Redheaded Quilter

In mid-September I saw a Groupon for a half-price trail ride for two. My husband works with horses all day and loves them. He also hasn’t been riding in years. I am not a horse person by any stretch of the imagination, but I figured I could endure an hour on horseback for his sake, so I bought the Groupon and that weekend, off we went to Estes Park, Colorado.

When I tried to make a reservation, I discovered that every hotel, B&B, and cabin in Estes Park was full – there was a big 2-day fine art & craft show – so we ended up getting a hotel in Loveland, a 45-minute drive away.

We drove up through Broomfield so we could stop at the horse farm where my husband works. He showed me all around. There wasn’t really much to see – just a lot of paddocks with horses, a sweet little barn cat, and some adorable chickens – all different kinds, some with very fluffy legs and one that kept clucking constantly in a very cute way. He wouldn’t let me take any of them home.

We drove up to Boulder and went to the farmer’s market there. It’s wonderful! There was a large band (a family, I think) all playing the marimbas, maracas, and various other instruments I can’t name. There were people watching, but almost no one was dancing (except for me). There were some little kids hula hooping and you could hear the music everywhere you went. There were lots and lots of vendors with tons of wonderful food and produce. We didn’t buy anything since we’d have nowhere to keep it all weekend.

We also walked along the Pearl Street Mall, which is a pedestrian mall lined with shops and with trees and benches and small play areas down the middle. There are always buskers there. We saw a guy playing a full-size harp, another guy in Rockabilly gear playing a blue stand-up bass, and a couple with long pipes that looked like something from Switzerland (although I have no idea what they’re called).

It was raining when we got to Estes Park and we stopped at the tourist info center. They gave us a map of the town and recommended a place to eat. We were both starving and really cranky by then. We ate a late lunch at a place called The Egg & I. I had the most wonderful frittata! It had Portabella mushrooms, bacon and asparagus, topped with Havarti dill cheese, diced tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. It was *so* good.

After lunch we drove into town, searched forever for a parking space, and then walked through the art fair. There were a lot of pretty things – all of them too expensive or frivolous to buy. It was sunny, then rainy, then sunny, then *really* rainy. When the cold rain started to fall really hard we raced for the car and went to the ranch even though we were early for our trail ride.

We got there around 3:15 and our ride didn’t start until 4:00. I was bummed as we sat in the car with the rain pouring down. We thought they might cancel the ride, but then we saw them take a group of riders out in the rain dressed in ponchos so we were figuring we’d also have to go in the rain. But after awhile the rain let up and the sun came out! We got out of the car and one of the wranglers asked what ride we were on, then got us to go stand by our mounts. I got a black and white paint named Panda Bear. He was sweet. Sorry you can’t see his face, but he seemed bound and determined to jam his nose up the butt of the horse in front of him.

There was another group of 4 with us – a very talkative girl and three guys. They rode in front and Eric and I rode in the back. My butt hurt for two days after the ride! Eric said I wasn’t sitting correctly, but I was sitting the way I thought he told me to. I guess I didn’t have it quite right. I honestly can’t imagine horseback riding for fun. It’s really a form or torture.

The air smelled wonderful after that rain and we walked up the mountain, made a turn so we could see Estes Lake below us, then stopped about 1/3 of the way through the hour-long ride. The wrangler checked that all our saddles were still secure and took pictures of us all with our personal cameras. Then we started back down. The horses were very well behaved except for one ridden by an older, inexperienced man. The horse kept stopping to eat grass and the man wasn’t strict enough so he kept holding us up until the wrangler told him to pull up the reigns and kick him. That only helped a bit.

After the ride we drove to Loveland, looking forward to a hot shower and supper. It was a gorgeous trip through the mountains, but we didn’t see any wildlife the whole time we were up there. We had been looking forward to maybe seeing some elk near Estes Park, but I guess the rain (and the giant crowd at the art fair) kept them away. Or maybe it was just the wrong time of year.

We spent the night at the Best Western and ate at the hotel restaurant (which wasn’t very exciting, food-wise). Just as we were finishing our meal a DJ showed up and started playing horrible music at a very high volume, so we went back to our room. I remember thinking, what a boring job – to work in that hotel by the highway, play music for people who really don’t care and don’t really want you there. Then I wondered what kind of people would actually enjoy hanging out and dancing at a place like that. That was even more depressing!

