goodbye flatlands, hello mountain lands

We departed Colorado Springs this morning, after a big breakfast, courtesy of Michelle. Compared to the flatlands of Nebraska, the Rocky Mountains sure lived up to their name...



There was no highway route. Every route was a scenic one. We ended up driving through many small towns, which looked like they hadn't changed in decades...





Many of the houses and farms had political signs...





We stopped for lunch at a restaurant, mainly because they had this giant tree sculpture.



We also found an amazing motel, connected to a Drive-In Movie Theater, where you can watch movies from your room. We snapped a ton of photos...










We continued on the road, weaving through the mountain paths, until we came upon this...



Now, as you all know, I'm not one for nature and/or physical activity. So when Brian, Patrick and Angel climbed down into a nearby creek, I was quite hesitant to join them, as evidenced by this video...


Climb Down from Ragtag Productions on Vimeo.

But this was too good for me to pass up. So, I climbed myself down there, slowly, and surely, and we posed for this photo, which Angel got by resting the digital camera on a rock and setting the timer.



After hanging around the creek, we explored the area across the way, which was a hiking trail that led up the mountain. It was quite beautiful...




After awhile, Patrick, Brian and Angel veered off the traditional hiking trail and just climbed the mountain themselves...





I shot a video, as Angel and Patrick climbed up...


Victory! from Ragtag Productions on Vimeo.

We headed off towards the Four Corners monument at the end of Colorado. However, we were all kind of tired, so we tucked into this abandoned gas station to discuss our plans...



We decided to turn back and stay at a nearby hotel, which turned out to be part of a Native American casino. I'm typing the blog from my room in said casino, while watching "Ghostbusters II," as Patrick Cohen sleeps in the next bed over. We're waking up bright and early to go to the Four Corners, then the Grand Canyon, then Las Vegas. Tomorrow is a busy day and I need my sleep. So I bid you farewell.