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Close to Heaven

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Contributed by: Tim Taylor on 9/5/2008

I grew up near New York state's Adirondack mountains, so when an opportunity to move to Colorado arose I was a little apprehensive. Why should I leave the beautiful hillsides, flowing streams and colorful autumn leaves of upstate New York for what I believed was a place shrouded by snow more often than not?

It turned out to be a good decision. Over the 16 years I've lived here I've come to truly appreciate the fact Colorado's beauty is second to none. I've swooshed down the slopes on many of the state's ski resorts, rafted the waters of the Arkansas and Gunnison, viewed a variety of wildlife, visited museums, old towns and homesteads, and swam, fished or boated on several lakes and reservoirs.

A few years ago I was offered an opportunity to photograph Colorado Springs from a hot air balloon during the Colorado Balloon Classic. A truly awesome experience, it also made me realize you don't have to go far to appreciate Colorado's beauty -- Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, antelope bounding across the plains of eastern El Paso County -- to name a few.

The other night, as a thunderstorm was brewing over my Cimarron Hills home and clouds covered the mountains, I stepped onto my back porch to see the sun shining through over the Springs. I snapped a few photos through a break in the bushes over my back fence and the view reinforced my feelings about the area's beauty.

I asked myself, "Is this close to Heaven or what?"

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