Teddy Roosevelt was asked to describe the Colorado Front Range Region and he said "The Scenery Bankrupts the English Language."

You'll feel it nowhere stronger than in Rocky Mountain National Park, a 400-square-mile preserve of forests, meadows, tundra, and opaline ponds. You can stay above timberline for days on end, enjoying views normally reserved for the sharp eyes of an eagle. Picnic by a creek as it shambles side to side across a meadow or tug at a pulsating line with a native greenback cutthroat at the other end.

At Red Feather Lakes, deep in the granite-walled Poudre Canyon, high along the Peak-to-Peak Highway, light, color, and shape achieve a kind of perfection.

The mountain towns of the Colorado Front Range Region respectfully defer to nature. Estes Park serves as the national park's ornate lobby, Grand Lake its breezy back porch, Idaho Springs, Georgetown, and other lofty hamlets tuck themselves as inconspiciously as possible between ridges.

Only in the gambling meccas of Central City and Black Hawk do man-made attractions presume to supersede this breathtaking wilderness, but at least they do it with some flair and besides, jackpot-spouting slot machines are beautiful in their own way.

Boulder, home of the University of Colorado, nicely captures the essence of the Colorado Front Range Region. Framed by foothills, the city boasts 33,000 acres of parks and trails, as well as a philosophy of spiritual and environmental health. There's plenty to do and see in town, including the always-lively Pearl Street Mall and the summer-long Colorado Music Festival.

Additional dining and entertainment can be found in Fort Collins, the site of Colorado State University, and Greeley, home of the University of Northern Colorado.