36 WILD FLOWERS AND TREES OF COLORADO 



his life east of the great plains. Day after day the sun comes up unclouded 

 over the eastern hills and shines resplendent from the great blue sky. 

 Without moisture or dust in the air the blueness is intense. The trees 

 cast black shadows on the ground beneath. There is no blending of 

 colors in the landscape. Everything stands out boldly. No haze 

 obstructs the view. In the afternoon a shower comes up with thick 

 black clouds rolling into ominous mountain masses — a few drops of 

 rain, perhaps distant thunder, and again the bright azure sky. 



So the charm of the mountain park to the nature-lover comes not 

 only in the gullies and ridges, in the wild flowers and trees, but also in 

 the light and shadow, which, ever changing, fill the landscape with 

 interest. The matter-of-fact man may say that a pine tree is just a 

 pine tree; but he who studies just one single pine tree knows that it is 

 not always the same. With the times of day the shadows change and 

 each separate hour gives new objective sensations which change our 

 inner feelings of the world about us. The charm of the mountain park 

 is in the green waving meadows, pine barrens and quaking aspens, loco 

 and sage brush — and everything more beautiful and full of interest 

 because of the tonic air and brilliant sunshine. 



