Greetings from Creede!
We stayed at a huge RV resort, you can barely see us as the sign is so big! The park is nestled among the San Juan Mountains along the banks of the mighty Rio Grande river.
Creede is over 125 years old, and for 100 of those years was primarily a mining town, known in it's heyday as Colorado's rowdiest mining camp.It is a small town in a great location,
but it is more of a summer destination, for fishing and rafting in the river.
It was pretty quiet when we were here, with many places not opening until Memorial Day week-end. We got to go everywhere on this portion of our trip. No sitting ( really sleeping) around in the motor home waiting for Mom and Dad to return!
Brody is getting ready to get in the car
for our drive on the Bachelor Loop, a 17 mile driving historic tour that loops through Creede's historic silver mining district and ghost towns.
The mostly unpaved road weaved its way up the canyon north of Creede climbing under ragged cliff sides.
We stopped along the way to get a closer look at the old mines
When we got to the top of the drive there was a beautiful meadow
and a great view of Creede below
The next day we drove part of the Silver Thread byway to Lake City, stopping to see two water falls on the way
The views from the top of the views of the Slumgullion Pass (11, 361 ft) were beautiful
We had fun walking around the small quaint town of Lake City.
stopping of course to to pose for our blog shots. We are getting pretty good at posing.
Adios,
Yuki and Brody
Greetings from the Great Sand Dunes National Park. We stayed at a small campground just outside the park. By the time we got set up the clouds were rolling in.
Later that evening it started to snow, a bit more like white rain.
and I did not like going out for a walk that night, but then again, neither did Dad. Brody could have cared less.
That night Brody told me that he hoped it would keep snowing. He was so excited he could hardly sleep. The next morning when we looked out the window, and everything was covered in snow.
Mom put on my winter coat and got Brody into his sweater and we went out to play in the snow.
Not a blade of grass to be found, I guess I'll just have to create a yellow brick road......
Even the Great Sand Dunes were covered in snow, a beautiful sight!
Later that day Mom and dad took us to the park and they stopped in the visitor center to learn more about the park.
Created by winds that sweep up the San Luis Valley floor, the enormous dunes that tower 700 feet are the tallest sand dunes in North America. Having personally visited the White Sands in New Mexico, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes on Lake Michigan, I thought these the most spectacular, nestled in the valley at the base of the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
By the afternoon the snow was starting to melt from the dunes. But we decided to go home and wait until tomorrow to explore the park.
What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours.... the next day we got up and all the snow was gone!!
The sand dunes were now clearly visible.
We took off for the park that morning to take a small hike in the park with mom and dad.
and stopped along the way for a rest break.
After our hike we went back home for lunch. After lunch Mom and Dad went back to walk up the sand dunes. They left us at home so we wouldn't get all sandy, no fair I say. But, when I saw the creek I would have had to cross, I was really glad they left me home!
However, the kids sure were having fun in the deeper part of the creek.
Mom said the water was surprisingly warm.
They told me they walked all the way to the top, but I doubt they did!
A great day in the park! Next stop, Creede, Co.
Adios,
Yuki and Brody
Greetings from Colorado Springs,
We are staying at the Garden of the Gods RV Resort. I couldn't figure out why it was named this, until I saw the huge dog park and thought that looks like my kind of garden
and maybe this was the God.
Well, needless to say I was wrong. Dad and mom took us to the Garden of the Gods park. We took a small hike up to one of the sights
but, it was Sunday and the park was so crowded we couldn't find another place to park so we just drove around trying to appreciate the beauty of the park. These magnificent, eroded red-sandstone formations
from gnarled jutting spires to
to abstract monoliths, sculpted more than 300 million years ago.
Sadly, these few pictures do not the park justice, it was just spectacular.
One day we got to go with mom and dad to Cripple Creek, a historic gambling and mining town
nestled in a beautiful valley on the back side of Pike's Peak (more on that later)
Cripple Creek's biggest gold rush started on October 20, 1890. Prospectors by the thousands came, their slogan, "Pike's Peak or Bust". By 1910, more than $18 million worth of gold had been mined. Mom was glad we were with her on this trip so dad wouldn't get any ideas of taking a trip down the gold mine.
Today Cripple Creek is still an active gold mining town and the charming main street is lined with gambling casinos housed in quaint Victorian buildings.
One of my favorite part of the day was watching mom feed the donkeys. They were off in a field, but as soon as they saw mom they started walking up in a long line to get a treat.
Brody was really jealous, as he wanted a treat too! And the donkeys were sadly looking for more after the treats were gone.
After visiting Cripple Creek we drove to Victor, a smaller, quiet and historic mining town
and had our picnic lunch across the street from this mural before heading home
The next day, mom and dad went to Pike's Peak.
Brody and I thought we were going to get go, as you can drive your car to the summit (14,115 ft), but that morning when dad called, he found out that there was too much snow and the road was closed at 12,000 feet. So mom and dad were very lucky to get last minute tickets for the 10:40 trip to the top on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. It is the world's largest cog train and took 1 1/2 hours to get to the top, up the narrow tracks.
At the top it was 31 degrees, but sunny.
and the views were incredible, you could see five states!!
These views inspired Katherine Bates to write the song "America the Beautiful"
After 30 minutes on the top they headed back down
On the way down they saw the snowplows trying to clear the road for tomorrows visitors.
Colorado Springs is home to the U.S Air Force Academy, built in 1954 with a very modern design. We got there just before a big rainstorm, but still got to visit the famous chapel, featuring 17 spires that resemble airplane wings.
The interior stained glass spires would have been spectacular if the sun was shining.
We drove to Canon City to see if we could get a view of the Royal Gorge, whose canyon walls tower up to 1,200 feet high and were carved by the Arkansas River more than 3 million years ago. It is a private park, charging admission to walk across the highest suspension bridge in North America. The 1,052 ft high bridge sways in the wind and the river can clearly be seen gaps in the boards
The only other way across is on the aerial tram
Neither way across was appealing to mom and dad, so just appreciated the views from afar.
On the way home we stopped at the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey so mom and dad could sample some Colorado wine.
My favorite part of our time in Colorado Springs was the day mom' cousin Robin drove down from Boulder to spend the afternoon with us!
We had a great visit!
Next stop, Great Sands National Park!
Adios,
Yuki and Brody
