Colorado Trivia and Fun Facts



One of my MANY scenic photos.

 If you've read my bio, or know me at all, you know that Colorado is my favorite state.  I spent two summers working out there because two of my best friends, Mickey and Tracy, ditched me my senior summer in high school.  Mickey was in Australia, and Tracy in Montana.  (Back then, I was annoyed with them.  These days...well, all you have to do is read the dedication for TRUST IN THE LAWE to see how I feel now.)  Last thing I wanted to do was stay home and work in WI all summer, so I applied for a job on a ranch resort in Colorado, got a job as a children's counselor, and days after graduation I boarded Amtrak on my way across the country.

I fell in love with the Rocky Mountains at first sight and to this day if you give me the choice of a warm vacation on the beach or hiking in the mountains, I'll choose the latter.  The pictures with this post are from a trip I took to the Rocky Mountain National Park with my husband in 1999.  I went back in 2006 with my son, and am thrilled that our whole family is taking a trip this summer!

The Colorado Trust Series is a result of my wonderful experiences in Colorado, so that's why I've compiled this post.  On to the trivia and facts:



Hubby and me on a hike.

 ~Colorado was the 38th state to join the union; in 1876 and is the 8th largest state in terms of land mass.

~Colorado is the only state in the US to reject an invitation to host the Winter Olympics (1976) because voters opposed the use of state tax revenues to finance the games.

~The name "Colorado" came from the Spanish, for the region's red-colored earth.

~The state goes from one extreme to the next, and everything in between. The eastern plains with desert-like conditions and the higher mountainous regions make for some fairly inhospititable living conditions and are sparsely populated.  1/3 of Colorado is made up of The Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, the state's most populated area (Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Fort Collins). 

~Anheuser-Busch has a brewery in Fort Collins where visitors can view the world-famous Clydesdale horses.



The bare swath in is the result of a forest fire years earlier.

 ~Colorado has a thriving craft beer industry as well as it's own wine country in the Western Slope.

~Rivers on the east side of the Continental Divide, which bisects the state, eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico.  Rivers on the west side flow to the Pacific Ocean.

~Standing on the Continental Divide puts you on top of the lower 48 states.

~Colorado has 54 "Fourteeners"; that's 54 mountains that top 14,000 feet above sea level.

I even climbed one of those Fourteeners; Longs Peak, 14, 225 feet.

That's if for now--anyone have some facts about this great state they'd like to share?

Stacey