www.RogerWendell.com
Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic EvolutionSM
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Colorado (aka Eastern California)

Neighborhood Elevation Sign at 10,000 feet near St Mary's Colorado by Roger J. Wendell - 12-12-2009
3,408 metres (10,000 feet) - St Mary's, Colorado
Many years ago, Colorado voters allowed leftist children to take over the state’s government at almost every level. The legislature, governorship, counties, towns, colleges and school districts all turned to more spending, higher taxes, sanctuary cities, and a general free-for-all lacking in respect for tradition or morality. The George Floyd COVID riots of 2020 were especially revealing as government at all levels stood back and allowed the burning and destruction to go unabated in Denver and around the state. Of course, it's nobody's fault but the electorate's. But that's Colorado for you; a dyslexic mob more interested in drugs, escapism, and handouts than anything meaningful. Anyway, it's been my home since 1972 and I have a right to speak out against its destruction!
 
On a happier note, in 2013 things took a slight turn for the better with some state legislators being recalled in a special election. Then, in 2014, a few more adults were elected to office for a better balance of power. But, unfortunately, Governor Hickenlooper remained in office and continued to ensure that mass murderers (like Nathan Dunlap) would not be subject to the death penalty. “Hick” was term-limited but was then voted into the Senate despite previously stating that he was not “cut out” to be a senator. Anyway, it didn’t matter much as Jared Polis Schutz, another leftist, was voted into the governor’s job after Hickenlooper left office.
 
Finally, despite many in the state asking our elected officials to not "Californicate" Colorado, the move towards higher taxes (labelled “fees” so as to avoid TABOR restrictions), open borders, gun confiscation, and handouts for the lazy continued to increase. An ignorant electorate has solidified one party rule throughout Colorado – leftists and Marxist will be in charge and on the wrong side of decency for decades to come…
 

 

 

"David, what are you doing in Colorado?"
- Jennifer Katherine Mack on the phone with escapee David Lightman
in the 1983 movie, WarGames

 

Don't Californicate Colorado

 

Me and Colorado:

Roger J. Wendell on top North Maroon Peak - 08-23-2008
Me on 14,014 ft North Maroon Peak
Except for my military service and some vacation travel I've spent the vast majority of my life in Colorado. And, that hasn't just been in the "Metro" area and other big cities, either - in addition to having climbed all 58 of our state's "14ers" (and a few hundred other peaks and Highpoints), I've lived and worked (for weeks, months, and years at a time) in places like Alamosa, Colorado Springs, Durango, Frisco, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction, and Marble. As a young delivery driver for Wells Music, in the early 70s, I made frequent trips to every corner of the state when ranchers were having a good enough year to purchase a new stereo system or piano - places like Craig, Sterling, La Junta and other rural communities were frequent stops that I got to know pretty well. Anyway, Colorado is the 8th largest state so it would be difficult to know it in its entirety but, nevertheless, I'm sure I've lived and experienced it more than most. With the exception of the aforementioned political dyslexia I love it here and have always worked hard to stop places like Boulder and Denver from ruining it. But a person can only do so much - we need to set aside half of our time to enjoy this gift otherwise we'll burn out too quickly trying to protect it...
- Roger J. Wendell

 

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Colorado and its incompetent, dishonest public officials:

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold - 03-04-2024 On Monday morning, March 4th, 2024 the United States Supreme Courted ruled (9 to zero!!) against Colorado and its Secretary of State Jena Griswold. Griswold had illegally removed a candidate from an election ballot so the court made it very clear that her actions had no basis in law. In a September 1, 2022 Denver Gazette article, Mike Rosen* described Griswold as, "a hyperpartisan progressive activist..." and "She’s also a serial liar."
 
*The Gazette describes Rosen as a Denver-based American radio personality and political commentator.

 

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Coloradans: Weak and Full of Fear

Sol Pais On April 17, 2019, an 18 year old woman from Florida had our entire Front Range community quaking in fear. Apparently she threatened some kind of "Columbine" like school attack so most districts closed their classrooms on the 16th and 17th - sending 500,000 students home from over a thousand schools with even some businesses closing! It was reported that the young woman had purchased a shotgun after arriving in Denver earlier in the week. An 18 year old woman with a shotgun was all it took to shut down most of our educational system? There weren't armed security, teachers with conceal carry, or just concerned citizens willing to protect our children in these schools? Well, the system was able to breathe a sigh of relief after the young woman's body was found near Mount Evans - she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound the same day authorities were trying to track her down...

