20020413 Colorado Springs CO

Headed north to Taos NM. The scenery is just beautiful. We came around a curve and could see a breathtaking view. Taos is in a flat place surrounded by mountains. We only stopped there for lunch because the Pueblo was closed for religious reasons. We had burgers at Michael’s Cafe. We then pressed on into Colorado. When we got 20 or so miles from Rt. 160, we went up into the mountains  and saw some snow in the surrounding forest. We got a room in the Best Western in Walsenburg CO. We ate dinner in our room; chips, fruit and a cookie. We only saw three horses when we were coming by the “open range”, although we did see signs for deer and elk.

20020414 Evergreen CO

We had breakfast in our room from supplies in our box and left for Pueblo about 9:30. We stopped at visitors center and got a coupon book and looked up churches, but when we got to Pueblo, we had trouble finding the Methodist Church, so we got there late. The congregation was having a lunch and we were invited to join. The meal was an annual event called “Hardtimes” in connection with the taxes due now. It was beans cooked with ham, corn bread and pudding. The minster, Kim, gave us a tour of the church. We headed north on I25 after lunch and were in Colorado Springs CO about 1:30. I checked us into Days Inn with a coupon. We changed clothes and headed out to the “Garden of the Gods” which is only a few miles from here. It is a beautiful place. Lots of scenic roads, paths for walking or jogging, bike trails, horse trails and, what fascinated us was the rock climbing! We spent at least an hour watching those people. Then we drove up to see the Air Force Academy. It was past 5:00 and they were not permitting visitors in. So, we stayed in Colorado Springs one night, then on to visit Ruthie in Evergreen CO.

The next day at Ruthie's, we had a great home-made breakfast and watched the elk in her yard. Then Ruthie took us on a tour of Denver CO. We had lunch nearby Molly Brown's house at the Walnut Cafe, where we had fruit salad and tuna salad. We walked down to the Colorado History Museum to see the exhibit there. Ruthie paid for all. Drove home via Red Rock park and through Bear Creek to Evergreen. We stopped at the grocery store to get some delicious salmon for supper. We talk and tasted some Oban single malt Scotch, then to bed. Ruthie’s dog’s name is Nugget.

Mary Harriett, Ruthie and her granddaughter

20020415 Denver CO

We had corn waffles this morning and Ruthie served them with the maple syrup I gave her. We went with her while she delivered meals on wheels. What a route! Up and down hills, but the worst part is going through town because of the construction. We had lunch and then Ruthie drove us to the lake and we walked around that which is about a mile. We took her dog, too. We went out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. We stopped at their church and she showed us around. We had a bit of scotch when we got back. We did laundry in the morning. It’s great to have clean clothes.

20020417 Wolfcreek Pass CO

We got packed, had breakfast, said good-bye to Ruthie and Al and left a little after 8. Very scenic route to join Rt. 185. Some really great views. Stopped at Monte Vista CO for lunch at a local place called JB’s. We had sausage, cheese, lettuce sandwich, fries and a drink. Potatoes are grown around this area. We came through an area called South Park CO. There are a lot of ranches around here. In the flatter areas the fields are cultivated with potatoes. We turned on to Rt. 160 going west where the road took us up to Wolf Creek Pass which is over 10,000 ft. high. There were repairs being made on the road and we had to wait a 1/2 hour in line to get over the pass. We are now on the other side of Continental Divide. We continued on to Durango CO and picked out the Caboose Motel to stay in. Called Steven. We ate dinner at Christina’s across the street. I took a walk in the evening. We heard they had snow in Evergreen today.

Al and Ruthie

20020419 Four Corners

We had a busy day. We ate in our room from our groceries, then drove to the Durango Public Library. We had messages from Ann, John, Regina and Bob L. Ann’s message had directions for getting to Ann G.’s place in Park City. I sent messages to P.’s, H.’s, Bob L., family and Arlene. We got on our way to Aztec NM. We ate lunch, then went to see Pueblo ruins. Very interesting. Got some postcards. On to Farmington NM, where we toured the Navajo Mission School. Connie showed us around and we met teachers and house parents. Nice. We went on to the visitors center. Decided to go for a walk at the Riverside Nature Center, then to the Chelsea street pub for something to eat. We are staying at a Knight’s Inn near the airport. While we were walking at Riverside, next to a parking lot was a colony of prairie dogs. What fun to watch them, there were dozens. We threw a cookie and sat in car to watch them.

20020421 Sedona AZ

We had a good breakfast, much more than we usually get in a free motel breakfast. We relaxed and read the paper before going down on Rt. 89A to Sedona AZ.  The ride was uneventful until we got close to Sedona where the road went from 6500 feet to 4000 feet. It was beautiful but very curvy. Mary Harriett said it was a white knuckle ride. We found a place to park and strolled around. We took our films to one hour express to get developed. We took a tour on a trolley, spent some money and time in book store. It is beautiful here, the red rocks in weird formations. We picked up our films about 5:00 and looked at them in the parking lot. We drove back to Flagstaff AZ and ate dinner at Busters. We did laundry after dinner.

20020422 Grand Canyon NM

We had another good breakfast, then waited for the van to pick us up. It was on time. We got to the first drop off about 12:00 to look at the Grand Canyon - very impressive. It was cloudy, so the colors were dull. While we were eating lunch at El Tovar Lodge, the sun came out. We went to the next spot and took more pictures, then left the park. We were back to motel by 5:15 and spent some time planning our trip through Utah.