Trip to Dallas and Trip to Colorado

Hello everybody! Sorry for taking too long to write again, but I had two rush weeks. Summing up all I’ve drove 3000 miles and crossed through 4 states. It was tiring, but amazing!!!
First of all I went to Dallas/Fort Worth to meet my mother and some other Brazilians friends (Zezé and Miguel, all miniature horse breeders) that came here to the 2009 World Miniature Horse Fair. We stayed 6 days around there, in the fair first and then visiting some Miniature Horse and Miniature Donkey farms. The fair was impressively big, with more than 170 classes and, if I am nor wrong, five barns full of horses! Yes, it was huge. The most interesting thing was the preparation of those animals and the lavishness of the stands of the farms. As I said before (in the other post), it is compared to a 5 star hotel hall. The quality of the animals caught our attention too. There were several really good animals in the show, in some way a different type from the ones we have there back in Brazil, even though there are some characteristics of those animals that we are trying to introduce in ours. After the fair we went sightseeing and, of course, to the outlet to buy some cloths. The farms that we visited were also really nice, the animals in a impressive good shape (well fed and treated) and awesomely tame! All the donkeys and the horses came when the owner called them in the field and all of them were easy to catch. I’d learned a lot about horses with Zezé. We had a great time together!

After that I came back to Lubbock, stayed two days and took my way north to Colorado. I had no travel plan defined by the time that I left home, juts that I want to be in Denver on Sunday to enjoy the day there before driving up to the Rockies Mountain on Monday. On my way I stopped by two jersey dairy farms. In one I couldn’t see anything but in the other one the manager told me that it was no problem to go around. I really wish he could go with me around to explain me what they had there, but he was busy, so I just went around a bit and took my way north again.
That day I had to sleep in Colorado Springs because of the ice in the road.The windshield started to freeze and I couldn't see anything ahead. It was almost impossible (for me at least, because I am not skilled in ice driving) to go further because it was too slippy. That night the temperature was something around 17° F. It was a good idea stopping. Sunday I headed to Denver. I had a problem in my car so I stopped for almost 2.5 hours. Denver is a really welcome beautiful city. I liked it.














I expended all the Monday driving through the Rockies Mountain. It was a pity that the National Park was closed because the cold weather, but I took an alternative road (a route that is called from peak to peak) that was really a pretty pleasant slow drive. I had lunch in a camping site close to a lake. I tried to hike there but I walked 100 meters and I was already breathing hard (now I understand what is running in the altitude). It is hard to describe the feeling of driving there and seeing the snowy mountains close to you and being at more than 10000 ft high. It is enormous. It is incredible. It is Fantastic!
After that I went to a small old town called Central City, regarding from the Gold and Silver rush (full of casinos and hotels). It was like one of those old towns that we see in western movies. By the way, most of the cities in that area are small, encrusted in the hills and with that old atmosphere (and buildings too). Going on, I took I-70 and passed through Vail (a beautiful expensive skiing town) and took my way to Leadville (the highest town in US - 10200 ft) to spend the night there. The Rockie Mountains are one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been in my life.

I went back to Lubbock next day. From Leadville I took my way down to the interstate 25 driving along the Arkansas River and than through some high-plains where there were several farms and Angus and Hereford herds. From Colorado I entered in New Mexico (Raton) and headed to Amarillo again and from where I took south to Lubbock. I spent all the day traveling. I was tired when I arrived home, but the trip was rewarding! New Mexico is a nice place too with more cattle in the field that here around.
I have much more things to say but I think the pictures will tell more about that (and more easily). Take a tour in http://wallau.shutterfly.com/ (password = wallau).