Report on My Colorado Vacation

by Rahul Kumar

(Written in July 2003)

Our family started our trip from Houston to Colorado in mid July 2003. Our goal was to reach Amarillo, Texas by the end of the same day. During the whole day, we drove straight through Texas and encountered several cities along the way, like Fort Worth, and Wichita Falls. The countryside was very peaceful; there were hardly any houses or people, a stark contrast to Houston's downtown. I never knew how thinly populated northern Texas was. Finally we arrived in Amarillo around 8 PM.

Amarillo is a large city, but not as large as Houston. We stayed for the night in a comfortable motel and slept well.

At Amarillo, we saw the Palo Duro Canyon State Park. There is a road that goes right through the canyon. We enjoyed driving along this road and took some pictures.

The next day, we quickly drove out of Texas and into New Mexico. By driving through this state, you can tell it is much less populated then Texas. There are fewer towns and cities than back in Texas. The countryside was also more empty than that of Texas. This is because New Mexico is almost entirely desert. There is hardly any suitable farming land there. But it was still very beautiful and serene. It was enthralling to see miles and miles of empty land with cows about and hills scattered around the place, instead of highways and skyscrapers in Houston. New Mexico is a very thinly populated state all around, whereas Texas is thinly populated in the extreme north and west.

In the evening, we stopped in a quiet town just on the border of Colorado called Raton. It is a very quiet, peaceful town. Surrounding it were mountains and a few homes scattered about on them. We spent a day there and went on to Colorado.

We reached the border in just a couple of hours and a few hours later, we reached a beautiful city called Colorado Springs. It is an enormous tourist attraction. There are so many interesting places to see there. We spent two days seeing all the sights the town is famous for. For example, we visited Garden of the Gods, a large park with enormous red rocks sticking all around. All of them are at least 100 feet tall. It amazed me to see how nature could shape the rocks like that.

The best things about the Garden of Gods is that it is free to the public. One rich American's children donated it to the City of Colorado on the condition that it shall remain free to the public. There is a plaque to this effect attached to a rock.

We also went to Seven Falls, a large park with seven small falls connecting into a large one. There, my brother and I fed fish in a small lake there.

The Seven Falls is an interesting place but its entrance fee is large compared to its beauty. You take an elevator to the top of the building from where you can view the Seven Falls. We took the elevator to the top and then came down via stairs.

The most famous attraction we went to in Colorado Springs was Pike's Peak, an enormous mountain over 14,000 feet tall! We went most of the way up on car and caught a magnificent view of the whole town from the mountain. The mountain also looks beautiful from the ground. I was surprised to see snow on top of it.

Next day we drove for an hour west of the town and saw an enormous gorge called The Royal Gorge. It has a bridge called the Royal Gorge Bridge which is the world's highest suspension bridge. It is considered a legendary feat of engineering as inspiring as the Eiffel Tower.

We took a look at the Gorge. There is a river running underneath and a train was running along the river. It was an unforgettable experience.

We also visited a place that makes and sells pottery and other works of art. We got to see a woman who was actually making pottery and learnt how pottery is baked twice in an oven. First it is baked and then the paint is applied to it and it is baked again so that the paint sticks permanently to the surface of the pottery.

Colorado Springs has many smaller attractions surrounding it, unfortunately, we did not have enough time to visit most of them.

We stayed at Colorado Springs for two days and then drove for several hours to a small town called Estes Park, which is very close to Rocky Mountain National Park. It is much like Raton except it is surrounded by all sides by mountains with many trees covering them.

The drive from Lyons to Estes Park is through very scenic landscape. The road goes through mountains and often turns. It is an enjoyble drive and is very similar to driving through Rocky Mountain National Park.

There is also a national park there called Rocky Mountain National Park. We stayed in a motel similar to the previous ones we stayed in. But it was three times more expensive due to the high demand there. But it was worth the price. There are so many scenic routes in the town and many breathtaking views there. We took many pictures.

The park's forests and meadows provide sanctuary to more than 750 varieties of wildflowers, more than 260 species of birds, and many animals.

Early next morning, we left back to Houston. I had a fun week traveling about and seeing new sights.

I-45 North towards Dallas

Before reaching Dallas, take 287 North to Fort Worth

This highway goes through downtown Fort Worth and continues on to

Wichita Falls and then to Amarillo.

From Amarillo take some route to reach Raton, North Mexico.

From Raton take I-25 north to Colorado Springs.

Take I-25 north towards Denver.

Take 36 West towards Boulder.

Continue on 36 West to LYONS and then on to Estes Park.

Take 36 East towards Denver.

Take I-25 south to Raton.

At Raton leave I-25 and take 87 East and take it all the way to Amarillo.

Just before Amarillo, 87 merges with 287 South.

Stay overnight at Amarillo.

From Amarillo take 27 south to Lubbock.

Then take 84 south then 20 East to Abilene

Take 36 South to Temple then continue on 36 South to Brenham.

At Brenham take 290 East to Houston.

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