Poke Bonnets, Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota

I may have a poke bonnet* on here, or it may be part of the covered wagon that I'm setting out in over the Prairies. I look quite happy despite the prospect of a bumpy overland trip in all weathers with all my worldly possessions packed inside.
This photo was taken on Wednesday, the last day of my holiday in Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota. We had sneaked into the children's education room at the Old West Museum, Cheyenne, and couldn't resist the photo opportunity! We had travelled over 2,500 miles, but we'd had an amazing time.

Our first stop was Maroon Bells. This is a mountain at the head of a lake on White River about twelve miles from Aspen, Colorado. Steep wooded slopes rise on each side decorated with the remains of winter snow. Copper-coloured water bubbles over boulders and around a beaver's lodge or home, just like in Narnia, and the mountain stands at the end, 14,000 feet high, its layers of rock highlighted with snow. It's been called "Bells" since 1965 when 8 people were killed climbing its slopes, but it was quite safe to walk along the path by the river in the icy wind, taking photos.

 We couldn't visit Colorado without taking John Denver's Greatest Hits to listen to, and we were pleased to find a Memorial Garden to him in Aspen, surrounded with the trees which give the city its name. It was a quiet sunny place, near the water which I'm sure he would've loved.









I'll tell you more about my holiday soon.

*(See Liz Harris's blog) where she asks if terms like 'poke bonnet' and 'buck fencing' should be used in her historical novel, set in Wyoming, or would bonnet and fencing do? I think that the historic terms add flavour and give a real feeling of the setting. What do you think?