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A Christmas Drive to Denver
by Terry Zuiker
This morning I drove the girls to Denver International Airport (120 miles one way) so they could spend the holiday season with Rigg's parents in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Riggs's mother has been fighting cancer for 7 years and I wanted to make sure they had the chance to spend this Christmas together. (My full-time job and many Arrmy Reserve missions would not allow me to go.) The trip to Denver was filled with many surprises and I wanted to share these with you.
The driive to Denver takes you along I-25 from Wyoming through the northern tier of Colorado. At the border of Colorado and Wyoming sits the "Terry Bison Ranch," the third largest bison ranch in the Country. Terry Bison Ranch has about 2, 000 head of bison on their ranch in addition to llamas, cattle, horses, and camels. Yes camels. Today about 250 bison were located at the west end of the property which put them near the interstate. It is so nice to see these magnificient beast roaming the land again. About 2 miles into Colorado on the right side of the road we saw about 26 pronghorm antelope bouncing across the landscape. Pronghorn are quite common around the Cheyenne area especially on the Air Force Base were ii is not uncommon to get within 10 feet of them.
All along the interstate as we approached Fort Collins we saw cattle and horses enjoying the wide open space. Also along the interstate to the west laid the snow-capped peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park. With the sun rising in the east shining on the snow-capped peaks of the mountains to the West in the early morning light you can understand what "purple mountain majesty" is all about. About 64 miles from Denver, we could see the "Pikes Peak" in Colorado Springs, about 120 miles from our point on the highway.
After turning off the interstate and headng east on 104th Ave, we passed one of the last old growth forest areas left for miles around. In this very small area were a number of dead and dying trees. These trees rise above an area filled with prairie dogs. As we scanned the trees we observed a "Great Horned Owl" perched in one ot the trees. Just down the road we observed a "red-tailed hawk" in a tree watching the ground for signs of movement. Sadly these trees are coming down soon to make way for space to build thousands and thousands of homes, condos, and apartments as the developers seek to fill every open space with concrete in an attempt to accomodate all the people moving to Colorado to escape urban sprawl and to find the "wide open spaces."
On my way back to Cheyenne I passed the same trees and although the Great Horned Owl was gone, two red-tail hawks were still their and I pulled out my binoculars and had a chace to observe them up close. I am sure I will get many nice Christmas present this holiday season but none will compare to the opportunity I had today to be a part of nature and for the gift of eyesight from our God which allowed me to observe these wonderful animals in the great outdoors of the West. Merry Christmas-2000 Terry Zuiker