The next morning we planned to go to the outlet mall across the road, but they didn’t open until 11am and we were breakfasted and raring to go at 9:30, so we just drove back to Estes and browsed around downtown.

We watched a guy in a glass blowing shop make a mini pumpkin. He explained each step of the process and what he was doing and why. I tried to take a picture, but the metal cage around the glass-blowing area messed it up. At another shop I bought a gorgeous necklace made of round tiger’s eye beads in 4 different colors. They graduate in size from small at the back to large (about the size of a marble) in front. They’re glossy and gorgeous. Look!

I also got a tiny vase carved from stone. (As usual, click the photos to embiggen.)cv

We had lunch at a restaurant that was highly recommended in the guide book, but the food was bland and the place itself was very run down. I wasn’t at all impressed with it. We drove home through the mountains hoping to see some fall leaves, but we didn’t really see very many – just a few aspen that had started to turn. I guess it was too early in the season. We did get some pretty pictures along the way though.

Mostly we drove along beside the Big Thompson River which looked more like the Tiny Thompson Trickle to me, but I grew up next to the ocean, so my sense of scale when it comes to water is different than it is for folks out here. The pictures were pretty though.

I like how I got the fisherman, the reservoir, and the moon all in one shot.

There were people fishing everywhere along here, but I got a shot pointing toward what was posted as private property so there was no one there. There was someone fishing a few feet behind me though.

I have no idea what this peak is called. I took the shot on our way home down the Peak to Peak National Scenic Byway.

Since winter is on its way (it already snowed once, last Saturday) and since we’re not skiers, I think this will be our last trip until spring. But that’s okay. I have other things to do this winter. Like NaNoWriMo next month!

Today we decided to go for a drive to Lookout Mountain – a mere 30 minutes away. Our destination was the gift shop at the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave (yes, he’s actually buried there, along with his wife). A gift vendor I met at work told me that the gift shop had a great selection of leather goods, and since Eric is looking for a new biker wallet, we thought we’d go take a look. Well the gift shop was disappointing. It was crammed with all kinds of cheap made-in-China crap, a few Stetsons, and not much else. The museum was interesting though (and admission was only $5). But the drive to the top of the mountain was magnificent! Who knew there was this much gorgeousness in our backyard?

Here are some pics I took. (Click them to make them larger.)

We stopped about halfway up the mountain and I took this shot of the city of Golden. I’m facing northeast here. I have another pic later of this same view from much higher up.

In the photo below, Table Mountain is on the right. If you look at the base of the mountain you may just be able to make out the white-on-red Coors sign on the brewery.

The view below is looking southeast. That’s Green Mountain. If I had a very good camera, I might be able to see my apartment building. We live east of Green Mountain.

We drove further up the mountain (it’s a very twisty-turny road) and pulled over at a trail head. It was gorgeous. Hot sun, cool breeze, sounds of birds and insects. It was like heaven. too bad they don’t allow camping up there, but I suppose if they did it would be overrun.

In the shot below you can just barely see the road in the lower center of the picture. It’s hard to tell, but you can see snow on one of the mountains further out.

We sat on a bench to relax and the photo below was the view directly opposite us.

Below is another shot looking west. you can see more of the road.

Below is another shot of Golden and Table Mountain.

After this little pit stop we continued up the mountain (dodging cyclist and one lunatic on a motorcycle who seemed to have a death wish with the way he was driving) and arrived at Buffalo Bill’s Museum.

We took the tour, looked at the exhibits (he was a handsome, interesting, incredible man if you can believe all the museum said about him). I didn’t take any pics inside because everything was behind glass and I figured it wouldn’t be visible anyway. There was a fascinating exhibit about how the museum restores paper artifacts.

We visited the disappointing gift shop, then paid a visit to his grave. For some reason, people had tossed coins over the fence and onto his grave. What’s up with that?

Below is the picture I mentioned earlier – same view of north Golden, but from higher elevation. To the left you can see the road we came up.

In the pic below you can see Denver, about 20 miles away. I wish that a) I had a better camera and that b) it hadn’t been so hazy. In RL you could see the white peaks of the airport roof from up there – a good 40 miles away.

We continued along Lookout Mountain Road until we came to route 40 and took that home. It was a nice little trip and only took about 4 hours, even including stops and seeing the museum. I’m amazed at how many cool things are so near us here.