 

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Colorada's Intolerance:

Trump! - 09-09-2019 This sticker was peeled off/stolen from a car parked at a local grocery store here in Colorado. The theft and vandalism of such things illustrates how little tolerance there is for differing ideas and opinions in the state...

 

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Colorado's Govenor:

Jared Polis and his domestic partner Marlon Reis
Jared Polis and his domestic partner Marlon Reis
In January, 2019, Democrat Jared Polis (formerly Jared Polis Schutz) replaced Democrat Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper who had been term-limited. Hickenlooper allowed mass murderer Nathan Dunlap to live - even though Dunlap had previously been sentenced to death under a different administration. Dunlap was to be executed for the mass-killing of a number of people at a children's pizza restaurant near Cherry Creek Reservoir. But, not to worry - in 2018 Hickenlooper was "sheep-dipped" in Turin (by the the Bilderbergers), assuring that he'd be running for president in 2020 [he was quickly knocked out of the primaries for being an imbecile]. And, of course, Polis couldn't wait to remind everyone that he, too, is against the death penalty for mass murderers. Interesting to note that immediately after the election the media announced that Jared Polis was the first openly homosexual* governor to be elected in our nation's history - yet they never mentioned it, once, during the election itself...
 
* As of 2018, when Polis was elected, the term "homosexual" remained in the vernacular. This was especially demonstrated the month after his election when the radio series, This American Life's "81 Words," broadcast went out across National Public Radio and other outlets. "81 Words" was a piece by Alix Spiegel about the American Psychiatric Association's history of classifications for homosexuality. The words "homo," "homos," "homosexual, "homosexuals," and "homosexuality" were used nearly 80 times throughout the 54 minute broadcast...
Colorado Corruption:
How special, Polis' "boy toy" (healthy and in his 30s) was allowed to skip ahead of the COVID vaccination line in early February, 2021. It was later
confirmed that Marlon was the only spouse or "family of elected officials" to receive the vaccine in this manner. Polis is corrupt and dishonest.

 

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Dope:

Colorado Marijuana Sign Although "medical" marijuana had been available in a number of states, for many years, Colorado was the first to make it legal for recreational use.* The initial rollout went relatively well despite a few school children getting involved in it and tax revenues being lower than expected. Also, during the first couple of months after legalization a college kid from Wyoming came to visit and committed suicide after smoking Colorado cannabis. And, at about that same time, a Colorado man shot and killed his wife after using marijuana. Still, nothing compared to the death and carnage caused by alcohol but law enforcement, around the country, were keeping an eye out for motorists bringing Colorado pot into their states. At the time of this entry (April 2014, just three months after legalization) it was clear that a number of other states were poised to legalize the drug as well [Washington State legalized it three months after Colorado]. It will be interesting to see how wide-spread the use of marijuana will become throughout our country, and other parts of the world, after our experiment with it here in Colorado. I do want to make something very clear: Although I believe in lots of personal freedom I, myself, do not endorse or encourage the use of drugs and alcohol - life is too short, wonderful, and full of mystery and intrigue to fog it up in a drug or alcohol induced stupor... - Roger J. Wendell
*Alaska had decriminalized the personal use of marijuana in 1975, however, reversing themselves in 1990...

 

(Click on any of this page's "thumbnail" images for a larger view!)

 

"THE MOUNTAINS BY AND LARGE"

Guide to the Colorado Mountains - 1955 "Colorado's mountains are the ganglionic center of the inland Rockies. Three-fourths of the nation's land above 10,000 feet lies within the state, whose average altitude is about 6800 feet. Generally speaking, it is mountainous everywhere west of a longitude line through Denver, with the ranges of greatest importance forming a thick, irregular L, reversed so that the horizontal fan runs west instead of east from the foot of the vertical. Big mesas, some as high as 10,000 feet, take up much of the space within the L. The summit altitudes of the mountains tend to a remarkable sameness: 54 of them have tops between 14,000 feet and the 14,431 foot altitude of Mount Elbert, and there are five times this number in the 13,000 foot class."

