COLORFUL COLORADO
We left New Mexico for Colorado on Friday, May 14th. It wasn’t long before we saw a glimpse of the Rockies. Another mountain range to enjoy but this one much taller and peaking through behind the foothills were the snow-covered mountaintops.
LEARNING HISTORY ALONG THE ROAD
We passed a sign for the Ludlow Massacre which prompted me to look into it. Not a good time for coal miners who were striking because of poor labor conditions during the Colorado Coalfield War in April of 1914. The Colorado National Guard attacked men, women and children in a tent camp. Twenty-one people were killed, including wives and children. It was thought that the attack on the strikers was orchestrated by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who was a part owner of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. It was President Woodrow Wilson who ordered the federal soldiers to intervene. As a result of Congress investigating these events, the House Committee on Mines and Mining wrote a report that influenced the child labor laws and the 8-hour workday. The site is now a ghost town with a nationally recognized monument to those who died in the massacre.
We didn’t take the turn off to the Scenic Highway of Legends on State Highway 12. Someday we should wander through that part of the Rocky Mountains. Our friends, Jayne and Paul are working in La Veta and it just seemed a shame to get so close to them and not stop. But we wanted to get to our next stay in Colorado Springs KOA early enough to do some food shopping. So, we waved virtually to our friends and will keep in touch this summer.
Along a long stretch of Highway I 25 we saw some random objects that caught our attention. We are appreciative of these bits of folk art or whatever they are as they break up some of the monotony of the highway. There were the words “God is Real” painted on the back of a metal sign with a happy face on one side and a heart on the other side. Following that we saw a metal sculpture of a turtle and, in the field with no apparent plan, several US flags flying on poles. The strangest sight was an art gallery the size of a shed that was very close to the highway but had no other access road to it. A pretty herd of deer scampered along, and a few cattle grazed in the grass. This happened over miles and miles of grassland. Three wind turbines quietly captured a bit of a breeze. And then at a place that sold landscaping rocks, we saw a mini Stonehenge. All of this with enormous Pike’s Peak peeking out of the surrounding mountains.
It was a beautiful ride through this beautiful state.
Our campsite in this destination KOA park has a real patio, with a table and four chairs, a bench and a small Blue Spruce tree. After getting some food shopping done and finally filling our depleted supplies, we brought back some Burger King because we still have to fix the damaged propane hose, making cooking difficult.
We took advantage of the pretty patio and sat outside as the clouds that were threatening rain gave way to the sun. Our neighbors in the large Kamping Kabins have lots of loud children so we sat outside listening to their voices and missing our own noisy grandchildren.
CAVE OF THE WINDS
We have decided to add to our Cave knowledge by visiting as many new caves as we can on this trip. Our first was Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs. This cave was discovered in 1880 by two brothers, John and George Pickett. They were exploring near a limestone archway and while there, their candles went out because of a small wind coming from within a cave. They thought it was haunted, but their tale brought other people into the tiny entrance. Others opened up more passageways until we have the current cave expanse, making it a worthwhile tour. We would never have entered through the tiny opening on our bellies and climbed down the still hanging rope ladder.
Our car climbed the long and winding Canyon Rim Road up to the Cave. We took the Discovery Tour – which is very popular. Fifteen people every 10 minutes go on this 45 minute tour. They also have a Lantern Tour which lasts for 90 minutes and seems like much more of a caving adventure.
Cave of the Winds is quite an operation – a huge gift shop, cafeteria, viewing areas and rides for the young and old daredevils – rock climbing, a 600-foot-above-ground Challenge Course, a Terror-Dactyl ride that shoots you across a 200-foot canyon at about 100 miles per hour with your legs dangling. There were tamer things to do like panning for minerals or sitting on the patio admiring the spectacular view of the gorge (our choice)
The Discovery Tour through the cave was plenty exciting for us. There were about 100 steps, some of them very narrow with low hanging rocks above you. The floor was often uneven but there were some handrails (called stalagpipes, ha ha). The path was winding and narrow and took you through many small rooms with many twists and turns. The mantra was “Right is right; left is lost.” Until you made a left turn at the very end.
The tour guides were young and seemed to all be just starting out. Ours had a great sense of humor and did a good job. There was a lot to see – mostly the gently eroded walls and ceilings and some notable formations. The color in the cave was gray – what you would expect from a mostly dry cave.
It was interesting to see how this cave developed and the form it took. It was a good tour to take – but when there are many steps and a fast pace, it is hard to see everything. We enjoyed it and were glad we went. Another cave on our bucket list!
