Back from Colorado

[WV Sawmiller]

   First let me apologize to any Colorado residents I may have previously offended with my less than pleasant, but accurate, description and evaluation of the land around Denver and up to Ft Collins area. If you live there in that flat, dry, treeless/tree deprived area you have enough issues without other pointing out how much more attractive the land in WV and other such area of this country actually are. But I digress.

 We left Monday 13 September for a wedding of my BIL's stepdaughter. We flew to Denver and spent the first night there and visited with my BIL and his wife from Alaska/Alabama. (He bought and is renovating their old family home in Ala and had been there several weeks this trip.) We went out and had a good Indian meal with them and breakfast the next morning at a local diner then headed to Ft Collins to an AirBNB my younger BIL (Father of the Bride) had rented. His son, DIL and GD came in from Wisconsin that afternoon and his youngest Stepson had already come in from out at Ft. Lewis. We went over to see the bride and met her intended and BIL's ex (Mother of the bride) and had a great visiting time with them.

 Wednesday while the rest did their wedding planning and rehearsals we rode over to Estes National Park and had brunch with our Alaska BIL/wife. He had been stationed at the AF Academy and near there working with the FAA so acted as a local tour guide. We had a rehearsal dinner in town that night and met a few more of the groom's family.

 Thursday we had breakfast at a local cafe and to the wedding that afternoon and reception afterward at a local wedding winery venue. Very nice location, good meal and company and more time with the family.

 Friday the Alaska BIL took the Wisconsin crew to the airport and spent the night in Denver and visited old haunts there Saturday. We got up Saturday and checked out of the B&B then we took the younger BIL to the airport to catch his flight. Then we took a leisurely drive down to Cripple Creek where I had booked a room at a Casino/Hotel. I booked there because it had good rate, very high reviews and 9 miles from Pike's Peak. What I did not know at the time was while it was close to Pike's Peak it was on the opposite side and about 53 miles from the start of our Cog railway tour at Manitou Springs we had booked for Sunday.

 The ride from Denver to Cripple Creek was leisurely and we stopped to take pictures of a Prairie dog town. We stopped at Florisant National Park to see the fossil beds which included several petrified 20' diameter redwood stumps that were very impressive. They had several fossils on a table with a park ranger describing them. One was a mastodon tooth which looked like our modern elephant teeth. The terrain and topography were very impressive with much better looking places to live IMHO. The trees were mostly small to medium Pondarosa pines with Aspens that were just starting to turn colors. In a few weeks they will be really pretty I am sure. All the areas we visited were severely hardwood deprived for oaks, maples, hickory, ash, and such from what I saw. There were nice streams and lakes all along the way. We never did get a picture of the Elk Crossing signs but we did get one of a Bighorn sheep crossing sign.

 We got to the hotel and checked in then drove around and looked at an active gold mine from an overlook and some other heritage mining sites and equipment. We found out Cripple Creek seems mostly casinos with a few old restored buildings. We had dinner at the casino and when AU lost to Penn St I took that as an omen my luck was bad and I did not try gambling in the casino below our room. It was a little noisy for good sleeping but they did offer ear plugs and I guess around midnight it quieted down. The hotel had some age but was clean, well appointed and I'd recommend it to anyone. I am sure they make their money on the casino downstairs rather than as a hotel.

 Sunday we got up, had breakfast, packed up and checked out and stopped at the Heritage Center at the edge of town. It was well worth the stop with neat write-ups and memorabilia. After that we continued a leisurely tour to Manitou Springs to ride the Cog railroad that afternoon to the top of Pikes Peak. I had never seen or heard of a cog railroad where there is a center rail notched to fit a big cog on the locomotive. We went up some grades of 25% which is about 20% more than regular railroads can traverse. We had an interesting and educational trip up and beautiful sights at the top. It was very cool (45*) and windy at the top. The air was thin especially since we had to wear masks all the time and I'd catch myself gasping for breath at times.

 At the end of our trip we drove to the outskirts of Denver to the town of Centennial and checked into an inexpensive hotel, drove a few blocks and found a nice Indian place and another good curry meal. I evidently picked up a head cold with a runny nose and did not sleep well. We got up early, checked out and drove straight up I-25 to I-225 to I-70 and the airport and returned our rental car and got our bags checked for our flight to Charlotte then after a log wait to fly (our fault for early check-in, not the airline) then a quick check in at Charlotte and on time arrival in WV at 7:30 pm with all bags intact. Another 45 minutes or so on our winding mountain road and Sampson excitedly greeted us at the gate.

