OOPS, WE WERE HAVING A REALLY BAD DAY

We had a great time in Woodland Park area seeing Pikes Peak and visiting Cripple Creek; however, the RV park where we stayed was an older park, with lots of mature trees, and RV spaces set up in a random order. So the morning of 9/11/2010, after having breakfast and stowing everything, we were ready to leave the park. First the automatic levelers were contrary and took awhile resetting so we could start our drive. Then Ted noticed air was escaping, not building up pressure so we couldn't drive without brakes. Luckily Ted is very good with mechanical issues, and figured out how to get the air pressure to hold. Then the real issues began. While driving out of the assigned RV space, Dorothy was watching on the driver side and apparently the lower edge of back cap on passenger side of the RV caught on landscape timbers that were piled quite high between the RV spaces. We heard a pop and thought it was the antenae brushing the limbs in the upper trees. We didn't realize the damage right away on the rear cap. It was a really tight turn between the irregular RV spaces. Dorothy was now watching at the front on the passenger side and a pine tree was in Ted's blind spot on the driver's side. Another camper saw we needed help and came over to guide Ted through the tight area of the park. We then discovered the awning of slide on driver's side had a deep scratch in the paint, and there was a definite crunch in one of the basement doors in the same area, on the lower portion of the RV. Those damages were from the pine tree. For those of you who know us well, Ted handled the "accident" quite well. When Ted came to the back of the RV to hook up the jeep, we discovered the damage on the rear passenger cap. We're not sure if any damage has been done to the ladder on the back of the RV, or inside the basement door. The slide works fine. We hooked up the jeep and finally started down the mountain toward New Mexico. Woodland Park, Colorado is close to 9000 feet elevation so we couldn't have made the drive if the air pressure hadn't held, because we would have had no brakes. We put the accident behind us and figured we'll see what the insurance company and RV repair site says. At lunch that day, when Dorothy reached into an upper cupboard for chips, a box of cookies crashed down onto the table. Unfortunately Ted had a full glass of milk poured, so we had milk all over the table, chair, and carpet. We looked at each other and laughed. We didn't think our day could get much worse and thankfully, it didn't. We have since called our insurance agent and they will be sending a representative to the RV park to meet us in Marble Falls, for an estimate of the damage. On a positive note, no one was hurt, the damage can be repaired, and we're really glad we didn't make the upgrade to a newer RV in Albuquerque. We came very close to making the trade up, but decided it wasn't the right time. We spent 1 night in Las Vegas, NM and 2 days, 3 nights in Rio Rancho NM and had some fun at the local casinos. We are spending tonight in a KOA near Carlsbad, NM, then will be on our way back to Texas.

PIKES PEAK

Our first full day in Woodland Park ,Colorado, we decided to take the drive to Pikes Peak which was only about 20 minutes from the RV park where we stayed. It was a beautiful drive; however, due to 50 mile per hour winds, we were only allowed to drive 13 of the 19 mile trip up the mountain. We reached 11,440 feet and reached the Glen Cove area where there is a gift shop and snack area. Pictures 5 and 6 show the jeep and view at the highest elevation we were allowed to drive. We saw three lakes during our drive through the interior of the mountain and small patches of snow near the peak. The trip down was a 6-7% grade with no guard rails most of the way down. Lots of signs reminding drivers to use low gear. We didn't see any wildlife, or big foot inspite of the signs indicating where sightings have been recorded. The large rocks and mountain views were beautiful.

CRIPPLE CREEK CO

We spent three nights in the Woodland Park Colorado area. One day we drove to Cripple Creek which is an old gold mining town. The first picture shown was taken from the mountain looking down on the town. Second picture is at the west end of town looking down main street. Third picture a welcome sign painted on the side of a building also shows we were at 9400' elevation. The fourth picture is a sand sculpture honoring veterans, fifth picture a sign when leaving town.There are 15 casinos in the downtown area. We only gambled in three of the casinos and had lunch while we were there. It is an interesting town, with so many casinos and places to eat. We made "donations" at each casino we visited and got buy one get one free lunch from the Diamond Eagle casino with our players card. The last two pictures were taken on the drive through the mountains going back to our RV site. The mountain goats on the side of the road, and claimed up the rocks as we drove by.

