Moving northward but still in Colorado

We are on our way towards Loveland/Ft. Collins and since we are just going 120 miles up I-25, I will have internet access the whole way I am sure. Sky is blue, mountains are in the distance on our left and there are currently a few white fluffy clouds in the sky.We spent the last 4 nights in Colorado Springs at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Colorado's newest park. Yes- it is on the side of the fabled Cheyenne Mountain,in fact one of the roads through the campground is restricted and for emergency exit only. We could see one of the secondary entrances at night because the lights at the access points made it more visible, the main one (I just know there are big concrete doors up there some where) was around the bend so we did not have a clear view. The road itself is restricted to peons like us- so we had to just use our imagination. Those places just fascinate me- just full of conspiracy theories and secret enclaves. Anyway- the state park overlooks Colorado Springs because the whole park is actually on the side of the mountain. The entrance is directly across from the Ft. Carson Gate #1 entrance (another place we were not welcome) off 115. The entrance takes you up to the visitors center at about 6900 ft and the day use areas, camping store, and various campgrounds are higher. We stayed at the top campground- Raptor Glen. I would say we were just short of 8000 ft., at least that is what my lack of comfortable breathing told me. My camera does not do justice to the views- especially with so much the same color - green & brown.

Weather has been wonderful as far as not using the air conditioners since Raton. The last few days here have been pretty overcast and reining so we have resorted to wearing long pants. Early mornings we wake up to about 48 and start the electric heater for a couple of hours to take the chill off. The cats climb down to lie next to it, so even they have been feeling the chill. There is nothing like drinking your coffee in the chilled air- overlooking the beautiful mountains, especially when your wonderful husband has done the dirty work- started the coffee, fed Hazel & Wolfy and taken Hazel for her early morning walk. I did do all of that once this week- but Hazel seems to prefer his walking style to mine so once was apparently enough.

Pike's Peak was a No Go this trip - we couldn't make ourselves go up with wind chills of 21 and the whole mountain socked in with weather. Instead we did go to the Garden of The Gods. The rock formations there are absolutely wonderful and I was very jealous of the homes overlooking those magnificent views, what a way to start your day! The weather was overcast and cool and my camera seems to be taking in less & less light, so the pictures are rather dreary but I kept trying, and trying, and trying. The one thing that never seems to change is that we get somewhere and the area gets some much needed rain and unseasonably cool temperatures. Guess it is inevitable that we bring the rains. (Does it remind you of any other trip Jeremy? Every time I check the Yellowstone weather I see they are having snow- we are just fated I guess, but this time we have a built in heater. After the trip through Garden of the Gods we ate in Jorje's in Old Colorado City (Of course that wasn't until we had purchased fresh bread and pastries aat the french pastry shop La Baguette). Jorje's has great Mexican food and Bruce acquired another of their T-shirts. His first one, bought last year when we were here in January, says "You can?t drink all day if you don?t start early". This one says "Shut up and drink your Margarita?" I am pretty sure it is directed towards me.

Other than a drive down to Canon City to check on our property- we just took it easy since we had been in this area of Colorado several times . We found that the little storage shed we built 4-5 years ago is still standing as built and the stained walls are holding up very well. Only the paint on the trim seems to be suffering in the Colorado weather. The shed is filled with things we left behind if we ever want to just come out and stay any time (which probably will never happen). except of course for the animal droppings left by all the little critters that used it to get out of the cold. Those will just have to wait until we have masks to get cleaned up. Hazel completely refused to come up the stairs to even see the inside, she was smarter than either of us. Seriously, I am sure it is because the stairway is made of safety treads , raised metal steps and they hurt her little feet. Everything was greener than we had ever seen this time, at the ranch, in Colorado Springs, at the Garden of the Gods - everywhere, so I guess it pays to come in what is still considered Spring. Later in June when we usually arrive everything is desert colored except for the Aspen.

Well - time for bed, more about our new camp site tomorrow. Adios.

Trinidad and Cokedale

  We went to Trinidad but I didn't get to update the blog with that information, so this will suffice. Trinidad was great fun. If you go- first stop at the visitors Center- get any info you might need for all of Colorado- but then take the FREE 1 hour city tour on the trolley. The man who drove us around (and there were only 5 of us) was full of interesting tidbits about the city. Apparently Trinidad was the stopping off point for many different ethnic groups moving west during the days of wagon trains. It makes perfect sense- many people probably had to stop, get jobs for short periods of time to fund the cost of food, etc. so they could complete their journeys westward. Retirement and RVs were not in anyone’s vision in those days. We are very fortunate to be able to visit the historical works of our ancestors- everyone should take whatever opportunity afforded and get out there and see this country. Anyway- the Italians and the Germans were some of the people who provided the excellent architecture, stone work and interior woodwork for this city. All of the brick used in Trinidad was made there- until the mid-1950s and most of the stone used in the buildings was mined in the vicinity. Apparently the Italians are responsible for the excellent stonework in the buildings. The workmanship is so good that none of the buildings have needed restoration and the city's plicy is to never touch any of the historical architecture unless it is falling down and there is a safety issue.
The tallest city building completed was the First National Bank- made of stone and even better, a year after it was completed the Italians returned and carved the existing stone into fanciful shapes, gargoyles, etc. There is speculation that this may be the only building in the country made of stone that has the actual stone carved into shapes rather than having them added after completion.

 One of the really unique items to see is a graphic portrayal of Raton's history depicted in a ceramic mural. It was designed and completed by Sister Augusta Zimmer, SC and hangs in the Mount San Rafael Hospital entrance. It weighs about 3000 pounds, hangs on a reinforced interior wall and is 38ft W x 12ft H. According to the tour guide, there are 5000 pieces in the mosaic and Sister Zimmer was 80 years old when she finally completed the mural She did all of the work and spent 16 hour days on the scaffolding putting it up . I don;t know if all of what he said is true, but it is still quite a piece of art and my pictures do not do it justice. In any case, if you are interested, there are more pictures and explanations of what the different images portray in the web album.


After touring Trinidad and a fast lunch, we drove out the highway of Legends a few miles to another another interesting place - Cokedale, Co. It is a significant intact example of a coal miner's camp. The first thing you see as you come to Cokedale are black hills - they turned out to be slag heaps. There were 2 mines in Cokedale and one 9 miles north in Bon Carbo in the early 1900s. The mined coal was washed to remove impurities (mainly sulfur and phosphorus) in the Washer and then cooked in ovens to remove the moisture and the final product, coking coal, shipped off in rail cars. Coking coal was a necessary ingredient in the smelting and refining of iron since it burns with intense heat. The slag heaps we first encountered were where the remaining impurities were deposited.



The first picture is what is left of the coal washery and the next are of some of the 350 coke ovens that were at Cokedale, These ovens ran non-stop during the heyday of this town supporting the 3 mines in the vicinity.

There is quite a bit if history in Trinidad and the surrounding area. Come and see it for yourself!!