MANITOU CLIFF DWELLINGS
These cliff dwellings were much more accessible than any others we have been too. There were a lot of stairs to climb (I was a little slow due to the higher altitude) but once you got to the main level you could walk (stoop) through lots of doorways into many rooms. The tiny rooms, the cliff itself, the common areas and storage areas were all right there to explore and touch. The preservation and rehabilitation of this site was a tribute to the Ancient Anasazi who occupied this cliff. The Native Americans who run it now have included two really excellent museums.
The only part that was a little awkward was the enormous gift shop. Like the pueblo cliff dwellings, it had many levels, many stairs, and rooms that led into each other. At one point, we didn’t think we could find our way out of the shop.
The Cliff Dwellings were very close to Cave of the Winds and that made a perfect second stop for us. It was definitely worth the entrance fee and all the stairs. We have seen many ruins and cliff dwellings. This one was the most accessible and we loved all the informative signs about the plants in the surrounding landscaping. I liked learning about the centuries-old uses of these ancient plants that thrive and bloom today. It was a really nice day for us. Then we took Sunday off from sight-seeing and stayed home. I got some laundry done; we ate breakfast at the Café in the campground and just took care of a few chores.
BOYD LAKE STATE PARK, LOVELAND
Our last stop in Colorado is Boyd Lake State Park in Loveland. Doug made the decision to drive right through Denver instead of taking the toll road. A toll road driving a large motorhome and towing a car is not just a few dollars for a toll. It would have been about $64. We went through during a lull in rush hour traffic but with the construction and the merging and still high speeds, I was pretty nervous. Doug seems to have nerves of steel when he drives, and he successfully navigated through this big city.
This time we virtually waved to Sylvia and Dave who live in Denver. We look forward to seeing them next fall.
One picturesque part of the trip was approaching Castle Rock. You could see the giant rock formation right along the highway. The cap rock on this butte is rhyolite – a rock that resists erosion. The formation at the top of a mesa really resembles a castle. Rhyolite is an igneous rock in which you can find stones that are treasured as gems like topaz. 58 million years ago a volcanic eruption covered this area, and in particular this butte, with 20 feet of rhyolite. This kind of rock has tiny vugs – little gaps in the rock that have trapped gases. The gases percolated over long periods of time leaving a hole. It is inside these vugs where translucent sparkling crystals form. It’s like a geode, but not encapsulated. Now I want to go rhyolite hunting!
We pulled into Loop E in our campground at Boyd Lake State Park – just electricity, no water or sewer so set up was easy. The park is grassy, and the lake is large and close by to our site. The sites are not that long but we just fit our rig and car. I had just finished the inside set up (pretty minimal when we are on the road) and it started to rain. It has been overcast the last few days. The thunderstorms passed us every night we were in Colorado Springs. But the rain definitely has hit us now. We are cozy in our home and the sound of the rain on the roof is pleasant. We’ll just stay in today and relax.
Maybe tomorrow we will take advantage of a nice walk to the lake; take a picnic lunch and sit on the beach. We do truly love beach sitting and we haven’t done that for a very long time.
We didn’t get to sit on the beach. We walked over to the beach to check it out. It was too wet, but it was a really nice walk. The weather cleared by the end of the day. We just relaxed which is a really nice thing to do, especially since we are on VACATION!
GERING, NEBRASKA
Left Colorado for a two-night stay in Gering, Nebraska. We still had a view of the Rockies far away on our left. The weather was sunny today after 3 days of rain and being overcast. The drive was peaceful – this part of Nebraska has a lot of green pastures with some grazing cattle. We drove for long distances and then saw the bluffs in the distance. We saw a large two-dimensional metal sculpture of a bison on top of gentle hill.
We stopped at the Southeast Wyoming Visitor Center. On our last visit there we loved the exhibits, but they are mostly closed due to COVID. We were able to get lots of information about the art, architecture and natural landscaping that went into building this beautiful visitor center.
We entered Nebraska – welcomed by a sign that said, “the good life” and saw three turkeys wandering in the field.
We have been here before and stayed at this beautiful Robidoux RV Park again. The sites are huge and grassy, level with concrete pads. We did run into something weird. Some of the sites here are head-to-head. We had been assigned one of them. We knew it wouldn’t work for us. We aren’t sure we are going to unhitch the car and the only way out of that site would be to back up. Also, there was a shared driveway next door and the truck in that site would have been blocked by our toad. So, we asked for and got a pull-through.
The weather is breezy and just the right temperature. I smelled the lilac bush before I saw it. Then, I took some photos of Scott’s Bluff from a loop in the campground. This large rocky feature is 800 feet above the North Platte River and has been a landmark for everyone – Native Americans, people traveling on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails and anyone driving down the nearby highway. We visited up close last time we were here.
We’ll spend a restful night here among the beautiful clouds enjoying the views. Then on to South Dakota, our home state!
