O' Beautiful!

Between the new camera Peter bought me for my birthday and the photography course that I am taking this summer, I have taken a lot of photos of Colorado scenery this month. I thought I would post some of them for the benefit of those who don't live in Colorado.

The two tall peaks are Long's Peak and Meeker Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. Both the photos above were taken from our friend Meg's cabin. The photo below is another shot of Long's and Meeker, taken from a rock above Meg's cabin.

I love this tree. It nearly died a couple years ago when Meg and Peter sat on it and knocked it off it's precarious perch on the rock. They propped it back up with a boulder and it doesn't seem any the worse for wear.

The next photo was taken at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It's one of my favorite places in the Springs. This photo doesn't do the park justice.

This robin photon was taken at Garden of the Gods too. It's a bit of a relief to see normal American birds that I can identify. In Okinawa, we name the birds ourselves because it is nearly impossible to find their names.

The red rock formation that makes up Garden of the Gods extends the length of the front range between Colorado Springs and Denver. This is another red rock that I discovered north of my house, randomly hanging out on the side of the road. I'm sure other people knew it was there, but it felt like a magnificent discovery to me.

And speaking of hanging out on the side of the road...here's a deer I found:

There's so much wildlife in Colorado! We regularly see deer, fox, and coyotes in my parent's yard, and sometimes we see bears, elk, and porcupines as well.

Colorado has picturesque roadsides...this is another side of the road animal shot:

I love horses. I think they're beautiful, sweet animals. Unfortunately, I never learned to ride, and there is a severe lack of horses in Japan. One day, when I am an internationally best selling author (or when I win the lottery, whichever comes first), I am going to have some pet horses.

My sisters-in-law have moved to a condo in downtown Denver (aka LoDo), so I've spent quite a bit of time there this summer.

There is an amazing variety of things to do there. I even found this crazy bike!

I'm trying to stock up on photos from home so that when I'm back in Japan I have something to look at when I'm homesick. I may even frame some of these and put them on my wall!

PS - NO HARRY POTTER SPOILERS!!! I'm nearly finished with Book 4. It will probably be another week before I'm ready to discuss the new book.