Cactus in Northern Colorado??

It is Friday and the workshop will start at 5pm, but I have most of the day for myself. After breakfast I take a long hike on the back road trial and then get off the trial and just roam thru the forests. The conditions here in NW Colorado are very dry, so this cactus survives very well here. I am at around 8,000 feet above sea level, the air is dry, it get cold here in the evenings and very cold and snowy in the winter. It is spring here and some of the wildflowers are just starting to show signs of blooming.
the workshop starts at 5pm and we introduce ourselves to each other and tell were we are from. Many of the participants are from the Colorado area, a few from California, one from Seattle, a couple from Texas, a lady from Canada British Columbia and me from Illinois. This session was mainly to introduce us to what Miksang photography was about with talks and a slide shows with examples.
the real stuff starts tomorrow morning a shooting assignment- Color.