- Robert M. Ormes, editor, Guide to the Colorado Mountains
Fifth Edition, 1955, p. 11

 

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Some personal politics and history:

Map of USA Highlighting Colorado Well, speaking for myself, I'm in Colorado because I love it here! I've lived in Colorado most of my life - my parents brought me here, in 1972, when I was a teenager. I love Colorado but am saddened by what it's becoming. The Colorado of my youth was wide open, clean, affordable and filled with possibility. Nowadays, Colorado has become an expensive, crowded, theocratic plutocracy (thanks to "Big Jim" Dobson, Ted Haggart, and a host of other big-moneyed religious crooks...). For many years our state government was dominated by ultra-conservative ideologues who didn't care about our environment, Democracy or the basic quality of life for most of our citizenry. (see * A glimmer of hope! below...). But, although the pendulum swings some of the damage can't be undone. Nevertheless, Colorado is still a great place and I'm glad to be here!

I've been very lucky in that I've been able to see and experience nearly every square inch (or at least every one of our 64 counties!) for both business and pleasure. When I was a teenager I drove a delivery truck for Wells Music Company and brought televisions, stereos, organs (and even an occasional piano!) to all kinds of far-flung places throughout the state - most usually when a rancher was having a good year and could afford some in-hone entertainment. Later in life, for brief periods of time, I did things like construction work in Frisco and cabin construction in Granby. Even later I conduct a number Human Relations investigations in towns like Alamosa, Aspen, Glenwood, Pagosa and Colorado Springs. And, of course, I know Boulder inside-out after having worked and conducted radio programs there for over a decade by the time of this writing in '04.

As far as politics go, besides just being a longtime resident, and curmudgeon, what qualifies me to be critical of Colorado's direction? For one thing, I've voted in every single election, including the "special" ones (like the Public Service Company franchise, etc.), even when I was stationed in other states while serving our country. For another thing, I've served in our neighborhood caucus and have been elected to the Republican Party's state and county assemblies. Also, I've served as an election judge and was a member of the city's election commission. Additionally, I was elected to the board of directors for Green Mountain Water. Finally, I've volunteered for countless community projects, environmental efforts and other nonprofit endeavors.

Map of USA Highlighting Colorado These experiences don't make me better than anyone else. However, what they do illustrate is my life-long love and concern for the state I call home. My home, Colorado, is simply becoming a playground for the rich and easy pickings for any corporation willing to wine and dine the economic elite who hold state office. We can do much better. By reducing the influence of big money, we can, indeed, bring Democracy back to Colorado for the benefit of the greatest number of our people. It can be done, it really can!
- Roger J. Wendell
Golden, Colorado (Summer, 2004)

 

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November 27, 2013 (Wednesday):

Evie Hudak State Senator Evie Hudak resigned her seat to avoid facing an impending recall election. The recall was spurred by her votes for gun control and her condescending treatment of a rape victim testifying at Colorado's Capitol earlier that year. Hudak was the third senator, and Democrat, forced out of office in Colorado's history - State senate president John Morse and state senator Angela Giron were both recalled by voters for similar issues a few months earlier...

 

September 10, 2013 (Wednesday):

John Morse and Angela Giron recall election - 2013 An historic day in Colorado politics. State senate president John Morse and state senator Angela Giron lost their positions in a recall election on this date. Both are Democrats who supported stronger gun restrictions that went into law earlier that year - angering not only their own rural constituents but many others around the state as well. This was the first time in Colorado history that state legislators had been removed from office.

 

May 22, 2013 (Wednesday):

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper Mass-murderer Nathan Dunlap In a cowardly political move, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper granted a reprieve to mass-murderer Nathan Dunlap on this date. Dunlap was convicted of murdering four people at a children's pizza restaurant in 1993 in Aurora, Colorado, and was scheduled to be executed later in the summer of 2013. Attorney Phil Cherney stated that his client, Nathan Dunlap, was grateful for the governor's decision. Cherney stated that he felt the decision to spare Dunlap's life was "...powerfully good for him." [Of course! But what about the 5 innocent people this monster maimed and killed?]

A fifth victim survived the attack but was able testify against Dunlap, stating that one victim was down on her knees and begging for her life when Dunlap shot her.

Despite clear evidence (very clear) of guilt, and the jury's decision to execute Dunlap, Hickenlooper intervened so as to convince his big city handlers, on the east coast, that he was liberal enough to be considered for national office sometime in the future. Hickenlooper read his constituency well: Although a huge majority of Coloradoans were against the governor's decision the next election was a year-and-a-half away with voters sure to forget the issue. As predicted, Hickenlooper easily won the 2014 election and thus remained in the running for some possible national office or appointment in the future.

