Rocky Mountains - Part Two

What's the driving force which makes the traveler to enjoy his endeavor? For me it's Curiosity & Learning. 

Curiosity is what which made me to drive the car in the first week in USA, without even knowing the Yield, Stop and lane concepts. Hard way of learning. Must say that I improved on that week itself. Thats the learning part. And most important learning - horn is the most useless part of an automobile in US, which is so different from my Indian experience.

Took an hour to reach at the summit of the Rocky Mountains though. 

The climate was so good. The cool air freshened me up from the back pain of the drive. But in few minutes, I felt like being a part of that world. Disconnected from the town beneath and up in the heavens. That was a fantastic feeling.

I was surprised to see the above message on the up way. If there is a restriction for pets, that means, they are pretty serious about the place. Otherwise pets are the kings here.

There is a view point towards the end of this road. The view which will mesmerize everyone. The nature at it's best. Fogs sliding over the mountain ranges, the white patches from the winter ice all over the place - that was a sight worth of a life time.

Those are gigantic mountains. But looks small from the view point. Realized how small I am in this world, compared to these creations...

Few more travelers joined us. All were busy running around enjoying and capturing the beauty. To be frank, I didn't even spare a small stone in my reach. Everything was special, and everything around mesmerized me.

As usual, as Ani is not with me, I had to depend on timer shots.

When I saw this view, I decided to touch the snow on that mountain. And I went. Grabbed a handful of snow, pressed into a ball shape and slapped on to my face. Why did I do that? I don't know. Was I crazy for the first snow encounter in my life? I think so.

My car looked beautiful at this place. Thats the magical effect of this place.

While climbing up the mountains, my face was without any emotions. I didn't want to slip down to the mountain foot from 11000 feet anyway :)

It will attract anyone who comes to this place. You might stand still, forgetting about everything around, until someones comes to you and wake you from the dream...

Proud to tackle the heights. There wasn't much people around. It is fun to do things differently. What say?

The happiness flowed from the mountains to my heart and it reflected on my smile :)

I would really love to go back to this place another time. The magical mountain top experience.

Rocky Mountains - Part One

Rocky Mountains - The very first place to visit in Colorado. Ani helped to make a list of places to visit. And she had it emailed before I landed at the airport. I just had to sort the list as per the distance. That was easy!

Supposed to be a 2.5 hours journey, took almost 4 hours to reach due to a mountain tunnel construction. But it wasn't a disappointment. Colorado is beautiful at all the nook and corner. Drive through the highway was the best. I could see the clouds at the distance, covering the tall mountains for miles. 

The Rocky Mountains, commonly known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles (4,830 km) from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. Within the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are somewhat distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada which all lie farther to the west.

These mountains are famous for it's scenic beauty. I was amazed at the wonder of that place. Clicked few pictures, and all were fantastic. Not because of my skills, but the place was simple awesome :)

The Rockies have very different seasons. In the winter there is deep snow, high winds, and sudden blizzards are common. At night it can get to -35 degree F or below! In the spring there is unpredictable weather. It could be wet or dry, cold or warm. In the summer there are sunny mornings, afternoon thunderstorms and clear nights. In the fall there are cool, crisp days, wind and decreasing precipitation.

This place is a highly protected area. Well guarded and taken care of its beauty, I didn't even realize the time slipping by. Spent almost 4 hours at this place, getting down at various scenic view points and enjoyed the cool breeze from the mountains...

Noticed the white line on the mountain. That's the way I took to reach the summit. No railings or guard on the edge of the road. Just me, God and heaven :) I am sure that my heart beat was at its top while climbing up the mountain.

A small mistake can kick me to the dense woods beneath...

I was a pure visitor at this place, but people visit the Rockies for many recreational activities like hiking, hunting, camping, skiing and lots of other sports.

Met a group of bikers climbed up the hills as a part of their weekend routine. The locals who cant miss this place at all...Such a beauty these mountains present for all who seek for it.

Wanderlust: Colorado & Snow Capped Mountains

At City of Colorado Springs - Red Rock Canyon

Always imagined about visiting this place once. But could never figure out the date and time for that occasion before. And so when I landed at Colorado, it took sometime for me to connect the dream with the reality. 

Walked around the airport visitor center for sometime collecting the brochures and flyers on the attractions. 

17 miles from the airport is Aurora, where my sister's friend stays. They've been so kind to accommodate me on the long weekend. And I had a wonderful time with them. Travel, fun, snow, food - that was a travel I longed for.

The best part of the vacation:.

I drove in and around like a crazy driver. Covered almost all the attractions in 5 days. The fresh air and less crowded mountain roads, green covered trails and unexpected moose encounters - that was fun.

It just rained when I was heading to Mount Evans. The sky was beautiful, nature looked fresh and the traffic was bad. Enjoyed the drive with the video shoot and gazing at the wonderful Colorado mountains all the way.

Pistol, Rifle & Shot Guns: Never Seen Those Before

Guns - I have only seen those in the movies. And now I could try out the pistols, shot guns, rifles...Wow that was an experience of the life time.

The skeet clays ready for the game.

Setting up the skeet shooter machine

Age doesn't defy the skills. He is still sharp

Like my dream house...

A walk around the backyard revealed some interesting sights

Setting up the targets...

That's a 2kg gun :)

Never seen the real bullets before. 

Training session on safety and holding

Why is the gun not working. Switch off the safety.

Scared to pull the trigger for sure

All the shots gathered at one place. Brian said it was a good attempt. Proud of my self :)

Guns everywhere like toys. But they were so serious in handling. 

Loading the shells

He is sharp still

Guns and Grass

The shotgun shell 

Pressed Penny Souvenir

While getting out from the Cabela's on the last day of the Arkansas visit, Brian suggested for this sovenier. Pressed Penny from a pressing machine. Placed one penny into the machine and got a deer image impressed penny out. An oval shaped, shining memento.

Berry Plucking Fun

This reminded me about my grand mother, who loved to cultivate all the necessary vegetables for the daily use, in the backyard. Occasionally, I joined her with my brothers for the plucking help and we enjoyed it. 

Since she left us, all those things are gone. And I really miss that now.

So the blue berry plucking that we did on a Saturday, I enjoyed it with all my heart. That was a pretty good harvest though. And those tasted the best. Brought back some to Texas and mixed with Blue Bell Signature Vanilla ice cream and ate it all in a day. That was really yummy!

Carla wanted me to prepare Indian Style Chicken Curry. And when I asked for loads of garlic and ginger, she went to the backyard and took those out from the soil. That was a quick shopping :)

Evening Grill

Grilling is fun and I never enjoyed this back in India, which I would start for sure. At the end of the day, especially being with the dear and near ones, it is always a party time. And everyone loved the idea of grilling. And we did.

Big chunk of meat loafs, ready to get cooked. As Ani said, the first thing I am going to do back in India - Cholesterol and sugar check :)

The cute Moley, getting some rest after tiring game with the kids

I was wondering at the raw meat turning to juicy steak with Texas Ranch seasoning.

Prawns to decorate the steak

That smells smokey BBQ prawns

Baked potatoes

And some fruits

Baked cauliflower

The final, juicy, well done steak...Yum Yum!