A couple of days ago I posted about the first day of our all-too-short summer vacation. I promised a follow up and since I’ve accomplished a lot today already (Totally cleaned the kitchen (a 2-hour job for Eric and I together), went to the library for books, to the farmers market for basil (my plants are chopped down as short as I dare right now), had a nice lunch in Golden, then came home and folded laundry) I thought I’d sit down to write this. I started an  hour and a half ago. I had to *re-write* my first half hour’s work because WordPress crashed and ate it. Grr! Anyway, back to the story…

After we emerged from Cave of the Winds (and made the scary trip down the winding road from the mountain), we drove to Garden of the Gods for a picnic lunch. We found a shady tree with a picnic table under it.

The food was okay and the view was gorgeous.

The only thing that marred it was the loud-mouthed guy who sat at the next table with his wife, baby, and 3 very ill-behaved dogs. (One of them jumped up on the table and started trying to steal food.) I could tell by the way he spoke to the dogs that he wasn’t a nice person and after listening to him rant about everything that it wrong in the world, I knew I was right. (Hint to loud-mouthed guy: People like *you* are what is wrong with the world.)

But aside from him it was a nice picnic and I even let Eric take a pic of me. (I wouldn’t have if I’d realized how fat I’ve become!)

After our picnic we drove through the rest of the park and went to the visitor’s center (which we’d missed the first time we were there). We mainly wanted to use the facilities and check out the gift shop, so we were totally unprepared for the gorgeous views from the balcony!

There were people in the parking lot below us learning to ride segues so they could take a riding tour. It looked like fun except that it was blisteringly hot.

I’m pretty sure that beige-colored mountain with the cloud behind it is Pikes Peak. It’s a fourteener (meaning it’s higher than 14,000 feet) and at 12,000 feet, the trees stop growing because it’s too cold, dry, and windy. What looks like smooth land from here, is… well, you’ll see.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Old Colorado Springs. There were a few interesting shops, but most of it was the same touristy junk you see everywhere. Eric even dragged me into a pawn shop and then an army surplus store looking for a ceramic-bladed knife. (His search was unsuccessful.)

We spent Saturday afternoon sweltering in our cabin. There was no AC, so I was reduced to lying in front of the fan and spritzing myself with cold water. I finally couldn’t stand it anymore, went and took a cool shower, and decided it was supper time. We asked a woman in the campground office for “nice” places to eat. I specifically said, “not chains, not fast food”. She rattled off a list and finally suggested Sonic. WTF?

We drove into Manitou Springs, parked, and walked down the street hoping we’d find somewhere nice to eat. We passed some tribal belly dancers getting ready to do a show, but Eric didn’t want to stand up to watch and there was no place to sit, so we went on. A block later we were accosted by a guy playing banjo singing, “Give me all your money!” (At least he was honest about it!)

We ended up at a little place called Coquette’s Bistro and Bakery. We sat inside although the doors were open so there were more flies inside than out, I think. The food was wonderful. I had the Angel Salad (mixed greens, red onion, carrots, tomato, mozzarella cheese, candied walnuts, & apples) and a lavender-vodka & cream
martini that was unusual, but really good. For dessert I had the Lavender Love crepe (lavender-infused chocolate mousse topped with a crème anglaise). Eric doesn’t do dessert (or anything interesting) and just had his usual cheeseburger.

After dinner we wandered back toward the car and stumbled into a cool arcade. It was full of vintage pinball machines, video games, shooting gallery games, and all kinds of neat stuff. For some reason we didn’t play, but they had Tetris, Miss Pac Man, Galaga, and all kinds of great games. If we ever go back I’m bringing quarters! (Although many of the games were only a dime.)

Sunday morning we had to pack up – check out was at 11:00 – but we were up so early that they hadn’t even opened the office when we checked out just before 8:00. If we had tried to sleep in we would have been woken by the clanging of the giant dinner bell – they had a pancake breakfast for the campers that day.

We drove into Manitou Springs again and all the way in we kept seeing signs for PPA and PPM. We finally had to ask someone what it meant. PPA is the Pikes Peak Ascent and PPM is the Pikes Peak Marathon. For some reason, otherwise sane people feel the need to run to the top of a 14,110-foot mountain. They had streets blocked off and the town was jammed with people even though it was still early. We drove up the hill to the Pikes Peak Cog Railway.