MOUNTAIN DRIVE CORTEZ TO ALAMOSA

Today we left KOA in Cortez CO and began our drive east on US 160. We had planned to stop in South Fork. However, since we arrived there at noon and we hadn't made reservations for the night we kept driving on to Alamosa, Colorado. The drive east through the San Juan Mountains was quite an adventure. We didn't realize we would be driving to an elevation of 8180 feet before we came down the other side of the mountain. The Georgie Boy made the drive, but it was working pretty hard by the time we got to the highest point and began our drive back down the moutain. We saw some amazing views along the way. The two pictures of winding roads were taken from above. We drove through two tunnels and also saw an elk at the top of a mountain along the way. Too bad the elk wasn't real, but it makes a nice picture. I couldn't resist the "Falling Rock" sign. It always reminds me of our family's favorite story teller, Bob Hall. He has a story about an Indian brave named Falling Rock who was lost in the mountains,. The signs were put up so every one could watch for Falling Rock and bring him home. We didn't find Falling Rock on our trip. Tomorrow we will drive to the Colorado Springs area to see Pike's Peak.

CANYONS OF THE ANCIENTS NATIONAL MONUMENT

Today we drove north on Highway 491 and found the Lowry Ruins that are located on publicly owned land designated as Canyons of the Ancients National Monuement. We ended up on a gravel trail that led us to the Lowry Ruins. It is a very interesting pueblo ruin you can actually walk inside. Placques located around the ruin exlained that it probably began as a few small rooms for one family and then gradually "additions" were added until the pueblo became a community. The next two blogs show pictures inside the pueblo ruin and also the Great Kiva that was located nearby. There are very clean restrooms and picnic areas located at the ruin site, but you need to bring your own water, food, etc. We had water and snacks with us. There was no charge to visit this ruin. We are enjoying this area and have decided to stay here until after the Labor Day holiday is over. We will also avoid the holiday rush traffic by waiting until next Tuesday to move on with our travels. We still haven't decided where we are going next. It's really nice to have no time table for this portion of our trip.

INSIDE THE LOWRY PUEBLO RUINS

It was really exciting to be able to walk inside this ruin and see the different levels, rooms, and walkways. The ruin is covered with a roof and stabalized with steel beams to make it safe to actually see the inside portion of the ruin. We didn't know we would be able to walk inside until we arrived and walked around the ruin.

The Great Kiva at Lowry pueblo ruins

These pictures show the Great Kiva located at the Lowry ruins. They are part of 164,000 acres of public land designated as Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in June 2000. The first picture is a plaque that explains how the Kiva was probably used. The second picture shows the ladder used to enter the Kiva. The 3rd and 4th pictures were taken to get a closer view of the stones in the center of the Kiva. The last picture capures the exterior wall of the Kiva. This ruin is about 30 minutes north west of Cortez, CO.

MESA VERDE

Today, 9/3/10, we drove to Mesa Verde, purchased a Senior National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass for $10.00 and drove into the mountains. The senior pass is a lifetime pass that will allow us free entry to most national parks. I hope we get to use it often. The scenery is beautiful here, my photos do not do it justice. It was an interesting drive winding around the mountains, even through a tunnel. We stopped at the Far View Visitor Center and decided to visit Spruce Tree House cliff dwelling. The path is only 1/2 mile, but fairly step, so I just took pictures from an overlook, I did not walk all the way down since Ted didn't want to make the trip. We had lunch at Far View Terrace before our trip to the Spruce Tree House and Museum. We also went back to the Ute Mountain Casino where we had fun at the slots and tried their burritos at Kuchu's Restaurant. A very good burrito, that was so large we brought left-overs home for tomorrow's lunch. Not quite a big as Ted's famous wet burrito's but better than any others we have tried on our trip.