We had a very good trip and most of Colorado we saw was very pretty. I did not see or hear an Elk bugle but the couple on the plane to Charlotte next to me were going to Huntsville Ala and the lady showed me some pictures of a nice bull where they had been camping. She said it bugled all night which was fun at first but got old after a few hours. We did see several mule deer and I had to brake hard to avoid one after the wedding. We saw a few antelopes, a road killed coyote and skunk, and some Pikas, some hawks and a golden eagle or two. Even the flat land around Denver appeared to be very good farmland, it just lacked the excitement of terrain variations. I'd love to go back and see more of the state. I will say we were never rushed and I enjoyed to leisurely pace and ability to stop and see any interesting feature we encountered.

[Old Greenhorn]

Sounds to me like you had a good trip. I am guessing this was your first visit?
 My 'relationship' and memories with that great state go back to the mid-60's when I first visited for my Brothers wedding. He was stationed at Ft. Carson outside of Colorado Springs and met and married a gal who was raised on a large cattle ranch in the southern part of the state where it is all scrub. Our trip that time covered a lot of ground from the Springs down to the bottom of the state to meet his new in-laws on the ranch they worked with a 20 mile driveway, over to Cripple creek (there were no casinos in those days, just a ghost town and other local inhabitants, the mines were pretty much all abandoned) where we did some of our own gold panning and got a little lucky. We went to a few places in the springs too but the wedding was the focus of that trip. My brother remained in CO the rest of his life and only came back east twice since the 60's. I went out to visit fairly regular. My Dad worked at the airlines for a while and I could fly standby for a few days for about 25 bucks. I would go out and trout fish for a couple or 3 days and we would do weekend drives up to national forests on the Divide. My Brother and his wife lived outside Denver, their daughter is in Boulder. We visited Central city long before any casinos came in and ruined the town. In those days there were 6 Saloons and 2 bars plus other dusty museums and such. (you know the difference between a saloon and a bar, right?) One visit they had a founders day parade. It was 30 minutes long and in that time circled town 3 times. Every museum, shop, saloon, bar, and venue had a float in the parade, including the FD, the Mountain rescue team, and the Opera house. Good times, great music.
 When I got engaged, I took my future wife out there for a 10 day vacation and we toured around and spent a few days back at the Springs where we did the Cog railway, Manitou Springs, Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls and every wax museum I could find (I have a 'thing' for them).
 In the 70's there was a job boom out there and everybody was hiring and offering good money. My Brother tried to get me to move out there and I thought about it, even looked into some machinist jobs, but never pulled the trigger. In the 90's I went out for my Niece's first wedding held in Breckenridge, at an altitude of 10,000'. It was 'chilly' and the only time I ever suffered from altitude.
 The last time I was there was for his funeral several years ago.
 It's a pretty state, I will always have a warm spot in my heart for it and it's beauty and history. Yes, the terrain is very different but there is a lot going on there, from the mountains with good hunting and great fishing down to the plains with the cattle culture and those ranchers that make it all run. Water seems to be a big problem especially around the Denver area, and the population continues to explode, but they will get by, I'm sure.
 I'm glad you had a fine trip. I hope to get back there some day.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   Ok, I'll bite. What is the difference between a bar and a saloon?

   Glad you have fond memories. The people we met were nice. I stopped at a convenience store for a potty break and we bought a couple of sodas. I was picking at the young couple ahead of us in line checking their lottery tickets. i told them "It is bad luck to win and not share with those around you." Evidently they won something as the lady paid for our sodas. I told her I was just joking but she was in a good mood.

    I stopped at a souvenir shop with chainsaw carvings and primitive furniture and talked to the lady running the shop and she told us about Florisant and we did stop there to see the fossils and petrified tree stumps and such and enjoyed that. 

   We saw real pretty valleys down south of Denver where I could see the old time ranchers settling. Nice streams, plenty of trees and rocks for building with good looking bottomland for farming and ranching. I am sure there was plenty of game in the forests on either side. 

   We saw several farms with llamas in the area. I think I remember llamas being used as pack animals by hikers up on the trails. Around here they are used to protect sheep from coyotes and that may be the same there. It was funny in Cripple Creek where they had signs out about wandering burros in town evidently descendants of ones the old prospectors released. 

   I'd go back for more sightseeing if the opportunity presents itself.

[barbender]

I've seen both llamas and burros left with sheep out west, they are both supposed to hate coyotes with a passion!

[WV Sawmiller]

   Same here. They use donkeys and I think even mules as watchdogs to protect the sheep here in WV. I even met one couple who had a miniature donkey to guard their sheep. He looked more like a meal for a coyote than a threat to them. I have seen videos of mules attacking mountain lions and such.

[Don P]

One of our neighbors had guard llamas in with the sheep, one of them was appropriately named Dolly.
They kind of guarded them against me too, never did really trust that pair.

We took a fall drive when we were out west during the leaf color change. We realized out west you are supposed to oooh and aaaw over the fall color, yellow  :D. I enjoy the west but also the diversity of our forest.

