Rocky Mountain High - Oh, the memories of Colorado

Travel article

It was 30 years ago we left Colorado. My wife and I had been there on H1B temporary work visas. My interest was in working with a chiropractor in Denver who was using a relatively new technology.

Without sounding nostalgic, it was probably the best of times in 92-93. For the two years we were there, we enjoyed living by the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. We had no home alarms, saw no crime and took up skiing while there. It was always inspiring to view those snow-capped mountains.

Since those days, we have visited Colorado on several occasions, the last time in 2016 when we caught up with old friends and hit the ski slopes. Denver––the mile-high city––had changed with phenomenal growth and the high cost of real estate. Our friends told us that it was not for the better.

The fascinating thing about Denver is that you can get a blizzard one day. A few days later, the snow has melted, and the weather is balmy due to the influence of Chinook winds. We took advantage of this by visiting friends who own a few horses.

The week preceding our arrival in the ski area of Winter Park, there were massive snowfalls. In fact, it had been a near-record year for snow in the Colorado Rockies. The drive from Denver took us through the Berthoud Pass at 11,300, which sits on the Continental Divide. Here the snow was deep, but thankfully, the highway was clear. We caught sight of a couple mountain sheep clinging to the mountainside.

Winter Park is a small town, and the ski resort is a collection of condominiums with a smattering of eateries and an extensive range of ski trails. We were there late in the season, and the place was dead. Regardless, we were there for the skiing, not the nightlife.

Just outside of Colorado Springs is the Garden of the Gods. There are reddish, primarily sandstone and limestone formations, rocks created over a few hundred million years ago through erosion, mountain faulting and tilting. Fascinating is Balanced Rock, which weighs 700 tons and seems to balance precariously but hasn't budged for millions of years.

Ice-covered lakes are part of the landscape in Colorado. It is a beautiful part of America.