October 7 - 14, 2013 - Last Days in Colorado

On our way back down to Pueblo, the GPS took us on this weird side route, on tiny roads through this college town...NO idea why, but then it took us pass the Cheyenne Mountain Complex sign and being fans of Stargate...that was just SO cool!!  We thought we had seen something about tours online...but didn't see any tourist info anywhere in the town. 

So we just drove slowly south pass the mountains!

The view we'd always see on the show!

Drove through this park area...so different than the parks at home!

Sometimes staying at Walmart has unexpected surprises.  We were parked on the side of the store, by an embankment to a road.  

Then Greg spotted these prairie dogs!

This was as close as I could get with my camera, so, lol, I tossed a piece of bread out the back window!

And they got closer...

...and closer...

Until finally they were brave enough to be right outside our window!

This lil guy was SO CUTE!

It was time to start heading to the mountains.

I had to stop and get diesel.  Met Christopher who was there filing a tire.  He builds bikes, adds motors to them and sells them.  Caught a pic of him as he was riding off...

Passed the Arkansas River so many times - in Kansas and in Colorado - it meanders everywhere!

I'm doing fairly well driving through these mountains and think, okay, this isn't so intense...
...then the path clears and I behold...

It just took my breath away.  
Couldn't wait to get closer!

                             Arrive in Westcliffe...what a backdrop for a town!!

Wanted to explore but first had to head a little south to the campground.

Incredible views at our site...

 

Went to this awesome shop and met Brent and Gary...

Brent used to live a couple of towns away from us back home!   Small world!  He remembered a place near Patchogue called Rickys that was fashioned like the diner from Happy Days - said they had the best shakes.  Gary and I both challenged that places we've been to had the best (mine being Steak n Shake!).   Had a great time talking with them!  (bought a few things too!)  

Then I headed out to pick up Greg east of town.  He ascended 4989 feet today, with a total elevation of 9062!  Amazing!  Said it was a great ride but towards the evening it got very very cold.

Next morning - the air was crisp...bundled up and went out to take some pics!

Dropped off Greg, and then, of course I just HAD to take more pics!!

Really wanted to linger longer in Westcliffe, but the campsite had an early check out policy.  I slowly rambled through town, and as I turned onto the road north, what do I see but a huge parking spot area next to an art gallery!  So I parked and spent the next couple of hours wandering around town!  I was a happy camper!!

The art gallery...met Tsula (I think that was her name).  She volunteers at the gallery and is an artist too.  Showed me all around and told me about the artists.  She had taken an awesome photo of a lynx - right outside her car!   After talking with her for a while, I headed to main street...

The photographer at the Outpost had amazing pictures - I picked out a print of Main Street and he matted it for free!  Can't wait to hang it in our house!  

Was wondering what the deal was, with the thread around the trees, and scarves on the painted wooden animals...

Asked the gentleman in this shop - he said once a year, people sneak around at night and do crazy decorations in the town!  It stays up for 2 weeks and then it just disappears!  





       So outrageous and fun!

This one is my favorite!

Finally, it was time to move on...

Rugged rough country!

                       Nice fall colors....kinda freaked me out though!  Fall already...yikes!

Arrived at...

...and met Judy.  She was so so nice!  I hung out in the office forever, talking to her.  

She's from California but now owns this place with her husband, Doug. Found out she's done tons of bike rides for charities!  Lived in Australia for a couple of years too!  She said it's very expensive to live there...who knew?!   Asked her about the bighorn sheep - she said they are seen on the mountains in front of us (east side)...I saw nothing! Another animal eludes me!  


Greg was to arrive soon, and as she spotted him out the window...grabbed these two cowbells - one for her and one for me - lol, and we rang them bells as he finished his ride! That was just the best!  

Our view east and west...

The RV actually looks good...from far away!  Can't even begin to describe how many different kind of bugs are, lol, squashed on the front of the vehicle!!

Last day in Colorado...Doug filled the propane and mentioned, as had Judy, that a cold front was coming, and they were concerned about both of us going over Monarch Pass which is over 11,000 feet high.  We took their concern seriously because...well...they live here and know!!

Off he goes - definitely needs winter gear now!   Last night we had to put all the hoses away and run the heat so nothing would freeze!  

Just as I'm pulling out of camp, I see another gallery with a nice long spot to park the RV! How could I resist!

Met Robert, the artist and owner.  He goes on archeological digs and takes photographs, then paints the scenes with acrylics on canvas.   

The artwork I saw was from his visits to Mesa Verde National Park.  The park was created in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, to protect some of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the world, or as he said, "preserve the works of man".  It's near the Four Corners (the place where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet) and features ruins of homes and villages built by the ancestral Puebloan people, sometimes called the Anasazi.

There are over four thousand archaeological sites and over six hundred cliff dwellings of the Pueblo people at the site.  I GOTTA find out how to be a part of that!

Told him about our trip.  He mentioned about a boy down the road who walked from the tip of either Washington or Vancouver, all the way to the tip of Florida!  WALKED!  He thinks it took him 6-8 months.  The boy also walked from Florida to Maine!  Amazing! Just the endurance alone!

Then I began my trek along the Arkansas River...pictures just don't convey how rustic and beautiful it was.  I must have pulled over 15 times (there were great spots for an RV!) to take pictures.  In fact, I pulled over so often, lol, Greg was constantly passing me! 

Now, THIS is a nice spot to have lunch!  At the river's edge...

Yup, Greg stopped by and then continued on!  

I was in no hurry.  My destination was Walmart, so I was takin' my time getting there!

I love the flowing water, helps me not miss the beach so much...yet my eyes would continually focus upwards toward the mountains in search of the elusive bighorn rams.  

I guess I wanted to see them because it reminds me of a book I read years ago called "Hinds' Feet on High Places", an allegorical novel by Hannah Hurnard, based on Habakkuk 3:19..."The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds' feet, and makes me walk on my high places".  It was tough to get through but I think it's time to read it again...

And then...I see movement on the high hills...

...grab the binoculars and...!

And Greg said I may be able to take stills using the video function on the camera and get closer shots...and it worked!

                                             So happy!  (thank You God!)