[WV Sawmiller]

Don,

   You must have missed the peak Fall foliage out there when there was an occasional faint tint of orange on some of the trees. Sorry you missed it. :D

[WV Sawmiller]

   Among the things I am thankful for besides the much nicer terrain and vegetation views and such is turning in that Dang rental car. It was a Cambry and I bumped my head every time I got in or out. It is so nice to be back in my Dodge pick up which is built for adult sized humans. I am not a tall guy either so I can only imagine what people 6'+ must think of them.

   I went and got a C-19 test yesterday to confirm my Colorado crud is just a cold and not covid. I keep checking my on-line chart but no results posted yet. I'm feeling much better once I got some cold medicine to dry up my sinuses so I could get some sleep.

[samandothers]

Been to Colorado Springs 4 times now.  Each time is a treat.  

2 of the trips were with our scout troop on way to Philmont.  Each time was great.  Went out early to acclamate to the altitude.  We visited Pikes Peak, Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods and first trip it before 9/11 we toured the NORAD site. 

One trip to Colorado Springs was for business and the wife went with me.  We wanted to go to the Cog railway and Manitou Springs but wildfires had that area closed off.  We spent some extra time and went up to Estes Park and up through the park over the mountain.  A sad memory from that trip was the wild fires around Colorado Spring and the Air Force Academy.  An air crew from Charlotte NC were killed, they were on a fire fighting mission dropping water/chemicals on the wild fires.  This occurred a day or two after we saw them in a local restaurant in Colorado Springs.

I too would like to return.

[DbltreeBelgians]

Howard, it sounds like you had a good time in the Centennial state. I hope you're feeling better now. Not much fun being on a vacation while feeling under the weather.
I used to live in Grand Junction on the western slope. The front range is not for me. I love the state but I'm not a big city type guy even though I enjoy going to the National Western Stock Show in Denver. I married Jill in Gunnison County at my parents property near Blue Mesa reservoir. That area of the state is beautiful.
Jill and me are leaving Monday morning for Grand Jct. to visit my sister, BIL, and nephews and then on to Moab Utah. We'll be taking the Polaris General to do some trail riding and hopefully the fall colors will be in full swing.

Brent

[barbender]

Several times I've seen the aspens out west turn not only yellow, but also orange and red. I guess they try to take on all the colors since nothing else is going to🤷‍♂️😁

[barbender]

I snapped this picture up in the Bighorns of Wyoming last week, because the aspens were displaying yellow, red, and orange. It's not quite as vivid in a pic I took through my windshield as it was in person🤷‍♂️

[Old Greenhorn]

Well you guys had put CO in my mind and I have been thinking about the good times I had out there over the years. I was looking for something and came across this old scan of a photo. Garden of the Gods, 1976. I looked a tad different then.


 

[WV Sawmiller]

Barbender,

   Nice shot but if you think that is red you need to come see us here in WV next month to recalibrate your color palette. :D

Brent,

   Fortunately I only picked up the creeping crud the last 2 days and even better the results on my on-line medical chart showed this morning it is not covid so that is reassuring. I'm about over it now and I guess I better get back to making some sawdust and there are several backlog customers ready.

[wisconsitom]

I used to tour with New Flavor Reggae band back in the early 2000's.  We gigged in Colorado often.  One trip, we'd been in Denver, Breckenridge, Fort Collins, and a handful of other stops.  We went up to Casper for 3 night show.  we went all over the Rocky Mountain states and beyond, in winter, with zero driving issues.

At the end of that little ten-day run or whatever it was, we returned home.  As soon as we got back into Wisconsin, the roads were pure crap, a semi was laying sideways in the ditch, cars were slipping and sliding.  Great to be home!

[barbender]

😂Haha WV, no it doesn't match the color of eastern hardwoods like I'm looking at out the living room window right now. My point is, the aspens out there turn colors that I haven't seen in MN. Or maybe I just never noticed because of all the maples and oaks putting on their display😊

[WV Sawmiller]

BB,

   We had to go out today and I was looking at how red the small mowed down sassafras bushes and the sumac and such were and thinking about how much the folks out west are missing. And we are a long way from peak Fall foliage here.

[barbender]

They are missing out on the glorious fall colors, I'll say that much. But, while I do find myself daydreaming about western game, mountains, and fly fishing, I can't say I've ever caught myself in a daydream about 90% humidity and not being able to see beyond 50' most of the time😊 My wife keeps trying to talk me into moving out west. One of these days...

[snobdds]

The front range of Colorado is getting crowded.  It has seen explosive growth in the past 10 years. It's sad really because this area is so beautiful. 

I own a ranch on the border of Wyoming and Colorado right off of I-25.  I have developers left and right trying to buy it. I will not sell. I guess that is where the growth of the front range will end.

[snobdds]

Have to protect this from developers wanting to build trac homes...


 


 

[mike_belben]

Beautiful.