Our last few days in Wyoming...

Leaving Cheyenne, we headed to Rock Springs Wyoming for a few days.  We had heard that this areas was pretty and a great place to explore for a couple of days before heading out of the state.

We made a quick stop in Laramie first, just to see what there was to see.  Our timing wasn't great tho, as a motorcycle group was coming in from doing a fundraising run and ending their trip there, so they closed off several of the main streets for them!  Shops were closed, and restaurants were either full or closed.  ;-(

Oh well, we walked around and took some fun photos of their great murals, peeked into their shop windows and snapped a couple shots of all the motorcycles and chatted with a few of the people from the run, then just headed back out again!

The drive wasn't a total loss, as we had two fun stops along the way.  The road to/from is on I-80, but back in 1881, it was known as the Transcontinental Route, also known as the Lincoln Highway.  There are two memorials dedicated to the building of this highway.  One you can't miss, it's right off the highway, and stands 48.5 feet tall!  It's also on the highest point of the transcontinental route at 8,640'.  It's a bust of Abraham Lincoln on top of a granite pedestal!  It certainly catches your eye!

The second monument you have to drive a bit to go see, but, wow, it's worth it!  It's the Ames Monument, a 60' granite pyramid honoring Oliver and Oakes Ames, the two promoters of the transcontinental railroad.  Built in 1881-82, the monument marks the site of Sherman, a train inspection point before it became a ghost town with the relocation of the Union Pacific tracks.

While in Rock Springs, we took a wonderful drive through the Flaming Gorge Scenic Byway.  What a beautiful drive that was, it certainly lived up to it's name!  This gorge goes through Wyoming & Utah with the dam being in Utah, sending the water through both states and even to Colorado.  John Wesley Powell named the area and after seeing the colors of the gorge, you can see why.  The Green River, which runs through the gorge, is so clear and beautiful, even this late in the summer.

We only saw one boat taking advantage of the lake, but I'm sure on the weekends and during the height of summer, it's kept busy.  It's supposed to be quite the fishing mecca, and one of the ranger stations showed off the record fish for one in Utah.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves....

It was a great way to end our stay in this beautiful state.  We had visited the "upper portion" of the state before, but never the "lower" part of the state, so this gave us a whole new perspective to enjoy!

Now we will skip through the edge of Utah and head into Nevada for awhile...

...on the road, Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Cheyenne!

We've toured a great part of Wyoming, but not the lower portion of the state, so decided that we would "finish off the state" and start in Cheyenne for a few days (while waiting on our mail) then head across the state towards Utah.  That way we will see Laramie, Rock Springs, the Flaming Gorge, Evanston and then out we go towards Salt Lake City!  That's the plan...but who knows, we often "turn left" as our friends well know!  ;-)

But first, we are exploring Cheyenne!  Being the capitol of Wyoming, that was the first thing I wanted to go see...well, shucks, it's under a multi-year renovation and all closed up!  ;-(   Looks like it's going to be really nice when it's all done next year....oh well...at least the outside dome was uncovered...

So, if you can't spend time exploring the inside of the capitol, you go visit the inside of the Historic Governors' Mansion!  This is the first residence provided for 19 governors and their families from 1905-1976.

The mansion was intended to be a home of the people and was never enclosed by a fence or had on site security.  The mansion underwent an extensive restoration in 2004 and is decorated with furniture and collections from the previous residents.

As we entered, someone was playing the piano in the Drawing Room.  Fun!  You are given a map, and allowed to wander on your own, which is so nice, and different than so many other historic homes.  Afterward I had a delightful chat with the ranger on duty, not only about the home, but about the area in general and places to see along our route.  Such nice people here!

Afterward we decided to take the Trolley Tour and get a 90 minute guided tour of the whole town.  It starts at their historic Cheyenne Depot which used to be the Union Pacific Depot back in 1887 which is built in a "Richardsonian Romanesque" style.  It's really quite something to see...quite beautiful inside and out.

This was our first "sighting" of the Boots...these are all over the city.  They are 8' tall and each painted by a different artist & theme....like other cities have horses, or cows, etc.  Here's a couple...

We saw some wonderful "painted ladies" from the 1800s, the home of Nellie Tayloe Ross (c1920s) First female governor of Wyoming, the US Marshall's window from 1902 where Tom Horn was arrested and then hung for murder (last person ever hung in WY), and a "Big Boy" train locomotive which is pretty rare!

