About naked mole rats, Amish, dinosaurs, tornado, steam caves, Garden of the Gods and the road of 2300 km all this miracle

Why Colorado? Yes, that's around what I wrote at the top. So many interesting things there and we have never been. Six days sitting in San Francisco waiting for a passport - too much beyond good. Like new, exciting, photogenic, fast-flowing and perfectly wonderful prinesuschego me 500 comments.
In addition, the Colorado is the "high" state in the US - all of its territory lies at an altitude of over 2,000 meters above sea level - respectively, the air is clean and transparent, the sky is the blue, the sun is bright, and it is very important for my health, if you remember that week in the US - forced vacation from the bustle of hard work and must find time to relax. Two days were spent on airplanes and airports, the remaining six must be spent usefully. That is why, run by visiting the Russian consulate, we are on the first day left the hospitable San Francisco. You know that tornadoes in Colorado - it is not uncommon a common thing? Like Northern Lights above the Arctic Circle. Stopisyat went there once - never seen. Here and there the same TAR - 4600 km driven, tornadoes have not seen.

Yes, yes, yes. The picture from the Internet. I'm all right now, then you will show that really wanted to see, but did not work.
We had only a flat as a pancake road. Left - puddle right - salt.

Sometimes show mountains.

Sometimes the snow.

Once blocked the road police,

Warning drivers that come with ice.

No wonder. Because the left and right were the slopes.

Rolled down from the mountains to the lowland -

And again all over again: flat as a pancake road. Only the sky is changing.
In the morning:

In The Afternoon:

And in the evening:

This famous (thanks to the Olympics) Salt Lake, by the way. Where Salt Lake City.

However, I am getting ahead of myself. Before we even stopped in Reno - the second largest after the city of Las Vegas entertainment excitement - to dilute the anguish long and monotonous road.

Of course, we went to the casino, won $ 9, drank free drink and drove on.

The next day began dinosaurs.
On the border of Utah and Colorado is a unique area where it was discovered one of the greatest concentrations of trace parts of skeletons and fossils of dinosaurs - more than 1600 fragments and whole bone Jurassic.
140 million years at most places these dinosaurs roamed. The bones of dead animals were covered with mud and sand saturated with silica, resulting in a hardened and then well preserved under the boulders of rocks Ice Age. And lately suddenly part of a huge rock suddenly turned and exposed inner layers, where in 1915 and saw people fossil bones.
Now the area is declared a National Park Dinosaur World, and every neighborhood of the village offers hiking and horseback tours to the famous rock.

We, unfortunately, go on foot there was no time, health, too, and horses enjoy conscience would not allow. Therefore done without stopping, looking at that from the window of the car around.

Not to say that everything is fine and straight can be clearly seen, but something to note is still possible. For example, we noticed on the road about forty deer, roe deer, seven, two rabbits and a fox.
Photograph on the move was only the two halves of the deer.

In the evening of the second day's journey we arrived, finally, where a hurry. Glinvud Springs town.
Famous for its absolutely wonderful, absolutely unique steam caves. A sort of natural, ancient world, balneotherapy spas: Sunset in a bathing suit in a hot cave (while around sleet), sit down on a hot stone bench, breathe useful hot steam from underground source - and becomes every minute a healthy and beautiful . Straight dream! We and swimwear for the new Wal-Mart in this case on the road bought, and $ 12 to the input of pre-cooked, but: - ((woke up, damn it, at five o'clock in the morning (thanks to fellow Russians, do not forget, call all the time, when I trip), and the cave is! opens at nine: - ((I had to leave the dream of health and beauty for the next time and go further.

But sooner arrived much went - in the famous city of Colorado Springs. The city is famous for the fact that there are two major military airbase, US Air Force Academy and command of the entire aerospace defense of North America. In addition, the rock dwelling Indians Manitou, Center for tracking atmosphere and near space, the US Olympic Center and the main action series "Dr. Quinn." But we are primarily interested in the zoo.

And is not this the cable car at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, with a magnificent view.
We are interested in the naked mole rat. More recently, we have learned about this unique animal - March 8 Ale gave Jenn amazing book catalog 400 pages of all the known world mlekopiyayuschihsya. Picture chained for long, and even more text. The naked mole rat - a secretive burrowing animals that live underground colonies of 70-80 individuals. The total length of tunnels occupied by a colony can be up to 3-5 km, and the annual emissions of the earth when digging - 3-4 tons. Dig tunnels collectively: working individuals going ahead gnawing incisors to firm ground, which is then shovel out of the tunnel on the "live pipe" - a chain of 5-6 animals. Periodically front working replaces one of the rear. At the head of the colony is the only female-producing (Queen), which mates with only 2 - 3 fertile males, and their ratio remains constant over the years. All other diggers, females and males, are working individuals. Physiologically, they are able to replicate, but do not participate in it, still in the colony (usually, a lifetime). If you remove the uterus from the colony, several working females enter into a fierce fight for the place of the Queen. The functions performed by the workers, depending on their size. Smaller individuals maintain a system of tunnels and help take care of the cubs and searching for food. The largest sterile individuals are "soldiers" protecting the colony from the main enemies of the diggers - snakes. "Caste" in naked mole rats with age into one another, but it is engaged exclusively in female fertility queen. Well, where you can see such a miracle !!! The zoo Kolorodo Springs. We went three days and a half hours in the cage stood, but did not see.

