BACK IN COLORADO SPRINGS

May 3, 2013…Well, let’s see … we got back from Hawaii on Friday morning

We had a really great time there with Lonnie & Sandy … saw some cool stuff … did some great drives … and enjoyed the beaches immensely. It was sad leaving but we celebrated the last night with a fantastic (words can’t even describe) meal at a local legend – Mama’s Fish House. This place is right on a beach and is so funky and eclectic you don’t realize it’s a Five-star restaurant. The menu is – of course – heavy on fresh fish and local beef and pork. We had some amazing meals (EXTREMELY pricey – but hey! We were celebrating!) and drinks to celebrate Lonnie & Sandy’s anniversary (again!). Then off to the airport (what a way to go!)

Mama’s Fish House – Maui

Took the ‘red-eye’ out of Kahului and into Denver via San Francisco. Arrived terribly jet-lagged plus we went from sea level to over 6,000 ft. in a day. Needless to say we went almost directly to bed when we got home. Slept for 12 hours straight and still felt like crap!

But we got some stuff done like grocery shopping etc. and took another walk around Garden of the Gods as the weather was actually sunny and warm(ish) for a change. Had an early supper and early to bed again – ready to head out in the morning. We’d decided to head west and south – to Sedona, Arizona where the temperatures were warmer.

Garden of the Gods

The Cafe at Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods

May 4, 2013…However … the best laid plans ….

When trying to hook up our auxiliary breaking system for the towed car this morning … it crashed on us! Can’t drive with no breaking in the towed car so we opted to stay in the Springs a couple more days to try and get it fixed. We have called the manufacturer, Blue Ox, who were very helpful, and they’re shipping out the part so we should get it in a couple of days with any luck at all.

We decided to make the most of our extended stay in the area to drive up to Cripple Creek. It’s a gold mining town about 1 hour from here – west and about 4,000 ft. higher! The drive was nice and photo ops were everywhere! So the day was certainly not wasted!

Cripple Creek

What a neat place (if you can overlook the 10,000 casino’s which seem to have taken over much of the town!) It’s an old town … most buildings are dated 1896 … which seems late until you find out that there was a town fire that demolished all of the old wooden buildings the year before. But some great architecture and quite a beautiful town. We had some lunch and wandered around for a while checking things out before heading down the road to Victor, another gold mining town, just a few miles away.

East Bennet St or HW67 in Cripple Creek

East Bennet St in Cripple Creek

Cripple Creek Museum

Victor

Apparently Victor has had more gold taken out than California and Alaska combined! There are mines and remnants of mines everywhere. The older mines are quite interesting and have some beautiful scenery around. The ‘new’ mines are completely ‘raping’ the mountainsides and look like a moonscape after the apocalypse . Very nasty business – gold mining!

Victor, CO

Victor

Old gold mines around Victor

Old Gold Mine near Victor

Old rail car once used as a cabin near Victor

Bruce is off for a bike ride and I think I’ll head to the liquor store as we’re getting dangerously low on wine!

Biking in Red Rock Canyon

May 6th…Florissant Fossil Beds

We took a drive out to the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, which is near Cripple Creek and located in the Florissant Valley about 35 miles from Colorado Springs. This is one of the largest fossil beds in the world where they’ve found thousands of perfectly preserved fossils and there’s also a bunch of petrified redwoods. They’re HUGE … some 14′ – 15′ across. These were widely vandalized in the early part of the 20th century by tourists who were encouraged to come out and take home fossils. It’s amazing to think that this whole area … now home to rolling grasslands and ponderosa pine … was once covered with giant redwood trees! A very cool place to see!

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, CO

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – Fossilized Redwood Stump

Fossilized Redwood Stump Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Hornbek Homestead

We also stopped at the Hornbek Homestead, which is part of the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. It is located in the center of the Florissant Valley and was the home of a strong, determined woman who came to the area with her four children in the 1870s. Claiming land under the Homestead Act, Adeline Hornbek defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a prosperous ranch. The buildings are very cools and beautifully preserved.