Impression Evergreen

Utah Blessed with untamed rivers, deep canyons and green mountains, the state of Utah is celebrated for its diverse scenery. Established on a painted desert, the topography transitions dramatically up to the lofty Wasatch Mountain Range. The winding waterways rush towards the southwest while carving surreal chasms out of an uplifted plateau. Heavily eroded by wind and water, the unique landscape is littered with an interesting array of arches, pinnacles and hoodoos. I enjoy wandering around our local foothills and I could spend a lifetime exploring the vast Rocky Mountains. I must admit, though, that the territory to our west has definitely cast a spell. Our home is Colorado but my second favorite state is magical Utah.

Garden of the Gods, Colorado "Once upon a time there was a great flood which covered all but the top of Manitou's Mountain. When the water subsided, the Great Spirit turned the floating carcasses of the drowned animals into sandstone, and rolled them down into a garden valley below where they remained as mute evidences of the Great Flood." ~ Indian Legend Down in Colorado Springs, beneath Pikes Peak, the site of that supernatural catastrophe can still be seen. In this special valley you'll discover 300 million-year-old rock formations with names like Balanced Rock, Cathedral Spires and the Kissing Camels. It's known as the Garden of the Gods but to the Southern Ute Indian tribe it's the Garden of Eden. They believe the creation of their people occurred at this sacred place. Great White Mountain (Pikes Peak) was the center of the Ute's world. They believed that on the summit of the thunderous peak stood the Western Gates of Heaven and there dwelt t...

Fall color on Rabbit Ears Pass I've been helping out with my 11 year old son's soccer team for six years now and it's been a lot of fun. Soccer is a great sport because it's a player's game. Once the whistle blows the action is non-stop with little or no interference from the coaches. The players are free to make their own decisions concerning positioning and ball movement. As the boys have grown older, my duties have evolved from tying shoes and wiping noses to shagging balls and picking up cones. Sometimes at practice, if the numbers aren't right, I have to jump into a drill and if I'm lucky I might even get to play in a scrimmage. I think the boys accept me like a teammate, I know I've grown very attached to them. We recently traveled up over Rabbit Ears Pass and down into Steamboat for a league game. It was a tough first half as our team constructed some good buildups and took great shots, they just couldn't finish. There were near misses, ...