The Mountains are Calling...

2000+ cowboy boot

I finished my brief stop in Tennessee.  Nashville was a lot of fun.  Despite being a larger city, it still had a nice small-town feel and the downtown was très cute.  Mary and I didn't do much downtown, but it was fun to walk through and mooch through some of the stores.  We saw some beautiful cowboy boots.  I found a hat that cost 500$--and I realize that there were some that were a lot more.  Considering I don't have the best track record of not losing hats, I couldn't imagine spending that much on a hat.

And now I am in Colorado.  It's been nearly 10 years since I last saw the Rockies in person and they are ever stunning.  I love how you can see them while walking around town, rising like guardians in the distance, peaks dusted with snow.  Mountains are truly an awe-inspiring structure in nature.

After arriving, my friend Jessica and her mother picked me up from the airport and took me to see the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.  Don't be deceived by the name as I was.  It is not a traditional garden.  The primary feature are the red rocks that reach up to the sky in a jagged and breathtaking array.  People can even scale up the rock face--if they have the appropriate equipment and a permit, that is.  I for one don't think I would be brave enough.

I'm hoping to get in some good hiking while I'm here.  There's so much beauty, it would be almost a waste not to.  The mountains are calling and I must go!

Me sitting at the entrance to the Garden of the Gods Park

View of the rocks in the garden from one of the vantage points.