The station is a cool old building all painted bring red, blue, and yellow. I’m pretty sure it’s the original building, just judging from the detail. They had hummingbird feeders hanging all around the upper deck and those birds were loud! For some reason I’ve never thought of hummingbirds as a mountain bird, but there were dozens of them.

We got tickets for the 9:25 train then waited with the gathering crowd, some of whom were only in shorts, which they’d regret later. I made Eric bring along his jacket even though he insisted he wouldn’t need it.

We met a guy who seemed impressed with Eric’s rattan walking stick. He said it was a good thing to have, then launched into a story about how just the day before he’d been visiting friends in the mountains and a bear had broken into the trunk on his Honda Goldwing and taken a sealed packet of tuna. (Even I can smell the tuna through those foil packets – did he really think bears couldn’t?) I heard him repeat the story to everyone who would listen while we waited.

Finally the train!

We were seated across from a French-speaking couple. They smiled and seemed nice, but only spoke in French, so I didn’t bother trying to chat. My French is horribly rusty and I could only make out some of what they were saying to each other. Finally the train pulled out of the station.

One of the first things I noticed was that we could still see the moon, even though it was broad daylight.

The guide told us all about the history of the train, how and why it was built, and the story of the woman who wrote America the Beautiful after a trip (by mule) to the top of the mountain.

There was lots of bristlecone pine, and towering piles of granite.

Around the 12,000-foot mark is Windy Point. This building used to house a family of four and, from time to time, several railway workers. Can you imagine living in such a dismal place?

You’ll notice there are no trees – we’re above the treeline now and on the other side of the train (where I couldn’t get a picture) was a huge meadow of Alpine tundra. The guide pointed out trails through the tundra where mule trains used to pass more than 100 years ago. People are not allowed to walk on the tundra now, because it’s understood how incredibly fragile the plants are. It will take centuries for the meadow to restore itself (if it can, given the changes in the climate).

Remember that so-called smooth ground I mentioned? This is what it actually is…

Miles and miles of big rocks – mostly granite. It’s too porous to be good for any commercial application, so it lies there, breaking up more and more each year as the water seeps into it and the ice cracks it.

You can see Colorado Springs from up here…

Here, we are pulling into the station. You can see the banner for the Pikes Peak Marathoners. People were shouting and cheering as the runners made the peak – it was echoing off the mountains.

We got out of the train, ran for the bathrooms (it’s a long ride up!) and then went back out to the bright, sunny, and chilly mountaintop.

This is me in a T-shirt, hoodie, and jacket. The people behind me must have been freezing!

I needed another pic of Eric. And he *did* want his jacket after all.

It was hazy, but there was still a beautiful view with some lakes or reservoirs or something in the distance.

I don’t know what this guy was so excited about.

Looking down

I was actually a little dizzy after we’d been up here for awhile. The air is very rare, as they say and I had to keep reminding myself to breathe more and faster.

Cool cloud spots on the ground. It almost felt like you could grab the clouds.

I saw a couple trying to take each other’s picture against the sign, so I offered to trade a picture for a picture…

Another gorgeous view

I love this one. It looks like I’m right on the edge!

This is the original Summit House.

A view of one of the Cog rail cars. We rode in the “Leadville” car, but there were too many people in front of it to get a good shot.

With only a few minutes left in our scant 40-minute visit, we walked around the back of the gift shop/restaurant and found this view, complete with menacing cloud.

The French couple from the train were taking each other’s picture by this sign, so I asked if they’d like me to take one. Turns out they spoke English after all! Pity his eyes are closed though.

On the way back down we saw mountain goats again (there was one on the way up too), but by the time I turned my camera on and pointed it, all I got was the mountainside. I’m amazed that grass and many tiny, pretty flowers grow amidst all this nothingness.

The black shapes in this picture are ravens, tucked down among the rocks, nesting.

This landscape reminded me of the movie Highlander for some reason.

A view of the Alpine tundra meadow on the other side of the train

Aptly named

Byebye Pikes Peak!

On the way down a got a picture of something I missed on the way up. Someone climbed up and decorated this enormous tree!

There was another tree above it with giant plastic Easter eggs on it too.

