Tag Archives: Nature

American Safari

When we think about wildlife viewing trips our minds immediately conjure images of a long coveted African safari, or maybe a sail through the Galapagos Islands. We don’t normally think of the American mid-west.

A travel truism is that we appreciate the far off and discount the nearby. I spent nearly two decades in one of the best cities on earth but didn’t really understand New York as a travel destination until after I left. Similarly, we have some pretty spectacular wildlife right here in the U.S. that often gets overlooked.

The good news is that we didn’t need a reminder to marvel at all the fabulous critters that crossed our path over the past six months. Here’s a partial tribute to what we saw, both great and small.

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Photo of the day: Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs, Colorado framed in golden aspen.

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Great Sand Dunes National Park

People (bottom right) begin the long climb at Great Sand Dunes National Park

The sound of our huffing and puffing obscured the fact that Great Sand Dunes is the quietest national park in the US. We didn’t notice. How could we? Getting oxygen seemed a more pressing matter.

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A Walk Through the Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO

15 miles of hiking trails wind through gloriously upended sandstone formations in Colorado Springs’ Garden of the Gods. Free to the public by decree of railroad magnate Charles Eliot Perkins, whose family donated the land to the city in 1909, the property was named as one of the nation’s top ten public places in 2011. With sites like these, it is easy to see why.

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Photo of the Day: Rocky Mountain Elk

Rocky Mountain National Park Elk

Rocky Mountain National Park Elk