Our Hailing Port: Denver, Colorado

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We certainly see some eyebrows raise as folks notice that our Hailing Port is Denver, Colorado on Cup's transom. Actually any city which has a USCG unit can be listed as a Hailing Port and with all of Colorado's lakes and rivers, Denver qualifies. One of the most frequent comments: "I'll bet it was hard getting the boat down from Denver!"  The practiced response "It was all downhill...getting it back will be the tough part." For friends who are not familiar with Colorado, we offer this page.

Just for some orientation, here's the U.S. map. Colorado is a western state (although considered midwest by some). To put things into perspective, Marcie was born in Massachusetts on the East Coast and David was born in Michigan (central) and his family moved to Colorado when he was young. It's a big, big country and Americans tend to move around a lot.

Colorado Facts: Capitol: Denver, the Mile High City Population: 4,753,377 (est 2006) Area: 104,100 sq. miles (8th largest state in the USA) Nickname: The Centennial State...became a state in 1876 Highest point: Mt. Elbert (14,433 feet/3rd tallest in the USA) and we've climbed to the top! There are 54 peaks in Colorado above 14,000'. The name Colorado comes from the Spanish meaning "red" or "colorful".

The blue columbine is our beautiful state flower (aquilgelia caerules). When in season, the mountainsides are covered with them.

The lark bunting is the state bird.

Here's a good one...the state fossil is the stegasaurus! It seems that Colorado was a stomping ground for these critters in the Mesozoic period, some 150 million years ago. No, I did not take this photo!

State animal: Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep. You can see them along the ledges as you drive along I70 and drive into the mountains.

State flag which we fly on our port flag halyard.

Buffalo (American bison) herds roamed free across the plains in past centuries, but now are relegated to a few herds visible along I70 heading into the mountains.

Probably the most interesting curious animal  in Colorado is the jackelope. We don't see them often, but when you do, it's always a surprise!

The Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains is the separation of all water that flows to the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

Colorado blue spruce covered in pure white Colorado snow.

Denver is a great city. Lots to do, lots to see... an interesting blend of culture and cowboys. Above, the Denver City Center decked out in holiday spirit. The costs of illuminating all the lights is paid for by donations from local citizens.

Mining...silver, gold and lots of other minerals,  is big part of Colorado's history.

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