Colorado residents are proud of their state and love to share it with others.

 The state flag was adopted on June 5, 1911.  Its colors are symbolic of certain geographical features of the state.  The gold stands for the abundant sunshine that Colorado enjoys.  The white sybolizes our snowcapped mountains.  The blue stands for the clear blue skies and the red represents the ruddy color of much of our state's earth.

  State Flower:  White and lavender columbine

  State Animal:  Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep 

   State Bird:  Lark Bunting 

    State Tree:  Colorado Blue Spruce

State Song:  "Where the Columbines Grow"

Tis the land where columbines grow, Overlooking the plains far below, While the cool summer breeze in the evergreen trees Softly sings where the columbines grow.

Recently, John Denver's classic, "Rocky Mountain High", has also been adopted as the official Colorado State Song.  It is more widely known among the general public and John Denver was a much loved Coloradan.

Colorado was admitted to the Union on August 1, 1876 as the 38th State and thus earned its nickname of the "Centennial State"

The name Colorado comes from the Spanish language and is the word for "colored red".  The capital is Denver and it is the 8th largest state in the US.

The average elevation is 6,800 feet with the highest point at Mount Elbert which is 14,433 feet.  Colorado has 58 mountains that soar over 14,000 feet but only 54 are considered official fourteeners.

NOW:

You're from Colorado if you'll eat ice cream in the winter.

When the weather report says it's going to be 65 degrees, you shave your legs and wear a skirt.

It snows 5 inches and you don't expect school to be canceled.

You'll wear flip flops every day of the year, regardless of temperature.  

'Humid' is over 25%.

Your sense of direction is: Toward the mountains and Away from the mountains.

You say 'the interstate' and everybody knows which one.

You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard.

You know what the Continental Divide is.

You always know the elevation of where you are.

You wake up to a beautiful, 80 degree day and you wonder if it's going to snow tomorrow.

**You don't care that some company renamed it, the Broncos still play at Mile High**

Everybody wears jeans to church.

You actually know that ** South Park ** is a real place not just a show on TV..

A bear on your front porch doesn't bother you.

When people out East tell you they have mountains in their state too, you just laugh.

You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels 'sticky' and you notice the sky is no longer blue.