We ended our day with a stop at their brand new Grand Conservatory in their Botanic Gardens.  It had just been open two weeks, so it still has a lot of work left to do, but it's going to be a nice addition to the park.  Next door is a children's area called The Paul Smith Children's Village that was really special.  If I would have had something like this near me when my children were small, we would have been there every day!  All sorts of small-sized furniture, cute tee-pees, secret gardens with a puppet theater, water features to play in, and on and on!  And flowers everywhere!  Wonderful place for adults and kids!  I didn't want to leave!  ;-)

A long day..and it ended nicely with a beautiful sunset...thank you Cheyenne!

...kicking back in Cheyenne,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

A Drive through Rocky Mountain National Park

After we left our friends in Colorado Springs, we decided to stay a couple of days midway between there and Wyoming so we could visit the Rocky Mountains and Estes Park.  We found a nice little state park at Boyd Lake that worked out just fine.  It was also just an hour away from Boulder where another friend of ours lives, so we could meet up with him one day as well.  Yippee! 

After settling in at Boyd Lake, we headed out the next morning to take our drive go see the famed  Rocky Mountains...you know the ones... John Denver used to sing about them!  (Take me home, Rocky Mountain high, Colorado...), anyway... With our love of National Parks, it was a must for us to take the time to really enjoy our drive through that park.

The day was beautiful and the park was not crowded, so the drive was lovely.  The only time we had any traffic was when a couple of elk decided to have "lunch" near the road...then "everyone" stopped to watch!  They managed to hide themselves a bit with as much foliage as possible (let's have a little fun watching the tourist make fools of themselves, shall we?).

The park itself is HUGE,  so you can't really see the whole thing in one day, so we chose the best loop for us, to see the highlights.

We made a stop at Estes Park, only to discover it was a small town that was just another town full of "tourist shops" with the same stuff we've seen in all other towns we've visited!  It did have one place that was interesting though, and that was the original home (now a lavish hotel) of the gentleman who invented the "Stanley Steamer" engine!

All in all, it was a lovely visit.  There was a nice saying (by Ann H Zwinger and Beatrice E Willard, Land Above the Trees) on one of the displays at the ranger's station in the park that I thought summed it up nicely...
                               
                                    "...where the sky is the size of forever
                                                        and the flowers are
                                                                     the size of a millisecond..."

...kicking back in Colorado, but on on way to Wyoming!  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

A Salute to the Future and a Peek at the Past...

Our last day spent with our friends we started our day off visiting the  United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.  What a beautiful campus, set in a gorgeous location!  The first thing you see as you drive along the freeway to get to it, is their very large Falcon Stadium, with it's back against the large rocky mountains that Colorado is so famous for.  Impressive.

Once inside the Visitor Center, you are welcomed with a large mural showing cadets throwing their hats in the air in celebration of graduation, a bronze plaque blazoned with their motto "We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does".  They show a great film about the life and training of a cadet, and have exhibits displaying the history, uniforms, a model of a cadet's room, etc.  Then, of course a very large gift shop!

A map is given (and needed!) for you to take a tour of the campus.  Luckily, most areas of interest are in a central area.  The most visited is the Cadet Chapel.  Completed in 1962, originally controversial in its design, the Cadet Chapel has become a classic and highly regarded example of modernist architecture and was named a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2004.  The first thing you see is it's row of 17 spires.  There are gaps between them that are filled with colored glass that create an incredible experience inside.

Besides it's beauty, what makes it really unique, is that it was designed to house three distinct worship areas under a single roof!  The Protestant nave is located on the upper level, while the Catholic and Jewish chapels and a Buddhist room are located beneath it.  Beneath this level is a larger room used for Islamic services and two meeting rooms.  Each chapel has its own entrance, and services may be held simultaneously without interfering with one another.  How is that for "co-existing"?  They haven't left anyone out, having an Earth-Centered Spirituality area for Wicca, Paganism and Druidism and an All-Faiths Rooms for worship for smaller religious groups.  I think the designer Walter Netsch did an outstanding job with this task!

The Protestant Nave

Catholic Chapel

Jewish Temple

 Buddhist Vast Refuge Dharma Hall

Being a weekend, there were not many cadets on grounds, but we did see a few practicing here and there, which was nice.  Another enjoyable stop was at their Honor Court where they had various replicas of airplanes, statues and sculptures honoring members and squadrons.

