Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

I'm so behind in posting and I'm going to blame it on all the fact that I have had to live without technology for some time.  We spent the better part of a week at the Grand Teton National Park’s campground in Colter Bay.  The campground has full hookups, Verizon Wi-Fi is non-existent and cell coverage is sporadic, although texting seems to work.  There is no cable and satellite is impeded by the trees, so we’ve been “roughing it”.  There is a small general store, a laundry, visitor’s center and marina where you can rent kayaks.  This is the only full service campground.  If you are more adventurous than us and want to boondock or tent camp, you can book a stay at one of several other campgrounds located throughout the park.

The scenery here is breathtaking.  The water at Jackson Lake is so clear and blue and the snow covered mountain range appears to rise up right from the water.  The mountain range is home to several glaciers.  Magnificent is the word that comes to mind.  The summer flowers are all in bloom and are lovely.  The park is huge and there is abundant wildlife, but they have been shy and we haven’t seen anything other than a few squirrels and antelope.  Our neighbors saw a mother bear and her cubs and we hope to spy some bears and moose over the next few days before we move to Jackson Hole. 

Average temps here are in the high 60’s during the day and low 40’s at night.  We’re not sorry to be missing out on the 110 degree weather that Gilbert, AZ is enjoying at the moment.  We’ve been on the road now almost two months and we love it.  I do miss some things, my bathtub, lunch with friends, reliable communication technology, but all in all, traveling is terrific and a grand adventure which we are so blessed to be able to do at this time.  After a few weeks of traveling you settle in and it becomes more of a lifestyle than a vacation.  We still have to grocery shop, pay bills, do laundry, and cook dinner, but it’s a way of life that has been easy adjusting to. 

We visited Jackson Lake Lodge yesterday and if you ever make it this way, I’d recommend stopping in.  They have the most incredible 2^nd floor with a gigantic fireplace and picture window overlooking the lake and majestic mountains.  You can just sit and soak up the scenery or get a drink and enjoy the view.

Winston has been a trooper so far.  He is napping on the couch now – enjoying the music I’m listening to as I write and the sunshine streaming in through the windows.  He loves all the walks we take at the different places we stop, relishes the attention he garners from the other campers and loves meeting new canine acquaintances.  Taking your dog on the road with you requires a bit of planning, but is definitely the way to go.  There is nothing sadder than running into people who say they miss their dog while they are vacationing.

Mark will be celebrating a birthday next week and in honor of that we will be taking a break from the motorhome and staying at a resort hotel (Hotel Terra) in Jackson Hole for two nights.  I’m looking forward to a little pampering at the spa they have on site and since it’s Mark’s birthday, I’m taking him along with me (albeit not without protest, I’m sure) for a couples massage if I can book one.  Then, it’s off to Yellowstone. 

 

Loveland, Colorado

We camped here at the Boyd State Park over Memorial Day weekend.  This is a lovely park and we had a lake view from our site.  Sites are a little close together and as you can imagine the park was full due to the holiday.  Boyd has nice, clean facilities, restrooms, showers and laundry.  Electric only sites.    Loveland is a retirement community about 15 minutes south of Fort Collins.  Loveland and Fort Collins were both very nice cities.  If one is looking to retire in a community that offers all four seasons, it would be worth checking out.

Loveland is the gateway to Estes Park which other campers tell me is a must see.  We didn’t make it there this time around, but I’m sure we will on our next trip to Colorado.  We did try some of the local cuisine – Smashburger which I gather is a relatively new and up and coming hamburger chain in Colorado and expected to open new locations throughout the West.  It hopes to give In and Out Burger a run for its money.  It has an expanded menu offering chicken and salads and has higher prices than In and Out.  The verdict was that the food was good, but in my opinion can’t touch In and Out – sorry Smashburger.

 

We drove into Fort Collins to see the test gardens there at the University but because of the late snow fall and cold weather the gardens weren’t planted.  Instead we saw 1,000 large empty pots getting ready for planting.  Timing is everything I guess.  Downtown Fort Collins had a lot of charm and perhaps the most brewery establishments in the nation crowded into one small place. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denver, Colorado

We stopped here so we could visit our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren.  Not really a destination site for us.  We spent time familiarizing ourselves with the Denver area, did a little shopping, hanging out at the campground and spending time with family.

