Toronado, I'm glad to hear you'll be visiting my neck of the woods! I think Rocky Mountain National Park is a must see. Estes Park is the town at the base of the park. It's about 90 minutes northwest of Denver. Estes is touristy with lots of things to do and see, like the Stanley hotel that Stephen King's book The Shining is based on. Rocky Mountain National Park is big, would probably take the better part of a day to drive. Granby is not far as well and is a beautiful area. How long will you be in the area? Something to consider is giving yourselves a few days to adjust to the altitude before trying hiking as some people do get altitude sickness. Also in May, it may be 70 degrees when you head out from Estes and it'll snow when you reach the higher peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park. You'll head out in shorts and t-shirts and end up in a parka 2 hours later. All part of the charm! Vail, Breckenridge and Aspen are ski resort towns that switch over to hiking, camping, fishing and horseback riding in the summer and are in the general vicinity you're looking at. The Colorado Springs area is great, too. I'll see what I can find out about railroads in the mountains. You're going to love your visit here! Barb

Ironically, we have a street called Dolomite in my neighborhood. All our streets are named after rocks or minerals. The native tree in Castle Rock is Ponderosa Pine. And the trees on the ridge above town are very large ... and all growing on crappy soil that most people would describe as lousy. Does bristlecone pine really require lousy soil, or does it just tolerate it? I've seen a bunch of bristlecone pines as street side trees in downtown Breckenridge, CO ... and they were probably planted by landscapers using the usual amended mix of native and amendments. If you ever walk the downtown strip in Breck -- notice the bristlecone pines ... they are everywhere.

Another great batch of pics, Sluice! Quick question: In the shot showing Picea pungens and Pinus aristata in a yard, which tree is the aristata? Is it the one to left which looks a bit like Norway spruce? Also, not a question but a comment.....quite interesting to see the two color phases of P. pungens growing side by side. Nice shot of large P. pungens. +oM

Those are great pictures. Nicole, your's looks like you were standing right next to that goat. He is so cute. Bob, your's really made me smile at the thought of this sheep and her baby just strolling down the street, nobody else in sight - except for you, of course. So funny how casual they look.