After walking our legs off this very large campus, we headed "back to the past"... to check out the Wild West Ghost Town Museum!

Jack and I have visited a number of Ghost Towns across the country, but this was nice in that it was inside, clean, and all in one spot.  It was well preserved, located within one of of the last remaining Colorado Midland buildings.  The structures were abandoned after the gold rush era in the 1800s and included a general store, saloon, blacksmith shop, jail, livery stable, rooming house and a beautiful Victorian house along with a ton of artifacts.  There were hardly anyone else there when we visited, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

You could put a quarter in the player pianos and have a dance with your partner, or hop on a saddle and pretend you were a cowgirl, or even pet one of the last remaining bisons!

It was a great way to end our week together.  We had so much fun, saw so many new things and once again renewed our friendship with these wonderful people!  What more can two people ask for?

Life is good...

...kicking back in Colorado, Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Pikes Peak or Bust!

Our next big adventure was to spend the day driving up to Pikes Peak, all 14,115 feet of it!  Certainly easier than the folks in the 1800's, but still plenty of switchbacks to experience!

Lucky for us it was a beautiful day.  Coloradoans have a saying that "if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes, it will change".  It seems to be a valid one too, so we took jackets and umbrellas, and we ended up needed both on and off!  The only weather we didn't hit was snow(ing) and only saw small amounts of it at the top areas.

There were 11 different stops along the way up to the Summit where you could get out and park, take a break and snap some pictures.   As you climbed the mountain, the terrain and the views changed beautifully.  We started at the gateway at 7,8000 ft with a deep green forest.  Around 8,600 we saw our first "warning sign"...to watch out for Big Foot! 

At 9,160 ft we came into Ute Pass and the view of the Crystal Reservoir below.  It was so clear that day you could even see the town of Cascade in the distance.  This is where we saw the first glimpse of the top of Pikes Peek too.

From there we started the up hill climb and quickly left the trees behind!  I caught a very quick glance at a herd of rams on the hillside while Rich was driving around one of the curves.  I snapped as fast as I could, got a picture...you can (almost) see them if you look real hard (lower left of the picture...they are those white spots!).  

A couple more stops for pictures before we reached the Summit...

Then...we made it!  All 14,115 feet!  Beautiful!  (and a wee bit cold!)  ;-)  

With stunning views below...

Then we started back down the mountain...

 That's a lone climber on top of that rock hill!  Then back into the trees we went...

Last stop, at Crowe Gulch at 8,540 ft, for a quick bit to eat (not great, but something anyway), then back to camp for a rest before dinner.  What a lovely day!  

...kicking back in Colorado,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Fun with Friends in Colorado Springs!

We are spending the week with some wonderful friends of ours who live in Colorado and have the same RV that we do!  Every once in awhile our schedules work out that we get to spend some time together and meet up and camp.  This week we were able to spend a week in Colorado Springs at Garden of the Gods RV Resort.  Since this is their "back yard" they were kind enough to play tour guides and show off their state!  We spent every day seeing the sights and having a grand ole time...it's going to take a couple of blogs to share it all!

We started our week off with a tour of the gold mine operation of the Newmont Mining Corporation in Victor.  We even had to don hard hats and vests, as this was a serious tour!  What an operation they have, we really learned a lot here.  This is an above ground rock pit, where trucks make about 30 trips a day hauling rocks that do, or don't have gold in them.  The sections have been pre-drilled and sampled to determine if they do or not, so if the trucks are being filled with rocks that do have gold, they go to the rock crushing area, if they don't, they then go to the "Overburdon Stockpile" that will later be used to fill the pit back in when they are done with it.

The "rock crusher" does just what it sounds like, making big rocks into to tiny ones that then goes onto a conveyor belt that drops them into a series of screens to further sift them down.  Ultimately they wind up going through a leech line with chemicals that slowly works out the "gold", finely sending it to the processing room where it's readied and formed and then sent out.  This is commercial gold used mostly for things like inside I Phones, etc.  However, several years ago a large shipment was turned into gold leaf and the Colorado Capitol Dome in Denver was covered with it, so that was pretty cool!

This is one of several gold mining operations this company has, and feel that they will be mining here for at least another 10 years.  They have 600 employees, with half being female (with equal pay) with an average annual pay of about $72,000, working 12 hour shifts.

