Bush Daytrips to Colorado

Aug. 14 -- President Bush left the "Texas White House" today for higher ground in Denver to burnish his environmental image, promote "character education" and raise a few dollars for the Republican Party.

"When I try to describe America to somebody who's never been here, I say, 'We're a country stitched together by communities of character,'" Bush said during a visit to a YMCA campground in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park. "We can teach our children right from wrong and we can teach them good sound values so that when they get older, they'll make the right choices in their life."

Now in the second week of his monthlong "working vacation," the president ventured off his sprawling Crawford, Texas, ranch for a two-day swing through Colorado and New Mexico.

Bush Emphasizes Commitment to Environment

Having come under fire from environmentalists for rolling back many Clinton-era regulations, Bush stressed his commitment to the environment as he toured a trail at the scenic parkland.

"I am a big believer in the park system — We've got alot of maintenance backlog and we've got to take care of it," Bush said, accompanied by Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Fran Mainella, director of the National Park Service. "There are some in our country that want to just, you know, let the forests fall apart. We're not going to let that happen in this administration."

In his first visit to the centennial state since taking office, the president also planned to give a speech at a fund-raiser for Sen. Wayne Allard and Gov. Bill Owens and take in a few innings of Major League Baseball at Denver's Coors Field.

Bush may be facing a controversy on the fund-raising. The hotel where he is speaking is part of a chain currently being boycotted by the NAACP amid allegations its staff mistreated black guests at the Black College Reunion in 1999. The chain, Adam's Mark, denies the charges.

On Wednesday, Bush will read to elementary students at a back-to-school event in New Mexico and speak at a fund-raiser for Sen. Pete Domenici.