Full Time RV Travel: Mt Evans Colorado–We Gotta See It!

Curtis and Brenda’s last day before we took them to the airport

also happened to be our favorite sightseeing day. . .

You didn’t think we could be in the State of Colorado

for the entire summer. . .

and not make it to see Mount Evans did’ya?

It was a great day. . .

There are 54 fourteeners in the State of Colorado. . .

Mt Evans is the closest one to Denver. . .

and beautiful Echo Lake. . .

which is considered an alpine lake. . .so pretty.

We were at about 10,000 feet elevation here at the lake. . .

and did not do the final 4,000 feet to the summit. . .

but one of the ladies we talked to at the gift shop, 

said the wind was blowing about 45 mph up there. . .fun!

I would have love to have gone up there. . .

but, alas, the airport beckons. . .

so off we went to Denver. . .

Curtis said that on the Capitol Steps was a placard 

indicating one mile above sea level

Well. . .I gotta see that!

the State Capitol Building is under construction 

with this ugly wrapping around the top. . .

so I bought me a postcard. . .

and Dave took this shot with this kind of cool effect. . .

not sure how he did that. . .but I wanted you to see it. . .

There’s his brother at the right of the steps. . .

We thoroughly enjoyed our week with the fam. . .

Now it truly is time to head to the airport. . .

drop off Curtis and Brenda. . .and pick up our oldest grandaughter. . .

It’s her first solo flight. . .so stay tuned. . .

Full Time RV Travel–Cripple Creek Colorado

Ah. . .Friday. . .one of our less successful days of playing tourist while Curtis and Brenda were visiting. . .

Cripple Creek Colorado. . .

We brought our boys here in 1988. . .and loved it so much,

I just had to go back and see it again. . .or so I thought.

After driving about an hour or so from Colorado Springs to the original

World’s Greatest Gold Camp. . .

this was the view of town with the Rockies in the background. . .beautiful, isn’t it?

and a pretty historical area. . .what you can’t see in this picture

is that every other storefront is now a casino. . .

so, if you are into gambling. . .you would probably enjoy a day in Cripple Creek. . .

We enjoyed the architecture and the setting of the town. . .

but it was so different than what we remembered. . .

we didn’t stay very long.

 

 

This is the Baptist Church, located about a block off Main St. . .

established in 1898. . .beautiful building.

The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine still does tours. . .

This is one of the things we had done with the boys

all those years ago. . .so didn’t really feel the need to do it again. . .

but if you are interested in how things work. . .you would really like it. . .

and if you are 10 years old. . .like our boys were at the time. . .

you would, of course, love it. . .

 

If you are close to Cripple Creek, you should go and see it. . .

If you’ve been to Cripple Creek, we would love to hear your

thoughts about it. . .so leave us a comment. . .

 

Have a great day. . .and happy travels. . .

Janice

Full Time RV Travel–Manitou Springs Colorado - Chapel at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and Focus on the Family

After we finished our jeep tour of

Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park,

we headed straight to Colorado Springs

where our friends have a beautiful home on eight acres . . .

with this gorgeous view from their back patio. . .

where we sat and drank coffee each morning.

These wild turkeys wandered through every afternoon while we were there. . .

and they said they normally see elk in the pasture. . .

and even a resident bear makes a pass through. . .

We certainly enjoyed our stay with them. . .

and although we love everything about RV’ing. . .

I must admit, the private bath in every bedroom was a huge bonus!

First thing on the agenda Thursday morning,  well, after we visited the Focus on the Family Campus, 

was to take Curtis and Brenda out to the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center. . .

where there is a postcard quality view of Pikes Peak from the balcony. . .spectacular!

although not quite as spectacular this trip as it was when we saw it in early May. . .

Next stop. . .Manitou Springs. . .

What a beautiful little town, right on the edge of Colorado Springs.

Town Square Clock

and a little history. . .

and being an artist. . .I loved this mural.

Although mostly tourist shops, (very hippie style tourist shops)

Manitou Springs is also where you need to go to

take the Cog Railway to the top of Pike’s Peak,

and is also famous for it’s Soda Water Springs.

Since we are taking our grandaughter there next week. . .

I’ll get more pics, and tell you a little more about all of it.

our last sightseeing stop of the day. . .

the Chapel at the Air Force Academy. . .gorgeous!

the cross hanging over the altar looked like a sword to me. . .

and I always, always find pipe organs intriguing. . .

the glow from the stained glass windows added to the ambience. . .

and the sunbeams breaking through the clouds,

as we came out of the Chapel, certainly seemed appropriate. . .

It was a wonderful day with our family. . .

but it wasn’t the end of our sightseeing. . .

we’re doing more tomorrow!

We love to hear from you so leave us a comment. . .

and if you’ve visited Manitou Springs

or the Air Force Chapel in Colorado Springs,

include the link to your posts. . .

we’d love to read your impressions. . .and see your pics.

