Sangre de Christo Mountains

This mountain range is one I actually recognize. When I was a kid, we lived in Denver and spent time in this valley and a the foot of Horn Mountain in this range at Horn Creek Ranch. If you look at the photo and identify what appears to be the tallest peak, that's Horn Peak.

We moved away from Colorado when I was in 3rd grade -- returning a few times in the years following for a visit to this place.

Then, after graduating from college, I spent the summer here working at the Lodge. Great summer. But, that was more than 20 years ago and I've not been back since then.

Last week I was looking at some images on Flickr.com and wondered what I'd find if I did a search of places I've visited or lived and found it really interesting. I've decided that when I travel, if I have one of those "oh, the only photo I took of that one building or monument or stream is blurrrrrry!" experiences, I'm gong to look on Flickr and see if I can find what I missed. But, I digress.

I searched for "Westcliffe, Colorado" and found this and other images of places and things I recognize -- including the Sangre de Christo mountain range. Beautiful.

Technically, the range I've always known as the Sangre de Christos is the northern most range in a larger "family" of ranges stretching from Colorado to New Mexico known as the Sangres. Who knew? Thanks to the WWW, I do now. I also read that "The majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountains provide a scenic backdrop for ranching activities of the adjacent Wet Mountain Valley. The Sangre peaks pictured here are part of the 226,455 acre Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area, designated by Congress in 1993."