Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods is a National Natural Landmark located by Colorado Springs. The garden refers not only to flora, but also to rocks. Like a rock garden you might have in your backyard. In fact, some people here actually have it in their back yard. Unlike in California, these city planners must be very cooperative with developers. There literally are houses built so close to the Landmark that some of the formations are within their yards.

So sod Mon.

But the Garden is spectacular with many miles of dirt trails, and a road that has a walking/biking path throughout the entire area.

Here is the Siamese Twins Formation with Sue in the foreground.

Here is the view that Sue was taking a picture of that highlights Pikes Peak as seen through the keyhole in the Twins.

We arrived at the Garden about 8 in the morning, when the sun was coloring the rocks with it's morning red glow.

Just a stunning area, everywhere you look on the Central Garden Trail.

There was some fauna too.

Our 27th anniversary is in a week, but by then we'll be out in the boonies again we think, so we celebrated last night with a fine dining experience at the Mona Lisa Fondue Restaurant in Manitou Springs. (That's actually where we are staying right now)

It was a wonderful venue in an old hotel which had many small rooms of three or four tables that kept the noise level very low and made for a very intimate setting. Like the title suggests, we had a cheese fondue course and also a chocolate fondue course.

The only downside was that they brought the entree to your table uncooked and a small grill was supplied. We were pretty busy for a while trying to cook everything and still enjoy the food while it was hot.

No Jan, she didn't do all the cooking. As you know, I'm quite the grill master!

Tonight, dinner with our friend Jim who is in town for 90 days pulling National Guard duty. Or as he calls it, paid vacation.

Tomorrow, Pikes Peak. Maybe instead of driving up there, we'll just hike it instead.

Pagosa Springs, Colorado

This is a smaller town, although in this state the town sign only gives elevation and not population, so it's hard to say exactly. Seems like the size of Atown.

They are known for the natural hot springs bubbling up all around the river. In fact, Guiness recorded the Mother Spring at 1002' deep; the deepest known hot spring in the world. Here's a picture of Mama. The hot spring I mean.

Some enterprising soul with funding built a huge, beautiful Spa Resort with all the amenities right on the river. All the spas (dozens of them) are on different levels, exposed to the public and cascades to the river below. This picture doesn't do it justice.

It makes me think of what the right person (Mike Z?) could have accomplished in Paso Robles many years ago. There are many springs springing up all around in this area. Of course they all come along with the requisite sulfur odor.

We're staying at an RV park tonight, which is something we rarely do. We prefer to dry camp at campgrounds. Pretty much like Brian and Janet.  In an RV Park the sites tend to be larger, closer together, and more expensive. But we do have wifi. Hey Gordon, when was the last time you had faster internet at an RV site than you do at home?

Tomorrow, Colorado Springs. You don't suppose they have natural hot springs too?

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings

The sun is shining, the clouds are ever present, and it rains several times a day. Boy, living in California as long as I have made me forget that it actually rains sometimes other than the winter months.

We went for a guided tour of Cliff Palace this morning with 50 strangers and a tour guide that knew less than we did after reading the info packet last night. She had a response to questions that seemed a little vague. "Sure!" She asked one lady if she answered her question and the tourist replied "No". What do you expect for $5?

This a view from the overlook before we descended into the village. They estimate 150 people lived here about 700 years ago before a mass exodus for unknown reasons.

This was an agricultural society and they would grow their crops and hunt for game up on the mesa just above the village. There were no ropes or ladders leading to the top, as these people were all rock climbers!

So essentially, everything was carried down the sheer walls to the kitchen, presumably on their backs. Peggy, do you ever bemoan having to carry the groceries up to the second floor of your house?  Consider the alternative!

They did use ladders within the village to get from one story to the next, as these structures were sometimes 4 stories tall.

Yes, we really were here.

Below is a picture of a Kiva, looking down from above. This round room had a wood roof with a hole in the middle to let the smoke escape from the fire. The round depression in the bottom of this pit is the fire ring. The roof hole was also the entrance/exit to this room via a ladder to the floor. You can also see holes at the base of the wall which is how the fresh air entered. It's believed this was sort of a living room/ spiritual gathering place.

Learning of the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo People really makes us appreciate what a cushy existence we have. I'll bet there were no slackers in that society. Interestingly, this area is known for it's advanced culture and was a mecca for travelers as far away as Mexico. Many people traveled here to trade and settle down, which helped the gene pool, not to mention sharing knowledge.

Tomorrow we hit the road again. Not sure where we'll stop, as we're just putting miles on to get closer to our final destination. We will be in Colorado Springs soon and we intend to explore that area a little.

A day in the heat

"We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave"

Except it's really dry. Two different couples who enjoy camping told us they just loved Lee's Ferry Campground at Vermillion Cliffs. Sue just had to go.

As we're driving into the park at 10:30 a.m., I mentioned to Sue that it was 95 degrees already and we might want to reconsider. But sometimes she makes up her mind and won't budge. Just like JSL when someone mentions coffee. I have to admit, it was beautiful.

We knew going into the park there were no hookups (meaning electric, water, sewage). That means we can't run the A/C.  Fortunately, the high only got to 109. And inside the trailer it was not quite 100. Kind of a fitful sleep. On the plus side, I think I burned up the bug that was making my throat sore. All better!!

We did go down to the Colorado River and get in the water for a while. It was freezing! That certainly made for a quick respite. I think Mark and Zoe went by this spot just days before we were there. Mark, do you recognize this view?

Today we are camping in Mesa Verde National park in the far southwest corner of Colorado. The campground is really rustic (that's being PC), and again we have no hookups, but the elevation is much higher and remarkably cooler. Surprisingly, we have a decent wifi connection.

We had to run into the town of Cortez about 9 miles away to take care of some chores today, and can you believe it! All the coffee shops were closed by 4 o'clock except the Starbucks. Where's our favorite barista Paul when you need him?

Should have some great pics tomorrow of some of the 600 cliff dwellings in the park.

I can't wait-

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Onward to Vermilion Cliffs

We just left the Grand canyon area. And we happened to drive through a spot where we had coverage. I recently remembered that usually on our trips we tend to be in areas where there is no coverage.

Yesterday we went on two wonderful hikes, but breathing at 8000 feet elevation is a little bit difficult for me now. I've decided it's best not to run from rim to rim to rim.

We aren't driving very far today, about 50 miles from where we were staying is a place called Vermilion Cliffs National Reserve. We plan on relaxing today to see if I can get over a painful sore throat which started the morning we left. I'm hoping it doesn't turn into a cold, or worse.

It's Grand all right!

We left Vegas this morning before the sun rose. We tried to get a nice shot driving down the freeway but that was near impossible. I finally did pull over and get this shot of the sun but it had

already come over the mountains.

When we arrived at the Grand canyon rim, we did a little bit of hiking and saw some nice views but it's overcast and cloudy and raining right now actually. So we're enjoying a nice view from the lodge patio and drinking our beer and wine.

Tomorrow we'll head out for some serious hikes, and the weather is supposed to be better tomorrow so hopefully the pictures will be better too.

Day One

Mount Rushmore Trip-  Day One

Long uneventful drive to Las Vegas. We're holed up in the trailer trying to stay cool. It's triple digits out there. In fact, I got a pic of my temperature gauge in the truck as we were stuck in traffic.

We were able to cool off in the pool, and now we're relaxing with a glass of wine.

Life is good!

Tomorrow, the North Rim of the Grand Cyn. At over 8000' of elevation we expect it'll be cooler.

Stay tuned-

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