Safe travels everyone,

Janice

Technorati Tags: Colorado_Manitou Springs,Colorado_Colorado Springs,Colorado_Air Force Academy Chapel

Full Time RV Travel–Rocky Mountain Land Cruiser Tour

Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park

is gravel, and is only open two months of the year. . .

we’ve wanted to do the Top of the World Tour since we got here,

and it finally happened this week when

Dave’s bub & sis in law arrived from Fort Worth. . .

If you drive the paved road, Trail Ridge Road,

you will drive 21 miles from Estes Park to the

summit in Rocky Mountain National Park. . .

If you drive the gravel, Old Fall River Road,

visible in the right hand side of the pic,

you will travel 11 miles from

Estes Park to the Summit. . .

You will travel around 23 switchbacks,

and get up close and personal with the dropoffs. . .

(yes, that is the guardrail right there)

a very good reason in my book to

take a tour and let the experts do the driving. . .

At our very first stop, the Alluvial Fan Waterfall

our tour guide, Alex, opened the hood

on the monster, and entertained the guys. . .

it was all greek to me. . .gear ratios. . .torque. . .yada, yada, yada. . .whatever!  LOL. . .

as close as you can get to the remaining snowfields without hiking. . .

Alex said he had lived in this area his entire life. . .

and he has never seen the snowfields completely disappear. . .but. . .

because the snow pack was so light this past winter, these last few

snowfields will probably completely melt away. . .

that will be sad, because the snow on the mountain peaks

is really what makes them so stunningly beautiful. . .

a Marmot was out sunning on a rock. . .

he stayed put just long enough to get a shot of him. . .

They hibernate 8 months of the year. . .

so they try to triple their body weight in the four months of summer. . .

More gorgeous views and family pics. . .Brenda and I are the only original in-laws. . .

so we gotta get our shots together whenever possible. . .

our hubby’s did good, didn’t they?  Lucky guys!

We had a great day in the park. . .and lots more fun later in the week. . .

More pics and posts later. . .

The END!

Full Time RV Living ~ Thank Goodness for Company

ugggghhhhhh. . .I’m BORED!  Now there’s a statement you won’t hear very often coming from me. . .life’s just too short, and too precious not to make the most of every moment. . .however. . .we are in a bit of a holding pattern here. . .so we wait!

 

Thankfully, we had company this past week which added a little excitement to the mix. . .

My awesome oldest brother (who’s still younger than me) talked my Dad into going on a road trip with him.  I’m still not sure how he accomplished that amazing feat. . .but once he got Dad in that truck. . .there was NO backing out. . .

Dad was all aquiver by the time they made it to Colorado. . .he had seen so many amazing things!  Since Louis’ mission was to deliver an air conditioning unit to an oil rig in North Dakota. . .they stopped by St Louis and saw the Arch. . .Dad kept asking when they were going to get to the “golden arches”. . .ummmm. . .wrong one Dad. . .LOL!

 

Since they were stopping by Mt Rushmore. . .I talked Louis (by phone) into driving the Needles Highway. . .Dad loved it. . .there’s nothing like that moment in time as you’re coming through that tunnel. . .and the entire panorama of Mt Rushmore is there in all it’s glory. . .breath taking!

 

After finishing business in North Dakota, they made a quick. . .and I mean a one day quick drive by pass through Yellowstone. . .with a stop to see Old Faithful in action.  No matter how many times you see it happen on a video. . .there’s nothing like the real life experience. . .hearing the sounds. . .smelling the sulphur. . .feeling the spray. . .

 

Knowing they only had one full day with us here. . .we wanted to cram in as much as possible. . .so of course we needed them to see our original reason for being here. . .Estes Park!  So a quick drive up to East Portal Campground to view our old stomping grounds where we volunteered for ten weeks. . .and to show my brother “the fix.”  He’s the smartest man I know about stuff like that. . .yep. . .we were right. . .can’t run 10 gauge wire 200 feet and expect to still have 30 amps.   Okay. . .now a “professional” has validated our decision. . .good to know!

 

A quick drive out the Peak to Peak Scenic byway to Lily Lake. . .

and a group pose with Long’s Peak in the background. . .

See the camera in Dad’s hand. . .he ‘bout wore it out. . .

Louis downloaded that memory card at least ten times. . .

digital cameras are the most awesome invention ever!!

On to Rocky Mountain National Park. . .Dad was worn out. . .

but he had a really, really great time. . .

and a perfect ending to the day. . .

a huge herd of elk on Bear Lake Road!

Thanks Bub for creating wonderful memories. . .you’re the best!

 

This Monday, Dave’s oldest brother Curtis and our beautiful

sister by law, Brenda, will be here. . .so next week should be hopping. . .yaaaa!