Except for Hickenlooper, himself, nobody was happier about the 2014 election results than Nathan Dunlap. Nobody.

 

November 2012, A Turn for the Worse...

Dr. Evil The 2012 elections ensured that our state's Democratic governor had a democratically controlled House and Senate. Drunk with power, the governor and the children elected to both houses did a lot of damage to Colorado the following year (2013). Big unions (especially teachers), illegal immigrants, higher taxes, and big government were all winners in 2013. But, as you'll see below, Coloradoans began to wake up and push back! By the end of 2013 Politico reported that voters disapproved of the job Hickenlooper was doing 48 percent to 45 percent - a considerable drop from the previous year.

In other 2013 news, it was clear Colorado voters were tired of the high taxes and the loss of freedom being forced upon them by Boulder and Denver: 6 of 11 counties pushing for succession actually passed the measure along with a huge state-wide tax increase for teachers' unions being beat down by a wide margin in that off-year election.

Also by year's end, in 2013, three state senators left office as a result of recall elections - clearly the electorate had had its fill. However, the problem with Colorado voters is that their desires seem to swing from one extreme to another - sometimes they allow ultra conservatives unchecked control while at others it's liberal extremists and high school students running everything. Either extreme is always a loss for our state but there was some hope by the end of 2013 that things might get better...

Sadly, as mentioned on this page's masthead, leftists gained control of Colorado's statehouse and government in 2018. After the 2020 election Marxists and leftists were in complete control of Colorado with their one party rule guaranteed for years to come.

 

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Some more Colorado political history...

Colorado Governor Bill Owens is a Texas Oil Lobbyist
* A glimmer of hope! In the November 2004 elections things took a small turn for the better here in Colorado. Although my state gave its electoral votes to George Bush, we told beer mogul Peter Coors his services weren't needed as one of Colorado's Senators. Then, even better, we voted to expand light rail throughout the Denver Metro area in addition to passing Amendment 37 requiring Colorado's seven energy companies to obtain a portion of their power through renewable sources. And, finally, Democrats gained control of our state house and senate, after nearly four decades of being the minority... This bumper sticker pretty much summed up Colorado's government during the reign of governor Bill Owens (1999 - 2007). The sticker was created by John W. Lacher (you can click on it for a larger view) and illustrates where Owens' and the Republicans' loyalties were. Owens, Colorado's 40th Governor, was a native of Texas who didn't even move to Colorado until his late 30s in 1977 - hence, he never had a feel for what our state was about or what was important to us. Owens spent most of his professional (and political) life representing big business and other money interests. Also interesting was the great lengths the press went to in hiding Owens' infidelity to his wife Frances - not that I'd normally care except previous governors, and other public officials, were hounded unmercifully for the slightest dalliance yet Owens went through his two terms virtually unscathed...

 

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(Click on this map for
a view of all 64 counties)
State and County Maps of Colorado Colorado's Geography:
  • Highest Point: Mt. Elbert, 14,455 feet (4,406 metres)
  • Geographic Center: 30 miles (48 kilometres) northwest of Pike's Peak
  • Area: 104,185 square miles/269,837 km2 (includes 371 sq.mi of water)
    [Colorado is almost exactly the same size as New Zealand]
  • Lowest Point: 3,315 feet (1,010 metres) - located where the Arikaree River
    flows into northwest Kansas
Colorado is made up of mountains, plateaus, canyons and plains. The western half of our state is mountainous with many valleys, canyons and high plateaus. The Continental Divide cuts through west central Colorado from north to south dividing the mountains into western and eastern slopes. Water on western slope flows toward the Pacific while water east of the divde flows to the Guld of Mexico towards the Atlantic Ocean. Eastern Colorado is mostly flat, with high plains, prairie androlling hills connecting to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

 

State Capitol - Denver, Colorado

Roger and Chris at the Colorado State Capitol - 02-25-2017
Exactly one mile above sea level!
Colorado State Capitol
200 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80203
Denver is regarded as the "Mile High City" since its height is one mile - 5,280 feet (1609.344 metres) - above sea level. The fifteenth step of the Capitol Building was cut with the designation, "ONE MILE ABOVE SEA LEVEL" long before modern technological and measuring methods. In 1969, engineering students from Colorado State University discovered that the step was not in the correct position so a geodetic attachment was placed on the eighteenth step. In 2003, an even more accurate measurement was taken which brought about an additional marker on the thirteenth step.

 

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Colorado Around the World!

