National Parks in Colorado

Have you ever felt so small

because the world around you was so, so big?

Once upon a fleeting time,

Colorado was just like one big National Park

unlike anywhere else in the nation.

Legislation was passed to protect the land for all people to enjoy.

President Theodore Roosevelt championed the national conservation movement in 

1906 and in 1916 President Woodrow Wilson created the National Park Service.

 

When you’re in Colorado National Parks,

you can stare down the steepest cliffs,

or trek up the highest dunes.

 

Just Northwest of Denver, you’ll find

The Rocky Mountain National Forest.

Winding and bending, back and forth 

up Trail Ridge Road you’ll drive on

Rainbow Curve.

There you can see the tops of the trees,

and even go above the tip-tops!

Up high in the park, you might spot

the curling horns of a bighorn sheep.

In the summer, you may find a pika,

a hard-working, little, furry critter.

 

Meander to the Southwest corner of Colorado

and visit the ancient cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde.

Keep an eye out for coyotes and spotted owls

as you twist and turn down the road to the monument.

Traversing up Petroglyph Point Trail, you’ll find

rock carvings that are thousands of years old,

and homes built hundreds of years ago

by Ancestral Puebloans.

You can climb the ladders up to see Cliff Palace,

with many tucked-away rooms inside the rock.

Be sure to read about the people who built Mesa Verde

and lived there, long before we were ever here.

 

Set out west of Denver 

for a beautiful rocky sight.

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

runs as deep as 2000 feet in some places.

The cascading waters of the Gunnison River

formed the cracks and crevices of the canyon.

It’s called the “Black Canyon” because 

some rocks stay in total darkness.

You might spot a peregrine falcon

plunging down to catch a flying bird,

or the lighting fast strike of

a striped whipsnake.

 

Wander south through the San Luis Valley

and pay a visit to the Great Sand Dunes.

For a very long time, huge gusts of wind

fought against each other to carry

sand from eroding rocks.

It was piled high to create the dunes 

you can visit today. 

Climb up to a ridge and gaze at the stars,

or grab a sand board and coast down the slope.

 

So pack a lunch and some binoculars,

and find a travel buddy to share the fun. 

Maybe bring a drawing pad

or some paints and a canvas.

Draft the orange and yellow leaves in the fall,

or sketch the shadows of the snow-covered cliffs.

Just be sure to enjoy 

the National Parks in Colorado!