Last Chance Module is an art installation just outside of the town of Last Chance. It's off a very rural road and you have to want to get there in order to see it. Like so many places in rural Colorado, you have to keep your eyes open and you will see many amazing things.

LAST CHANCE, COLORADO

Photo Credit: Ernest Nitka

When people think of our incredible state, they automatically think of mountains, but, in fact, about half of our state is as flat as a pancake (or so it seems)—though much of it is in view of those majestic peaks that Colorado is so well-known for. The pancake part of Colorado is often overlooked. Still, it possesses the capacity to awe and inspire just as the mountains do. Colorado is so much more than "just" mountains, and though they are definitely my favorite part, I don't get to spend as much time there as I would like. But rather, I get to gaze at them from afar, and they never fail to take my breath away every time I catch a glimpse.

One of my favorite things about Colorado is that—especially along the Front Range, where I was born and raised—you can see practically forever. Wide-open, treeless plains, speckled with cottonwood-tree lined creeks and stands of ponderosa pines, stretch as far as the eye can see, right up to the fringes of the foothills and Rockies. In some places, you can see 100 miles—which feels like forever! I even find that I get somewhat claustrophobic when visiting other places where I can't see a long distance!

Though this photo isn't specifically from where I was born and raised, it demonstrates the idea that you really *can* see forever in Colorado! I captured this stunning sunset while leaving a hiking trip at Pawnee Buttes. In the far-off distance, the Front Range, including Longs Peak and Mt. Meeker, loom—over 90 miles away! As I caught a glimpse of these majestic peaks after exploring the equally majestic Pawnee Buttes, I was again reminded of the juxtaposed nature of Colorado's land. Both mountainous and "flat" inspire, and both are beautiful. Colorado is remarkable in this way. Everywhere you look—whether in the mountains or on the prairies—inspiration and beauty are easily found.

NEAR PAWNEE BUTTES, PAWNEE NATIONAL GRASSLANDS, COLORADO

Photo Credit: Sarah Malerich