Colorado Flag Seems like wherever I travel there's a hint of Colorado
in the air! Here are pix of a Colorado Coffee Shop we found
in Japan and a Colorado clothing store in Darwin, Australia:
Colorado Coffee Shop in Japan - 2004
Japan
Colorado Clothing Store in Darwin, NT, Australia - 2005
Darwin, Australia
Colorado and Roger Wendell at Washington DC - September 2006 Here I am at the Colorado
portion of the states' WWII
monument in Washington, DC

 

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Miscellaneous Colorado:

Plainview Fire Near Rocky Flats - January 11, 2006
Photo by Jeanette Kehoe
On January 11, 2006 I (and hundreds of other commuters) was detoured east of Rocky Flats to avoid a sizeable blaze alongside Highway 93. A few days later I learned that Jeanette Kehoe had actually been at the fire and took this fantastic photograph! Contacting Jeanette by email I learned this about the Plainview fire; "The fire started off Plainview road (hence the name) near 72 and Hwy 93 at about 6:45 pm on Jan 10th. It started out at about 10 acres. High winds fanned the fire around midnight causing the fire to consume about 2700 acres by 4am. It was contained during the day on the 11th. My photo was taken at about 2am at the height of the fire as we were retreating from a not so safe area. An uninhabited cabin and a pump house were lost in the fire but no houses." [A few days later the public learned that the Plainview fire had been started by teenagers - ed.]
 

 

Roger J. Wendell at Bakerville, Colorado - 03-31-2012 All of Bakerville,
Colorado...
We Love Leadville by Roger J. Wendell -07-31-2009 We
Love
Leadville
10,200 feet
Postcard of Idaho Springs, Colorado in 1926 - I bought it in 1976 Here's a postcard I bought in 1976 - it's a picture of Idaho Springs, Colorado in 1926. At the time I thought it was a pretty "ancient" photograph until I, myself, turned 50 and decided to scan it for this web page in 2006!!

 

Mt. Morrison Summit Communications Hut - July 2005
Mt. Morrison summit, Colorado
I, and dozens of other metro area mountaineers, frequently hike Mt. Morrison adjacent to Red Rocks park as part of a training regimen. During the summer of 2005 I snapped this shot of the abandonded communications hut on the summit. Much to my delight, a year later, my son and I hiked to the top only to find they had finally removed the hut, the surrounding chain link fence, and all of antennas and associated hardware! Back to nature - FANTASTIC! Two Elk Lodge fire, Vail, Colorado - October 19, 1998
Two Elk Lodge - Vail, Colorado
Much of Colorado's mountains and open space have been spoiled by mining, ski resorts, and other commercial development and construction run amok. Arsonists, in 1998, stepped beyond the lawful battle to protect these areas by burning Vail's Two Elk lodge. $12 Million Dollars in damages were the result - luckily nobody was hurt. I think this particular photo was taken by Vail's fire department. The lodge sits at around 11,200 feet and was later rebuilt (So I've heard, since I don't have enough money to spend time in Vail anyway...).

 

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Colorado's first peoples:

Okay, I'm not an archeologist so I'll have to rely on what I've learned from a couple of National Park Service brochures when it comes to information about the first people living in Colorado. From their "Exploring Hovenweep" flyer (GPO:2009-349-224/80293) they had this to say about Hovenweep and the original people of the Four Corners region:

"Archeological studies across the Four Corners region have produced intriguing information about past cultures inhabiting this part of the Southwest. Over 13,000 years ago nomadic Paleo-Indian hunters roamed the plateaus and canons hunting wild animals. Drier climate conditions displaced these people - as larger animals moved elsewhere - and ushered in Archaic hunter-gatherers from the west about 11,000 years ago."

"These people - eventually to be known as the ancestral Pueblo people - were initially mobile, taking temporary shelter beneath canyon overhangs and in shallow alcoves as they traveled in search of food. As they began to cultivate corn, life became more structured, and beginning around the year 200, they build pithouses closer to their crops in valleys and on mesa tops."

"Climate changes sometimes dictated that the people relocate to higher or lower elevations to ensure optimal growing conditions."

"Despite marginal growing conditions, ancestral Pueblo people raised corn, beans, squash, and other crops in small fields and terraces, often using check dams for irrigation. They used solar calendars and astronomy to calculate growing seasons. They developed many other natural resources to improve their lives. Examples of well-made pottery, jewelry, and clothing clearly suggest that these villages were part of a well-developed society. Non-native materials like macaw feathers point to active trading with cultures to the south in Mexico."

