Only for those who speak English

Knowing more about the Centennial State
by Rafael Roque E.

As I commented before, the state of Colorado is divided into six regions : North Central, NorthEast, southEast, South Central, Southwest and Northwest. All these regions are blessed with natural attractions that tourists can never forget. If you ever have the opportunity to visit this state don´t miss the following attractions. Traveling the southwest, celebrate the heights of this region on the ski slopes of Teluride, Purgatory, or Crested Butle. Peer into the depths at black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument, a narrow, rugged gorge over 2,000 feet deep. See the San Juan Montains from the Durango and Silverton narrow Gorge Railroad. (the train has to be fed with charcoal every ten miles or so...) and don´t miss the region´s oldest ¨town¨- the pre-Columbian cliff dwellings preserved at Mesa Verde National Park. If you tour the South Central, take the cog railway from Manitou springs to the summit of pikes peak (this montain reaches almost 15,000 feet high). It was there where the song ¨America the Beautiful¨ was composed. Don´t forget to drive over the spectacular Royal Gorge, near Cañon city, on the world´s highest suspension bridge. For solid beauty, see the vivid rock formations at the Cave of the winds and the Garden of the Gods, around Colorado springs.

If you go to the southeast, visit Bent´s old Fort National Historic site, a restoration of the trading post where Kit Carson was based. Then travel to Trinidad, another stop on the old Santa Fe Trail, where many historic buildings endure. Pueblo city began as a similar post and is now the state´s mayor industrial center. Farms, ranches, and mines are the region´s mainstay. Touring the Northwest, you will enjoy the great names of Colorado ski slopes, Aspen and Vail are there. But so are the contrasting canyons of Colorado and Dinosaur National Monuments. Other attractions that you should not miss when you visit this beautiful state are the rodeos highlight Colorado´s cattle-raising, the thrilling raft trips on the Animas River, the beutiful city of Grand Junction, the U.S air force Academy´s all-faith chapel and the Hoover Dam of the Colorado River which is the highest in the world. That dam is located near Boulder a beautiful city near Denver. Finally don´t finish your tour without visiting the “Four corners” plaza that is, the division of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. That plaza is always crowded with native Indians selling handmade articles and you can have a picture with your right hand in Colorado, your left one in Utah, your right foot in new Mexico and your left one in Arizona. Don´t miss that...see you next time.