Therefore, the zoo seemed to us the most depressing place where we have ever been.
Do not save the situation or giraffes,

Neither local baobab.

Slightly diluted mountain Amish, but Jenn is strictly forbidden to photograph them, even from behind a corner.
It is genetically closed the human population, it is atypical for the modern world. Even in America is rare. Enter into marriage only with fellow believers to appreciate the rural life, manual labor, humility and simplicity, the traditional way of life, archaic family relationships, speak Pennsylvania German language, and children learn in their own bedroom schools. Not engaged in missionary work and rarely take to his converts from the side.
As transport used horse-drawn vehicles, electricity and running water and only occasionally allowed outside the home, internet, television, radio and telephone are prohibited. Of course, no tobacco and alcohol, as well as military service.
Very conservative, do not recognize the modern technologies and take no social security, treatment and other assistance from the government or outside organizations - profess strict separation of the community from the state. It came even to the point that the US Internal Revenue Service has recognized that since the Amish religious reasons do not enjoy the benefits of social security (and in general social security scheme), they are not required to pay the appropriate taxes, and this rule was codified in the law. The Amish - neprotivlentsy , refuse to use violence to achieve any purpose, and rarely defend themselves physically or even in court, but still members of the community who do not follow the general rules of the Amish (not meet the expectations) can not be brought to repentance, and excommunicated from the church undergo complete "avoidance" (even from spouses and relatives). What is especially interesting - believer's baptism in the Amish is not done in infancy, and only in the age of reason. Children brought up in the traditions of the family until adolescence, then it is time to "okolnichestvo" - from 16 years and up to the moment when the teenager will make the final choice to be baptized and become a member of the Church or leave the Amish community. Teenagers are given the opportunity to see the world (try alcohol, sex, Internet phone, the reason the car, diarrhea unconventional clothing and hairstyles, and any other inappropriate behavior) and compare it with what they were taught in the community. The vast majority chooses baptism.

Well, on this positive note is now a sharp transition to the flag of Russia.
And we have seen at the entrance to the Garden of the Gods. It's nice that there are no words, as the mood immediately improved.

Garden of the Gods - a park rocks layers of sedimentary rock - a red and white sandstone, conglomerate and limestone, overlapping horizontally to each other, but over time, as a result of mountain building processes, which turned into an upright position. On the rocks visible evidence of past eras of ancient seas, eroded remnants of ancient mountains, sandy beaches, and more. It is assumed that the name of the river and Colorado comes from the bright colors of the rocks. It also found fossils of ancient flora and fauna, including prints of shells and bones of dinosaurs again.

Winding paved roads allow those who have little time or who do not like to walk (all about us) to drive 15-20 minutes around the perimeter of the park. But most come here just to take a walk, here plenty of hiking and equestrian trails, you can ride a bike.

There are a few rocks stacked hardwoods, which are allowed to climb by using climbing equipment, which is necessary to obtain a special permit in the «Visitor Center».
We saw rescuers with a stretcher and a camera, and in the evening then looked at the constantly recurring news to report, as someone out there crashed.
Picture - "Find a climber."

Almost all of the mountain ranges are their names. North and South Gate, the Tower of Babel, Kissing Camels, Cathedral spiers, Grey Rock
Valley .. This cathedrals:

This rock - Time:

Steamboat Rock - Steamboat Rock:

Conjoined twins:

They on the other hand:

On both sides of Balancing Rock.
Then like a frog perched on top of the stone:

And this is already like a bird:

These do not know the name, but also surely somehow very nicely:

Air amazingly clean and fresh - the terms of pines, cypresses and flowering apple trees.

Here is it Colorado.
Six days on the road and 4600 km.
Even despite the fact that almost nothing she has not seen, still pleased with the trip. On the way back, even in California, still wrapped in the Lake Tahoe. In the evening, sitting in the hot tub on the rooftop surrounded by snow and not even upset that the weather has deteriorated sharply. All night under the balcony quacked wild geese - sat down to rest, returned to Canada. And we in the morning - brushed the snow from the machine with a towel - and also home batsmen.

Thanks for reading.