I will say that that the Cherry Creek State Park rocks as a campground.  All the benefits of rural living – the quiet, the trees, the lake, the view of the snow capped mountains in the distance, the wildlife all tucked in nice and cozy right in the middle of a major metropolitan area where shopping and restaurants are plentiful.  The park has super clean restrooms, sparkling clean showers, laundry facilities and even vending machines in the event one should have an ice cream craving or run out of snacks or the nectar of life.  You need to have a park pass to camp here ($9.00 per day or $70.00 for the annual pass) and then camping fees are $22.00 for full hookups.  What a deal!  No wonder you need to make reservations months in advance if you want to stay here.

It seemed to rain every one of the 14 days we were here (even if no rain was in the forecast).   I am beginning to feel like that cartoon character with the rain cloud above his head.  Now, in all fairness, it wasn’t always a steady rain, sometimes the day would start out with blue sky and sunshine, but by the afternoon or evening, a little shower just felt compelled to fall on us.  The weather in the Denver area can change every 30 minutes – I kid you not.  We had one day with blue sky, sunshine, dark clouds, rain, thunder lightening, blue sky, sunshine, HAIL, more blue sky, sunshine, black clouds….well, you get the drift.   

Everyday a herd of deer (yes, I said deer) would mosey by and check us out.  At first Winston growled at them, then he just watched fascinated and by the time we left he couldn’t even be bothered to open his eyes from his nap to look at them.  Squirrels were everywhere.  Birds in Colorado are super aggressive.   I have a plastic bin I keep my outdoor BBQ supplies in.  I had several plastic bottles of spices in the box and we left the box out, tucked slightly under the motorhome.  Well, the birds pecked through the plastic lid, ripped open the Ziploc bag the spices were in and proceeded to peck off the lid of at least one jar to get at the spices inside.  I view this as a valuable lesson – I knew not to leave food outside, but it never occurred to me that advice applied toward spices.  Good to know this now as we head north toward Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.  We wouldn’t want the bears to get any ideas with a savory morsel such as Winston sitting in the window.

The family is doing great.  Our granddaughter, MacKenzie, is promoting to high school on May 29^th.  Kaylin, our youngest granddaughter is as cute as she can be – still the princess in the family.  Luke, our grandson, has found his stride and walking like a pro.  Stephanie, super warrior mother of three, just landed herself a new teaching job for the next school year.  Our son-in-law is running around from the crack of dawn until the wee morning hours holding down his fulltime job, volunteering at the church, building a playground for the school, various side jobs photographing stuff, and being a super dad; Mark and I wonder if he ever sleeps.  We doubt it.

 

 

Next stop – Boyd State Park, Loveland, Colorado.

Colorado Springs, Colorado - Part 2

Cave of the Winds
Another site you shouldn’t miss if you visit the Colorado Springs area is the Cave of the Winds.  We took the tour (about 45 minutes) exploring an immense cavern just above Manitou Springs.  It was Winston's first experience caving and he was a trooper!  Did you know that if you are exposed to ultimate darkness, such as when they shut the lights off in the cave, your eyes will continue looking for a light source of some kind for about a month before they "shut down"?  If after that time, you come out into the light, you will be permanently blind.  Kind of disturbing that we know this.  Anyway, we enjoyed the cave experience quite a bit.

Seven Falls
After Cave of the Winds, we headed off to Seven Falls.  No work involved here.  You pay the park fee and drive right up to the falls.  There is an elevator that will whisk you up to the middle of the falls (saving you from climbing approximately 200 stairs) and from there you have an awesome view.  For those looking for a little more strenuous workout, you can continue on up – approximately another 200 stairs to the top.  Seven Falls is exactly that, seven separate waterfalls which cascade down the side of the mountain.  If you visit in the summer and at night, they even light the falls.  Alas, we weren’t visiting at a time when we could see them at night.

Air Force Academy

Approximately 15 miles from our campground was the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs.  Although I wasn’t sure what they would have to offer, I’m am glad we went.  Of course, the chapel building is one of the most famous structures associated with the Air Force Academy and for good reason.  It is spectacular.  The architecture of the building and the use of stained glass in the walls and ceiling make this the most beautiful chapel I’ve ever seen.  Check out the pictures which definitely don’t do justice to the magnificent site.   You get a feeling standing in the chapel and looking at the altar that I can’t begin to describe. 

