Europe has its majestic Alps and England has its charm and character, but the United States has its Rocky Mountains which do not always look real when you are riding by them at the side of the road.

Leaving New York and driving west is an experience in itself. Going through the forests of Pennsylvania, you wonder how many fir trees are actually in the state. The state is more than 300 miles across, and is so beautiful.

Crossing the Mississippi reminds me of when that area was flooded many years ago. We had sat on a paddle wheel boat having lunch and the following year the whole paddle wheeler literally floated down river. The steps we stood on underneath the archway in St. Louis, were covered in water.

So over here, we understand how you all felt when you had your recent floods. Fire and water can be devastating to any dwelling, be it a home, or a town.

Crossing Kansas, we kept our eyes to the sky in case of lighting and the tornadoes that can come with bad weather. Kansas and Nebraska are the bread basket of America, and believe me, there are fields and fields of corn and wheat.

And then you come upon the sign, Welcome to Colorado. In the distance you can just make out the Rocky Mountains, and they're really enormous in size. You come off a road that is as flat as the eye can see, and then you come over a slight elevation in the landscape, and there they are.

Every turn of the road brings a different view. The wildlife is abundant, and everyone looks for the bears, but they tend to stay inland, rather than down in the foothills of the Rockies.

Coyotes, mountain sheep, big horn sheep, elk and deer can be seen from the roadside. The Colorado river is running alongside the roadway, as are the train tracks for the Union Pacific Railroad.

If you don't want to drive, you can always ride the train out from the east to the west coast. Going in the month of June was an experience, because all the wild life is awakening from its winter sleep, and you see flowering cactus which grows along the roadsides.

Going into Rocky Mountain National Park, we were told that we could only travel 11 miles up because the road was closed from blowing snow. When the snow plough passed us coming down, that was the signal to turn around and go back.

Most of the major highways going west do have gates across the entrance to the road, that are closed in the winter from blowing snow. I will remember that sight when we get our few inches in the winter.

These towns are cut off from everyone. Some of the people we talked to leave town to go south for the winter, because the winters are too harsh.

Driving across this country, you meet all kinds of people. But it's the sights that are so breathtaking, and there is so much variation from one state to the next.

Our next trip is out to see the redwood trees in California, but that's another time.