August 1st is known as Colorado Day.  It is not a public or state holiday, so businesses and schools are open.  It was first celebrated in 1907 when the state legislature officially passed a law designating August 1 as Colorado Day. Colorado is known as the Centennial State because it gained its statehood as the 38th state of the United States of America exactly a century after the American Independence, thanks to an act of Congress signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on August 1, 1876. 

Colorado is one of the Mountain States, located in the Mountain West subregion of the United States.  The territory that now forms the state of Colorado was acquired in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase.  The Spanish-dominated area was acquired through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.  The territory was named Colorado because it was believed that the Colorado River begins in the area.  In 1854 the lands in the eastern part of the United States, including Colorado, were divided into 2 territories, the Territory of Kansas and the Territory of Nebraska.  In 1861, President James Buchanan signed a law that organized the Territory of Colorado.  The boundaries of Colorado were then set and have remained unchanged since then.

Native American tribes have inhabited Colorado for over 14,000 years. These tribes include the Ancestral Puebloans, the Utes, the Apache, the Comanche, the Shoshone and the Cheyenne.   The first Europeans to populate the region were the Spanish conquistadors.  The first settlement was established by Juan Bautista de Anza in 1787 but didn't last long. It was the only attempt by the Spanish to find a settlement north of the Arkansas River.  In 1858 everything changed when small amounts of gold were found in streams in the South Platte River Valley. This resulted in Pike's Peak Gold Rush as more than 100,000 gold seekers came to make claims.

Today Colorado's population is 5.8 million people.  It is known for beautiful landscapes, wildlife, and outdoor activities such as mountain biking, horseriding, and skiing, and we have done all three!

Colorado was the first Union State to grant women the right to vote on November 7, 1893.  The Mother Spring Aquifer is the world's deepest hot spring at 1,002 feet deep.  The Grand Mesa, spanning several 100 square miles, is the world's largest flattop mountain.  The Royal Gorge Bridge is the country's highest suspension bridge at 1,053 feet high.

We have had the pleasure of experiencing Colorado during summer, winter, spring and fall.  Each season is unique and so beautiful.  If you haven't been, you should go!  We would like to share with you just three of the beautiful places we saw in Colorado.

Valley of Greens was captured meandering through the Arapahoe National Forest on unmarked roads.

Bygone Era shows the remains of a miner's cabin and his mine and its tailings in the Arapahoe National Forest.

Maroon Bells II was found in the Maroon Bells Wilderness Area, 10 miles west of Aspen in the White River National Forest.

These images are available in tabletop to wall size, triple matted, and with or without a frame.  The matted versions are yours at a 10% discount and the framed matted versions in sizes 11x14 and larger can be yours at a 15% discount.

Visit our website, www.throughthelensoflee-margaret.com for available sizes and prices.

Stop by and see us on Monday through Friday from 10a.m. to 12 noon and 2:30p.m. to 5p.m.

The gallery is open for arranged Saturday appointments.  Call us at 904-387-8710 to schedule your special visit.  Come see us and order now.

"Heaven is a little bit closer in Colorado."

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