Exterior of Chapel

 

 

 

 Altar

 

Organ

 

 

Love the stained glass

 

Ceiling

 

Due to the snow and rain during some of our time in Colorado Springs, we missed out on going over Pikes Peak.  Maybe next time.  And that wraps up Colorado Springs for us.  Next stop, Cherry Creek State Park in Denver, Colorado.

 

Colorado Springs, CO

I'm a little behind on posting as we left Colorado Springs two weeks ago.  We are currently camped out at the Cherry Creek State Park in the Denver area, but more on that later.

Colorado Springs was a wonderful town to visit.  They have several attractions worth experiencing and all within a very short drive, my kind of place.  We stayed at the Garden of the Gods campground.  Nice campground, good facilities and close to everything. 

Garden of the Gods is a national natural landmark with dramatic views of towering sandstone rock formations. Garden of the Gods got its name from two surveyors who decided that it would be a fitting place for the Gods to have a beer (beer garden) and although the beer garden didn't materialize the name stuck. 

 It's free to visit the park.  There are numerous trails for hiking, road and mountain biking.  Rock climbing is allowed by permit. 

 

Pikes Peak in the Background



 

We also visited the Manitou Cliff Dwellings.  The Anasazi who lived and roamed the Four Corner area of the United States Southwest from 1200 B.C. to A.D. 1300 were the master minds of these incredibly sophisticated dwellings for the time.  Manitou Cliff Dwellings is a 40 room site that was originally located in the southwest corner of Colorado near Mesa Verde, but was relocated for preservation.  It took several years to collect, package and move the pieces by oxen and then railroad to Colorado Springs (between 1904 and 1907) where they were reassembled in their original dimension and appearance.  The Cliff Dwellings are now considered a museum and you can actually walk through the rooms which are interconnected and protected by the mountain face.

 

 

 

Since there was so much to see in Colorado Springs, I'll detail the rest of the Colorado Springs adventure in a sequel.

 

Royal Gorge, Canon City, Colorado

The Royal Gorge bridge is one of the world's highest suspension bridges in the world.  Built in 1929 for $350,000, the bridge was a legendary feet of engineering for the time.  The bridge was built for no other reason than to see if it could be done.  It took 7 months to build and the project was funded by a group of investors.  Kinda of the bridge to no where.  Now the bridge is part of an amusement attraction.

For those who enjoy conquering a vertical challenge, there is an incline railway which travels at a 45 degree angle from the top to the canyon floor.  It is one of the steepest and most difficult structures ever built.  There is also a skycoaster which is a free fall tower sweeping you 50 mph to hang momentarily 1,300 feet above the Arkansas River.  Many feel that it is the scariest skycoaster in the world.  We passed on trying out these and settled for merely walking across the bridge.  You can't believe the wind gusts that high up!  The bridge is made of wooden slats with spaces that allow you to look through to the canyon floor a million feet down (seriously, that's how far it seems) and the bridge moves with the wind gusts.  Scary for those of us who don't care for heights.

 

Arkansas River - Canyon Floor Approx. 1,500 Feet Below

Bridge

 

Incline Railway

 

 

Oso Caliente, New Mexico

After departing Santa Fe, we travelled about 50ish miles north to the Ojo Caliente, NM, home of the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs and Resort.  They have an awesome little RV park right on the resort grounds, primarily for smaller RV’s and YOLO fit nicely—she’s not too big, she’s not too small, she’s just right!  Our spot included the tranquil sounds of a nearby stream and was set among the foliage which afforded us maximum privacy. 

A hop, skip and a jump from the RV park was the Spa where for $28 you get an all-day pass to soak in several (non-stinky) mineral pools, steam, sauna, mud bath and bake or just lounge around the pools swinging in a hammock.  Mark and I reserved a private cliffside pool where you are permitted to frolic au naturel should you choose.  Did we?  I’ll never tell.  Our personal pool was reserved for 8 p.m. and included a kiva fireplace for warmth and added ambiance.  Very romantic!   Three sides of the personal pool area were walled and the fourth side opened up to a cliff face (hence, cliffside pool) which was lighted after dark illuminating the cliffs.      

Oso Caliente offers a myriad of spa treatments  - everything from massages to facials to wraps, etc. if you’re in the mood to partake.  The cottages on site were small, but looked cute and comfortable.  We didn’t try the on sight restaurant, preferring to eat at home.  If you ever find yourself traveling along US 285 between Colorado and Santa Fe, it’s well worth a stop.