Victor was a cute little town, not very big, and I would bet most of the inhabitants work at the mine!  You can see it's gold history everywhere, from old mining shafts still up, to old ads painted on the buildings and the 1900's buildings now being used as stores and restaurants. 

From there we took a drive to Cripple Creek, and what a difference!  Gambling and taken over!  Oh my!  They saved the old building tops, but redid all the bottoms of the buildings and it's just solid casinos.  I've never seen anything like it before.  We dashed into one when it started to rain, so that we could walk back to our car (you can walk from one to another all along the same block) and of course the guys just had to try their luck at the slots...well, good thing they did, as they both won!  What a hoot!  Not a lot, but both walked out with enough money to buy us gals dinner with money left over, and them saying "now aren't you glad we came in from the rain?"  ;-)

The following day we checked out the small Garden of the God Park just outside of our campground.  It's a pretty setting in a car.  We had accidentally headed into it with the RV on our way to the campground a barely made it through the entrance!  I had to get out and guide us through with absolutely no room to spare on either side of the RV, but...we made it through without a scratch!  Sure would not want to ever do THAT again though!  Phew!
After our little jaunt in the Park, took in the historic Old Colorado City.  Another cute little town.  Had a wonderful lunch at a quaint restaurant and then just headed back to camp.

The small entrance we came through!

...kicking back in Colorado,  Marie

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park CO

Having seen both rims of the Grand Canyon in Arizona  and then experienced the beauty of the slot canyon in Utah, it was time to see the massive gorge waiting in south-central Colorado that I had heard so much about…the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park!

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a crack in the Colorado Plateau half a mile deep yet astonishingly narrow…just 40 feet across at one point called the “Narrows”, with the raging Gunnison River at its 2000' below floor.  It takes it’s name from the limited sunlight that penetrates its depths, its eternal shadows evoking a somber, almost religious mood.  The day we were there, however, was a very sun-filled day, so we were lucky and caught it in all it’s glory.

The entire canyon stretches for 48 miles, but it’s the 14 mile section from Gunnison to Montrose that was elevated to national park status in 1999. The 7 mile South Rim Drive runs from High Point to Tomichi Point, passing overlooks with signs explaining the canyon’s unique geology.  Then, there is an East Portal that takes you on down to the river’s edge and the Gunnison Diversion Dam.  All this sounds short, but it took us almost a full day.  We saved the North Rim for the second day, which was much shorter.

Our first stop, after our long drive out there, was at the Ranger Station where we watched a wonderful film about the history about the park.  It’s really gone through quiet a bit!  The Ute Indians described it as “much rocks, big water” and pretty much walked around it.  At that time, the river was deep and flowing hard and loud.  By the time the US declared independence in 1776, two Spanish expeditions had passed by the canyons.  In the 1800s, the numerous fur trappers search for beaver pelts would have known of the canyons’s existence but they left no written record, so probably walked away as well.  The first official account of the Black Canyon was provided by Captain John Williams Gunnison in 1853, who was leading an expedition to survey a route from Saint Louis and San Francisco.  He described the country to be “the roughest, most hilly and most cut up,” he had ever seen, and skirted the canyon south towards present day Montrose.  Following his death at the hands of Ute Indians later that year, the river that Captain Gunnison had called the Grand was renamed in his honor. 

In 1881 a narrow gauge railroad was built, that lasted until 1955.  In 1901 the US
Geological Survey sent two men into the canyon to look for a site to build a diversion tunnel bringing water to the Uncompahgre Valley, which was suffering from water shortages due to an influx of settlers into the area.  They finally were successful, and after a 4 year undertaking the tunnel was finally completed in 1909, stretching a distance of 5.8 miles and costing nearly 3 million dollars and loosing 26 lives.  During 1933-35 the Civilian Conservation Corps built the North Rim Road to design by the National Park Service, with includes fives miles of roadway and fives overlooks. 

In 1933 It became a US National Monument, but in the 1990’s a local minister began a letter writing campaign to make it a national park.  He loved the canyon and visited it daily.  He felt that it was a special place that everyone should see and enjoy.  He even gave sermons out there.  His campaign worked, and President Hoover came out to the canyon, and agreed with him, and in October, 1999 it became a National Park.  Each of the overlooks were named by him.  That just shows you what one person can do!

It was a wonderful stop along our journey in Colorado and I'm so glad that they did preserve it as a National Park for all of us to enjoy!


...on the road in Colorado,  Marie


If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/