"By the late 1200s, prolonged drought, overuse of natural resources, and, possibly internal strife led to the eventual abandonment of the region. The people settled in what are now the pueblos of the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico and the Hopi mesas of Arizona."

 

Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwelling by Roger J. Wendell - 03-17-2007
Cliff dwelling
Mesa Verde Kiva by Roger J. Wendell - 03-17-2007
Inside a Kiva
Mesa Verde Kiva by Roger J. Wendell - 03-17-2007
Kiva with ladder
Mesa Verde Surface Dwelling by Roger J. Wendell - 03-17-2007
Surface dwelling
Roger J. Wendell at a Mesa Verde Surface Dwelling - 03-17-2007
Me (YES, this was a legal walk-through!!)

 

Yellow Arrow Pointing Right Click Here for a video of a Mesa Verde surface dwelling...

 

Hovenweep

Hovenweep by Roger J. Wendell - 06-05-2010
Main entrance
Hovenweep by Roger J. Wendell - 06-05-2010
Stay on the trail!
Hovenweep by Roger J. Wendell - 06-05-2010
Cryptogamic soils!
Hovenweep by Roger J. Wendell - 06-05-2010
Main path
Hovenweep by Roger J. Wendell - 06-05-2010
Little Ruin Canyon
Hovenweep by Roger J. Wendell - 06-05-2010
Twin Towers
Hovenweep by Roger J. Wendell - 06-05-2010
Twin Towers
Hovenweep by Roger J. Wendell - 06-05-2010
Unit type house on canyon rim
Hovenweep by Roger J. Wendell - 06-05-2010
Cliff dwelling
Hovenweep by Roger J. Wendell - 06-05-2010
Rim Rock House & eroded Boulder House

 

YouTube Logo Click Here for my YouTube video of a hike near the Hovenweep ruins!

 

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1/4th Colorado:
(Four Corners, USA)

Randy Wendell at Four Corners Monument - August, 1992
Randy Wendell - 1992
Four Corners Monument Tribal Park - 04-22-2006
Tribal welcome - 2006
Bobby Bloom at Four Corners - 04-22-2006
Bobby Bloom - 2006
Roger J. Wendell at Four Corners - 04-22-2006
Me - 2006

Four Corners is where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona all butt against each other
at N 36° 59.936' W 109° 02.714' (according to my not so accurate GPS...).
[Note: I believe it was sometime around 2008 or 2009 when there was some discussion that this monument may be a few metres off center - according to the most recent scientific surveying methods...]

 

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1/3rd Colorado:
(Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Mexico)

Three Corners from the Colorado Side - May, 2006 Three Corners from the New Mexico Side - May, 2006 Three Corners from the Oklahoma Side - May, 2006 While on business in Norman, Oklahoma (May, 2006) I took a very long drive out to the state's panhandle to climb Black Mesa (Oklahoma's highest point at 4,973 feet). Being a bit homesick I decided to cross the state line into Baca County, Colorado to take a quick look around. While exploring the area I learned about "Three Corners," that junction where Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico all come together. As you can see, it's a pretty wide-open section of country frequented by a lot of cows! Nevertheless, it was well worth the 7 to 9 hour drive from the Oklahoma City area to see it...

 

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Early Concerns About Denver Sprawl:

Denver Post Letter to the Editor by Roger J. Wendell - 08-26-1986
Click on this clipping for a closer look...
I've always been concerned about the environment, biodiversity, and quality-of-life issues. In my late 20s, during the 1980s, I started the environmental organization Wilderness Defense! and kicked it off with a "huge" public relations campaign of letter writing, talk shows, and speeches (at schools, clubs and similar gatherings). This particular letter was an early attempt at gaining public awareness about population and sprawl issues in the Denver Metro area. Titled, "It's already too late for the Metro area," I jumped into a long laundry list of reasons why population growth and sprawl where ruining our lives along Colorado's "Front Range." Of course the Post's editors cut a large portion of my writing out in addition to injecting some typos (typographical errors) that I hadn't already created myself. So, I telephoned them, the next day, demanding that they publish my entire letter sans typos and editing. I remember them laughing in the phone and saying they don't even give that kind of consideration to their biggest advertisers! Ahhhh youth, it never hurts to try!

 

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Colorado Sunshine
Average statewide daily peak sun-hours: 5.8
(compared to 4.3 for Oregon and 6.2 for New Mexico...)

