in the side of the mountain.”

     The area is amazingly beautiful!  If you ever have a chance to visit this area in southwest Colorado it will be worth your time and efforts.  It is especially beautiful in late September and part of October when the aspens leaves are changing color.

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"You have not really seen the great beauty in things

until you look at them with your heart."