I had my admin assistant take this picture of me at work one day just so I could send it to my mom (love ya, mom! - she's on Facebook so she's cool). Those are some of "my" homes in the background - I'm hired as an "owners rep" to act like an on-site owner for the company that actually owns these homes. We house 2,700 Army families on Fort Carson. It's interesting, fascinating, sometimes very rewarding, sometimes very stressful. I like it because of the rewarding part!
In the background is Cheyenne Mountain. North American Aerospace Defense Command - NORAD - has it's headquarters deep inside that mountain - cool, eh? Anyone ever see the movie "Wargames?"

Unknown "country boy" Content - 16 years, 10 months, 25 days ago

PIKES PEAK - ahh - the focal point of our whole region. My 15-year old son, Dallas, snapped this picture of me last year when we hiked the 7-mile long Waldo's Canyon trail. I have a few pictures of him in the same pose, by the way. Dallas is my favorite/best hiking partner - he and I have climbed mountains and hiked many of the major trails in this area together, and (since my camera is always along for the walk) I have dozens of super scenic pictures of him. Here he returned the favor.
Unknown "country boy" Content - 16 years, 10 months, 25 days ago

That waterfall behind me in the second pic is called St. Mary's Falls. It's about a 4 mile hike from the parking lot on Gold Camp Road. There are dozens of trails leading off of Gold Camp, which is my favorite place on earth. It started as a railroad through the mountains, built to bring gold ore from Cripple Creek to the refineries in Colorado Springs about 100 years ago. Then it was an auto highway, but when a few of the tunnels collapsed it was closed off to motor vehicles. You can just sit in the parking lot (where the closed off section starts) - only 10 minutes from the edge of the city - and feel like you're in pristine Rocky Mountain Wilderness - or you can hike/bike up to 40 miles.
This hike to St. Mary's Falls was one of the few I've ever taken alone (natural beauty should be shared!). I set up the tripod, clicked the timer, and scrambled over rocks about a dozen times until I finally got this picture that framed me and the falls perfectly.
Unknown "country boy" Content - 16 years, 10 months, 25 days ago

Just a quick story behind each of my "permanent" pics here on HP. The first one was taken on a crisp fall day about two years ago. Meagan (my 18-year old) and I drove up into the mountains to walk and take pictures of the aspen changing to gold. On the way back we stopped at a scenic little pond in the center of a small mountain town - a beautiful place, with a gazebo on an island, where lots of weddings are held. I snapped a few nice pictures of her, then she reciprocated. I like this one!
Unknown "country boy" Content - 16 years, 10 months, 25 days ago