Sunshine "Colorado is a gold mine of solar energy, boasting more than 300 days of blue sky per year. And the Rocky Mountain state is taping its resources. In addition to legislation that authorizes counties and municipalities to offer rebates, loans, and property and sales tax exemptions for PV systems, the state has adopted aggressive policies that encourage the development of solar technologies and PV manufacturing plants. Colorado is home to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, as well as one of the largest solar power plants in the United States - an 8.22 MW plant made possible by a power purchase agreement between SunEdison and Xcel Energy."

The Best States for Solar
by Kelly Davidson
Home Power Magazine, April & May 2008, p. 85

 

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Things named after Colorado!

Garmin Colorado 400t
Colorado 400t
Although it works pretty good, for navigation and waypoints, the best part of this Garmin is its name! HP Colorado T1000 Backup Drive
Colorado T1000 Backup Drive
Back in the "old" days I used one of these!
Chevy's Colorado Pickup Truck - 2010
Chevy Colorado - 2010 model
I don't like the idea of ORV's (Off Road Vehicles) but have a deep appreciation for working trucks used to make a living!  

 

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Heart People who love Colorado!
Hi Roger:
I just read your blog about Colorado, and it's amazing. Around this time of the year, I get quite homesick for Colorado. I grew up, and am now 50, in a town on the western slope called Olathe. I've become accustomed to Texas though since I've been here now since 1979. The two states I most admire in the this great United States, is Colorado, of course, and Montana, and, of course, I'd have to include Texas in those also, but to have lived in a state with such majestic mountains and canyons, it's quite difficult to compare Colorado to Texas, as there are NO mountains where I'm at. I live in West, Texas. That's not the western side of Texas, but a town with a population of about 5,000 in Central Texas. I do miss the summers in Ouray at that hot springs swimming pool, and the hiking which I thoroughly hated, and I told my father that while hiking up many a mountains, but there's no comparison for a childhood like that. I grew up loving the town of Aspen, but the last time I was there, I was disgusted and never went back. All the condos and those idiots from Hollywood have destroyed it. I do believe that the government officials in Colorado should have said early on, very early on, that no one will ever be able to build in certain areas of your beautiful state, but that didn't happen, and every time I get to come to Colorado, that rings true. Keep up with your good work on your blogging. I really enjoyed reading it. I found it when I was trying to find all the tunnels in Colorado, and got sidetracked somehow.

Thanks for listening.

Bonnie Lynn Green
Posted with permission, 07-14-2011

 

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Colorado sign near Black Mesa, Oklahoma - May, 2006 Links:
  1. 12ers
  2. 13ers
  3. 14ers
  4. 4th of July
  5. 50 States - Colorado
  6. Alpine Rescue Team - Evergreen, Colorado
  7. America!
  8. Arizona
  9. Boulder
  10. City of Lakewood - Colorado
  11. Climbing
  12. Colorado Air Quality
  13. Colorado Avalanche Information Center
  14. Colorado Climate Center
  15. Colorado Constitution
  16. Colorado Fourteener Iniative - A Partnership for Preservation
  17. Colorado Mountain Club
  18. Colorado Native Plant Society
  19. Colorado Natural Heritage Program
  20. Colorado QRP Club
  21. Colorado Report by Richard Schneider
  22. Colorado State Parks
  23. Colorado Straw Bale Association
  24. Colorado Trail
  25. CORSAR - Colorado Outdoor Recreation Search and Rescue Card
  1. COtrip - Colorado Road Conitions
  2. CRES - Colorado Renewable Energy Society
  3. Declaration of Independence
  4. DR COG - Denver Regional Council of Governments
  5. Grand Canyon
  6. Green Mountain
  7. Hawai'i
  8. Hiking
  9. Jefferson County - Colorado
  10. Las Animas County, Colorado (Longhorn Ranch)
  11. Nevada
  12. ORIC - Outdoor Recreation Information Center - Colorado
  13. Pikes Peak and Barr Camp
  14. Plains Conservation Center
  15. Road Conditions - Colorado
  16. Skiing
  17. Snow Caves
  18. Snow Day
  19. State of Colorado
  20. Tibetan Association of Colorado
  21. Travel and Travel Two
  22. Vanishing Colorado by Dick Schneider
  23. Vegetarian Society of Colorado
  24. Walking Softly in the backcountry
  25. Waypoints

 

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