Road trip to RMNP. As someone who lived in Africa for 29 years and lived through many a drought, I am very much aware that water is a very precious resource. I was very much surprised to discover that this natural resource is just as important in Colorado. The state is in a naturally arid region. The lovely lawns and lush gardens you see in suburbia are not natural to this area. The artificial gardens are great for the birds, but not for water consumption. Lawns require a lot of water to maintain and remain green.
Every day in winter I look across to the mountains to see how much it has snowed, if there is a lot of snow I think happily to myself: "There's the water that will see us through the hot summer."
The Colorado River which provides a lot of water to the region has its humble beginning in the western portion of Rocky Mountain National Park, it is quite something to see this river when it overflows its banks in spring and summer from melting snow.
Snowpack is so important, not only for Colorado, but others who rely on the Colorado River for water.
There is a very informative sign at the Continental Divide at Milner Pass (10,759 ft) which explains the story of the Colorado River very well. The Pacific Ocean drainage (west) goes into Beaver Creek, and then the Colorado River which flows through the mighty Grand Canyon and ultimately wends its way through to the Gulf of California which is part of the Pacific Ocean. The length of the Colorado River is 1,450 miles (2,330 kms).
The Atlantic Ocean (east) drainage goes into the Cache La Poudre Creek which flows into the Platte River and then the Missouri River, the magnificent Mississippi River, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico which is part of the Atlantic Ocean.