tumbleweeds

it's pretty windy in Nevada. i got run off of the road by a rogue tumbleweed, about the size of a small cow. the three of us in the car ducked as it came down on the roof. creepy.

Rocky Mountains National Park

Once we finally made it there after a few wrong turns, some lunch, and bum equipment, went snowshoeing....but only lasted about one tenth of a mile on them, since they kept flicking snow all the way up the back of our legs and made our butts cold. Buried them for safekeeping, and then our snow shoes for the next 2 miles became the shoes we were wearing... They had ~48 inches of snow at Bear Lake - so we didn't deviate from the path (since no snowshoes). Hiked up to Alberta Falls...but no falls. Definitely felt the altitude sickness at 7,000+ feet...couldn't breathe too well...and kept stopping to "take pictures" - haha! Saw a bunch of elk on the way down the mountain - they just mill about & cross the road whenever they feel like it. Returned snow shoes to REI...to which they prompty refunded out $16 each and chastised us for snow-shoeing in jeans....apparently you NEVER do that, says the crazy old man. Clearly we were going backcountry in jeans, and not staying on a well-packed path. Sure. I could have made about 6 steps in 4-foot snow before running out of air and turning back.

(Burying shoes for later...hoping they will not be there when we get back)

See the falls behind the sign? Me neither.

Very windy - snow blowing over the distant mountain top.

Why did the elk cross the road? Because it can.

Garden of the Gods, near Colo Springs

These pictures don't do it justice - hard to convey the sheer size of these sandstone formations.

Geologic marker

I have no idea what this was, and I couldn't get far up the hill b/c too much snow and no snow boots = cold feet = unhappy.

I do not, however, think that the Marker is the outhouse pictured here. Though it would be a pretty spot to take a leak.

Red Rocks

Went to Red Rocks after several inches of snow had fallen. Great concert venue.

Boulder Holder

This is looking up at the Rockies & down towards the city of Boulder. Nice place - lots of college kids...a few trustafarians...and some real nice people who I stayed with. Kind of freaked me out, though when people would talk to me on the street. Would say hi and make eye contact...weird...we don't do that where I come from. Also, the checkout lady at the grocery store actually spoke to me as she was checking my stuff out. AND she gave me a coupon off the stuff I was buying, since I wouldn't have known about it, being from out of town. Wow.