On our way down from the train station we had to drive along the same route as the marathoners. Some of them were just getting into town at the same time. In the middle of the roundabout they had an announcer who would read the number on each runner’s jersey and announce to the crowed who they were, where they were from and how old they were. We saw an 18-year-old girl finish the race, followed by a 61-year-old man. The crowd was waving and cheering on both sides of the road and the traffic was crawling along really slowly, so it felt like we were in a parade.

We were hungry, but the town was way too crowded to attempt lunch there, so we drove into Colorado Springs, paid an exhorbitant $4 to park (on a Sunday?!) and ate at a little Irish place. The fish & chips was pretty good. Here is the view from our parking lot (maybe they were charging for the view!)

Thus endeth our vacation. The rest was just a drive back to Denver which was slowed unnecessarily by hundreds of people on the highway who thought they had to slow to *20 MPH* to pass a cop car that was well off the road. We took a detour to go to the new IKEA store and that’s another whole post in itself, someday! Suffice to say – we’ll never go back.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!

Or, What I did on my summer vacation…

As many of you probably know, this was the worst summer of my life due to an abrupt and unexpected layoff from my dream job. But I am employed again (at a job with better pay and better benefits, so it all balances out) and a couple of weeks ago my husband and I went on a little trip. We didn’t go very far from home – just to Manitou Springs, Colorado.

We’d been there once before – back in April – but we weren’t able to see and do everything we wanted to in just one day, so we went back. We headed out on a Friday night after work and arrived at our campground in the dark. A nice couple in purple T-shirts were on hand with a four-wheeler and led us to our cabin. We unpacked, read for awhile, then slept like logs. It was very quiet and cool enough to have the windows open (something we never get to do at home because of our cats).

Saturday morning we ate breakfast from our cooler (I had Greek yogurt with honey!), then set off on our adventure. We went to Cave of the Winds first. We drove up the dizzily winding road (with no guardrails!) and realized we were early when there was only one other car in the parking lot! We took our time walking in and took some pictures of the view. (Click to see larger images.)

We had wanted to take the lantern tour (where your entire tour is lit only with candle lanterns), but that one didn’t start until 11:00 AM and it was only 9:30. So instead we took the standard discovery tour, lead by a young guide whose name escapes me.

After telling us the rules (no food, water, or gum in the caves; no touching the walls or rock formations upon pain of arrest), and taking our photos in case we got lost, she led us off into the caves. I snapped pictures along the way (of course).

Notice the black smudges on the ceiling? This rope ladder used to be the only way into the cavern above us. Earlier explorers would stub out their candle lanterns to avoid catching the ladder on fire. Luckily for us, we had a staircase…

When the cave first opened to visitors 130 years ago, they allowed people to break off small stalactites as souvenirs. The guide said, “They thought they’d grow back like icicles, but then they realized that it can take hundreds of years for one to grow. These little stumps are fenced off so we wouldn’t bump our heads on them.

Next to this was a broken column – a stalactite and a stalagmite that used to joined, but were now several inches apart due to what our guide tactfully called “earth movement”. They’re nicknamed Romeo and Juliet now.

This formation is named after the two boys, John and George Pickett, who discovered the cave system. The guide asked why we thought these rocks were shiny. Only Eric got the right answer – people. Over the years people had been allowed to touch these particular stalactites and the oils from their grubby hands destroyed the rocks’ ability to continue forming. If you look at the bottom you’ll see where stone is building up. The water that seeps down from the top rolls right over the greasy part and down to the ground. The guide said they are hoping that eventually the oils will be pushed out of the rock so the formation can continue to grow naturally, but it’s been 50 years since anyone was allowed to touch them, and they still look like this.

They call this area The Chinese Garden because there is a little pagoda-shaped stalagmite in the back of the cave. The long skinny stalactite in the foreground is 8-1/2 feet long. For a rock, it looks very fragile.

I was trying to get a better shot of cave coral and was bummed that I got the light bulb in the picture until the guide explained that it was an original Thomas Edison bulb that had been in the cave for 104 years. The last time they turned it on was in 2007 on its 100th birthday – it still worked.

On the way out of the cave, I noticed a stream and got a shot of the water running down the side of the cave. There is a nice picture of Eric and I, but it’s on paper, so I can’t upload it here.

Tomorrow (or perhaps this weekend), I’ll finish my vacation tale with Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak!