Hi Kids,
This is me sitting next to a cone formed by mineral deposits from hot, hot water coming up from deep underground. I'm at Pagosa Springs in southern Colorado. The water coming out of the springs here is
way too hot to touch but people here have figured out some great ways to use it. We stayed at the Springs Resort. They mix the hot water with different amounts of cold water to make a whole bunch of hot tubs. You can choose the temperature you like.
The hotel and springs are on the banks of the San Juan River. Lots of kids were tubing in the river. Where you see the blue shades, that's where some of the hot pools are.
Miss Elaine and Mr. Jack liked to get in the hot pools after it turned cool in the evening. I stayed in our room and kept Roxie, the dog, company. I really don't like getting my fur wet!
One day we visited an artist's studio. Fred Harman was a cowboy artist and a cartoonist.
This is me with a sculpture of Red Ryder, Mr. Harman's most famous creation. His comic strip about Red Ryder and his adopted son, Little Beaver, ran in newspapers in many parts of the world. It was so popular that there were also Red Ryder books and movies.
I felt pretty popular when the newspaper in Pagosa Springs took my picture and put it in the paper. The story told about how I get to travel and share my adventures with you.
Pagosa Springs is in this beautiful valley in the San Juan Mountains which are part of the Rocky Mountain chain.
The Rocky Mountains are sometimes called the spine of America. They are the place where waters divide. Water that falls on the west side of the imaginary line called the Continental Divide flows west eventually winding up in the Pacific Ocean. Water that falls on the east side of the line flows south and east to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. I'm sitting on the spot where the waters divide!
Love,
Lily
