Just after leaving Denver the next morning, the car immediately hits a 25-30 degree incline. You have to forget about the hundreds of kilometers per hour from before. 50 km/h and we don't complain) The landscape is exactly what an average person associates with the concept of the Wild West. The atmosphere is complemented by preserved 19th-century buildings, which are abundant here. Wooden sheds with crooked doors, an old mill, a forester's hut with swaying shutters and leaning wagon wheels. Why they weren't torn down is unclear—maybe because they create an atmosphere, or maybe because this land is useless to anyone anyway, but it looks cool))

Perhaps because of the rather sparse vegetation, opinions about the Rocky Mountains were divided. I mean, everyone liked them a lot, but how much exactly was a matter of personal taste.) For Olya, these are the coolest mountains in America; for Anya, they are the same as the Smokies or the Cordilleras further north; and for me, the Smokies are still a bit more impressive. Although they are so different that comparisons are completely useless. The Smokies are still hills, even if they are big and rounded. These, however, are MOUNTAINS, just as they are. They just stand there. And unlike the Smokies, they aren't going anywhere)))

We head out onto another Scenic Byway, "Peak to Peak." I wouldn't say it's mega-cool, but if you have time, drive it. The road winds, the scenery flashes by, but at some point, it starts to get boring)) Just in time, we arrive in a small gambling town (in Colorado, I don't know if it's only in these parts or everywhere, gambling is allowed). Everything is stylized to look like the days of cowboys and the first settled outposts. Pretty cool. A bit toy-like) We film a report from the scene and move on.

After a couple of amazingly blue mountain lakes, where equally blue people are standing knee-deep in water fishing, we enter our first proper national park, Rocky Mountain National Park. We immediately buy an annual pass for all parks and head in!! However, the enthusiasm in our heads quickly cools down under the influence of growing hunger in our stomachs. We have chicken and vegetables for a campfire. But it turns out you can only build a fire in a couple of campsites, and the nearest one is 20 kilometers away, and there are no free spots there anyway)))) So we eat bread)

But the park, despite the food discomfort, still seems cool. As we move toward the highest peak in the continental US, it gets rapidly colder. And what's more annoying, it gets colder faster than we can dress, so our trip to the summit consisted of running to the observation deck (300 meters), shivering while taking photos, and running back. It's comforting that we weren't the only ones like that there))) There is dirty snow lying all around, while it's +30 down below. Our bodies are clearly showing weakness and shrinking in fear)

On the neighboring peak, a thunderstorm catches up with us (though, they say it always lives there:) and immediately after, we end up in a surprisingly blooming and sunny valley. We run out to a stream and see a large cat print. I don't know if it's real, but it looks wet and fresh)))) We rejoice at this event, breathe in the air coming down from the mountains, ozonated by the local thunderstorm and rain, and continue on our way.

At the exit, there are 3 very beautiful lakes. I saw one of them on some Windows screensaver (just like the Smokies. There are wallpapers where ridges of blue mountains are from there. Later, there will be so many such places that sometimes it will feel like we are following in Bill Gates' footsteps)))), we linger for half an hour and head on.

For tomorrow - the best park in the USA - Arches, served with a side of Monument Valley.