Loveland, CO & Rocky Mountain National park

Thursday we drove to Loveland, CO about 1 1/2 hours north of Denver. We are at the edge of the Rockies in a nice old CG that will be full this weekend. Friday we went to the Rocky Mountain National Park for the day. As soon as we went through the gate we were greeted by an elk having a late breakfast. Judy got to make a small snowman and check out some of the remaining snow drifts. I drove up and she drove down. We did see several more elk in the distance, some nifty birds & marmots (a high altitude ground hog). I wasn't looking forward to the park as a snowy mountain is a snowy mountain and we've seen several. But, it was fun and I did enjoy it! Exploring is fun. Oh yes.....it's always nice in the morning and always rains & storms (or in today's case...snows) in the afternoon. There have been some bad thunderstorms and winds and even tornadoes this week but fortunately not quite were we have been. It has done this since we arrived in Colorado.

Denver & RV repairs

Sunday & Monday were our last days in Manitou Springs. The toilet part arrived Monday morning & that afternoon the RV tech had it installed. Tuesday we went all the way to Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Golden, just outside Denver. We chose this location because it was only 15 miles from Jim's Service in Denver where we had an appointment Wednesday to have our homes axles fixed & it was only $20 a night. One has to be out of alignment because one tire is wearing excessively. Tuesday afternoon we watched a little horse activity, of which there was a lot.

The trailer was in the shop all day Wednesday, Jims removed both axles and placed them on a jig to straighten them. I sure hope they put them together good!!! While in the shop Judy & I explored Colorado's capitol building for a couple hours. We took a tour but did NOT climb the stairs to the top. Judy is sitting on the front steps, one of which is 5280 feet above sea level making Denver the mile high city. We spent Wednesday night back at the fairgrounds because it was close.

Civic Auditorium, Peterson AFB Museum, Didgeridoo

Thursday we went to the Civic Auditorium in downtown Colorado Springs. We joined the cane, walker & wheelchair gang for lunch. There was a 1 hour performance on a very big and very old organ. The lady that first played was rather small and almost crawled into the big U shaped organ. After she played a gentleman took over and supplied the music for an old silent cartoon. It was about a mouse who built a space ship & went to the moon made of green cheese. How they knew it was green I don't know as the cartoon was black & white. That afternoon we went to see the Magpie Players at the Garden of the Gods, several actors portrayed individuals who played a significant part in the local area's development.

Friday we went to the small Peterson AFB Air & Space Museum. The small black model airplanes hanging from the ceiling are wood and made by middle school children during WWII to be used by the military to identify airplane silhouette. The museum is located in the original Colorado Springs passenger air terminal built in the 1930s. Part of the museum was centered around the cold war and defence. Judy found a late 80s/early 90s Digital VAX 6250 tucked in a corner. I haven't seen any DEC equipment in a few years.

Today was a very nice day, all sun & high 70s. We stayed around home but walked to Memorial Park where there was a wine festival. At $30 each we passed but we did sit nearby & listened to the music & watched the winos. The economy can't be too bad out here because it was very crowded. After that we walked downtown to see the didgeridoo players, Judy got to accompany them with a rattle. We then stopped at the The Keg for a couple beers and a sub. We are pooped out now.

Rain, crappy rain

Well, we went to a BIG church Saturday night, last Sunday's was smaller. We even got lost inside the church. We did laundry. Mostly we holed up due to cold, damp and wet weather. Went out to a German restaurant, the old Saline restaurant was better. Yesterday we went to downtown Colorado Springs to the Pioneer Museum, best part was the old decorative building. Today we went back to the Garden of the Gods and were sleeted (plus, of course, the rain) on when we went for a walk. Rain.....crappy rain. We would have left here but are still waiting on a toilet part from Thetford. Two weeks and it hasn't yet been shipped! I called them today and they will have it here Monday and bypass their distributor. Anyway, this is an adventure. Checking the weather we'd have to go to OK or TX if we wanted warm sunshine. If it wasn't for the HitchHiker G&G rally 6/21 we'd be outta here seeking the sun.

Victor & Cripple Creek

Above is Cripple Creek, an old gold mining town from the 1800s. It is now a tourist and casino town and very busy.
Below & left is Victor, a very small & sleepy old town we really enjoyed.

Today we made a trip to Victor & Cripple Creek. After getting in the area we took a 25 mile ride on a narrow dirt road (Phantom Canyon road) through the mountains to Victor. The road reminded us of the Apache Trail in Arizona. Up the side of the mountains climbing 3500 feet and the temp dropping from 84 to 52 degrees. When we passed the few other vehicles one of us had to find a location to get over so we could pass. 6 or 7 miles up the truck all of a sudden started to make a loud screeching metal on metal sound, cripes, what a place to have a problem! After a short inspection I figured a rock was stuck someplace it should not be, backed up and pulled forward again and the noise was gone! Pweh! When we arrived in Victor, an old gold mining town from the late 1800s, we found a nice old 2 story museum with wood floors where we spent and hour or two. Lowell Thomas & Jack Dempsey were from Victor, one room was devoted to Lowell but we found nothing on Jack.

Thunderbirds

The rain has stopped finally, Monday & Tuesday we stuck close to home where we could stay dry. We went for a couple walks (happy Jody?) and Judy went to Curves and walked down the path to the city pool for water aerobics. We saw two deer trotting down the walking path too, guess anything can use it. Today we drove 10 or 12 miles up to Colorado Springs to the Mining Museum below. After checking it out we climbed a hill behind the museum with a snack & lawn chairs. We were across the expressway from the Air Force Academy & the graduation ceremonies in Falcon Stadium. We watched the Thunderbirds put on a one hour show. After seeing the Blue Angles in Pensacola I'd have to say they did the best show.

We visited the Western Mining and Industrial Museum today and Judy got to pan for gold, unfortunately she was unsuccessful. Afterwards we had lunch at Five Guys Burgers & Fries. This one was for Margaret, Jean and Don & Zola. The burgers were very good as always AND the fries were excellent this time.

Territory Days

Friday we drove to Denver and dropped Jody off at the airport, it was a very large airport. We then checked out the place where we have a June 10 appointment to have the trailers axle checked out.

Saturday we drove 5 miles to Colorado Springs and went to Territory Days, a 3 day Memorial Day celebration of Colorado's first territorial capitol. There were a few characters wandering around, lots of festive food, crafts and more crafts, and music. Late in the afternoon we went for a walk on the trail behind the CG and stopped at Subway for supper. Sunday we went to church then Judy did the laundry while I watched the F1 and Indy 500 races. It has rained and thundered off an on all day. The folks next to us were evicted for letting their kids and dog run wild, that was the excitement.