We went through the Monarch Pass and saw a beautiful part of the Rockies. The Monarch Pass is on the Continental Divide. We will learn more about this in school this next year. From that point in the mountains the water flows in two different directions, towards the Pacific and towards the Atlantic Ocean.






There was snow! In the valleys as you travel down we saw many horses. It’s easy to tell why horses are important to the ranchers here.





Mining is still an important industry in the west. After lunch we continued our drive down through the mountains.

We were surprised to see a beautiful lake called Blue Mesa. It was large with many places to camp and fish. In one of the mountain towns, there was a rally of people riding mountain bikes. They were everywhere. How they could ride those bikes in the thin mountain air was amazing to me. I struggled just walking! Here we saw a wagon loaded with antlers.










We did see some deer and antelope but I didn't get a good picture of them. On one ranch we saw many goats grazing on the mountainside. Among them was a dog. As he heard us drive up, (Harleys are loud!) he placed himself between us and the goats. I guess this is his job. He looks a lot like Jake. We are beginning to miss Jake, Molly, Lucy, the cats, and the chickens back in Indiana. We'll be home soon though and this amazing trip will be over. It's been a dream come true for us.