As you may have heard, Colorado had a snowstorm this
week. My friend Barbara from Dallas came for the
weekend and we had a blast!!! On Monday afternoon, it
started snowing and by that night it was so bad that
there was no way I could drive her to the airport in
Colorado Springs. So we waited until Tuesday
morning...it took us 3 hours to make the 57 mile trip
on snow and ice-covered roads. But, ultimate tourists
that we are, she drove and I had the window down
taking pictures of the snow!!!
We really did have a GREAT time over the weekend
hitting most of the tourist spots in and around
Denver, Colorado Springs, Golden, and Boulder.
The highlight of the weekend was the ride on the Cog
Railway to the top of Pike's Peak - 14,110 feet
high!!! We got really lucky, too. Three trains went
up that day. One went to the top, but they were not
able to see anything and one only made it to 12,000
feet. Ours was the 2nd train and at first they told
us we couldn't go all the way because of high winds.
That changed though once it came time to leave and we
did make it all the way. I was sick as a dog when we
got there, though, and didn't really get to see the
view. I barely made it from the train to inside the
station - wandered around in a daze when I was able to
stand up.
We went to Garden of the Gods which is an absolutely
beautiful park with the most amazing rock formations.
Also did Seven Falls which was nice, but not nearly as spectacular as the waterfalls I saw in Yellowstone last year.
How can anyone spend much time in Colorado with all
the spectacular scenery and not believe in God?
Went to the Air Force Academy - we really wanted to
see the chapel which is supposed to have spectacular
stained glass - but it is a 1/3 mile walk from the
visitor center and the wind was extremely high and
cold, so we opted out of that.
Maintou Springs is a quaint little town and home to
both the Cog Railway and Miramont Castle which we
toured. We saw some beautiful art work there. It is
a place where people get married and they were setting
up for a wedding that night.
Saturday night we went to the Flying W Ranch. This is
a working ranch and they have chuck wagon shows with
all kinds of outdoor activities in the summer (kids,
remember the ones we went to in South Dakota?)
But in winter it is just dinner and a show. The food
wasn’t that great, but the show was pretty good. The
Flying W Wranglers are an award winning western band
and we enjoyed that. There were also some really good
murals on the walls.
On Monday we headed up to Red Rocks Park where they
have an outdoor amphitheatre and then on to Buffalo
Bill's grave at Lookout Mountain. I had been there on
my first trip to this area in 1989. I had recalled it
as being a drive straight up a mountain....wasn't
quite as bad as I remembered. Either the mountain has
gotten smaller and less steep or I've become more
accustomed to driving in the mountains.
We did the tour at the Coors Brewery in Golden and met
an absolutely charming couple from California - had a
lot of fun visiting with them. I e-mailed him a
picture I took of them with Barbara and got a response
back from him saying that we were the "bomb".
After that, we headed on into Boulder for a quick look
at the Celestial Tea factory and a meadery. Mead is
honey wine - you probably remember reading about it in
Beowulf and Shakespeare in high school. We took a
tour and did a tasting. I didn't particularly care
for any of it. But, there was a nice cinnamon and
vanilla flavored one that I bought for this year's
Christmas party.
Oh, and we visited the headquarters of FOCUS ON THE
FAMILY - missed the tour but spent some time in the
book store.
So it's been cold here all week. Snowed again
yesterday. Last night I left the office late and was
out scraping the windshield in the cold and dark.
But, just being able to see the beautiful snow covered mountains makes it worthwhile. But, still, I am ready to be finished with this project and in fact, will wrap it up in the next few days.
My plan is to take the rest of the year off before
starting another project. I'm in desperate need of
some R&R. Should be in Dallas Tuesday night if not
before and then to OK for Thanksgiving. (Charles, are
you planning on putting my lights up the weekend after
TG? - I'll be home, but am then leaving for Nebraska
on Monday).
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