8000 FEET AND COUNTING

Sorry I missed you last night.  Kathe says it's the altitude, but I say it's too many margaritas!
After all yesterday was Jim's birthday and we celebrated all day!  Thank you to everyone who called and sent Jim birthday wishes!

We are at the Arrowhead Point Campground and it is very remote.  We have no cell service and this is coming to you via the Park's hot spot because neither Verizon or AT&T work here. The campground hot spot wasn't working last night and I suspect it will not be working tonight either.

Just so you know, we are having fun anyway! We went into the town of Buena Vista and saw the deer on the roads of town.  There was a museum in town which was more like visiting someone's attic with a bunch of jumbled junk.  Seems that whatever people donate to the museum, they put on display.  Even someone's old dentures! Yuck!

This is a picture of our campsite. We have mountains all around us. There are many river rafting companies offering trips down the Arkansas River which is right across the highway from us.

I am having he time of my life! There is no dog park so I get to roam all over the place. There are chipmunks everywhere!  So far I haven't caught one, but I still have another 24 hours. Keep your paws crossed.

ALL ABOARD

Yesterday while Kathe and Jim were crossing the suspension bridge at Royal Gorge they saw a train pass under the bridge. With a little investigation they found that they could get tickets and have lunch on a restored passenger train and travel under the Royal Gorge Bridge today.

The train was about ten cars long and left from the depot in Canon City at 12:30.

They were served lunch and soft drinks and sat in an air conditioned club car with all the amenities. There were two open cars so that people could go outside and photograph the canyon as they passed under the bridge.  Once the train reached the town of Parkdale they headed back down the tracks, under the bridge again, and back to Canon City.

Along the route they saw big horn sheep and groups of people in rafts riding the rapids of the Arkansas River as they chugged along. In one of these pictures you can see a tiny spec of red--high above the clouds.  That's the gondola that Kathe and Jim rode yesterday way up in the sky.  The train ride was a much better way to enjoy the afternoon.

News flash! There are tons of gophers living right under my nose in the dog park.  Because it's so hot here they are only active in the early morning.  I've been getting Kathe out of bed so that I can stick my nose down their little holes and frighten them.  I love the smell of gopher in the morning! I almost caught one today, wish me better luck tomorrow morning.

SOME BIG HOLE

A very short drive today from Colorado Spring to Canon City. We took a "blue" highway, the State Highway 50 through the middle of nowhere and arrived at the Royal View RV Resort in Canon City in the early afternoon.

The claim to fame here in Canon City is the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park. The bridge is suppose to be the highest suspension bridge in North America.  It was built in 1929 and spans the scenic Royal Gorge nearly 1000 feet above the Arkansas River.

After lunch Kathe and Jim drove the short distance to the Gorge. In addition to the bridge there are all sorts of attractions  And there were about 500 tourists to enjoy them. Kathe and Jim rode the Gondola one way and walked back across the shaking bridge. Kathe had to keep focusing on the end of the bridge but she made it. There was a zip line and a bungee swing, but they decided to pass on those, the little red Gondola was enough excitement for the day.

They stayed for a magic show and a film on how the bridge was constructed. A huge fire in 2013 all but destroyed the area, but almost everything has been rebuilt and replaced with newer buildings and attractions.

Our RV Park for these next two nights is set back from the highway with a great view of the Royal Gorge Bridge in the distance.

They have 2 dog parks here, one of which is an agility course but it's way too hot be be agile.  We're sitting in the air conditioning tonight watching people play Frisbee golf and freestyle Bocce ball,

NOT MY BEST DAY

This morning the sky was blue, not a single cloud in the sky.  It looked like it was going to be a great day.  Not exactly.  Kathe and I went to the dog park at around 5:30 and we were joined by Willis my next door neighbor Golden Lab.  I went to greet him in my usual doggie way and got a little to close to his working parts.  Embarrassing! I got a shower right on my head.  Boy, was Kathe upset. She grabbed me and took me straight home to the kitchen sink. She sprayed water on my head, and dried me off with a towel and promised me a complete bath as soon as it was warm enough.  Lousy way to start our day!

Did I mention it's Forth of July.  I hate that day, as a matter of fact I've hated every night this week. Someone has been shooting off cherry bombs each night at around 10:00. I've been a nervous wreck. To make matters worse, I've gained a couple of pounds since last July 4th and my Thunder Shirt is fitting a little too snug. Kathe almost couldn't get it fastened last night. I'm downing the calming pills, but nothing seems to help.  Tonight is the BIG night, I hope it rains and they have to call the whole thing off! I guess I'm not a very patriotic puppy.

Kathe, Jim and I did nothing today!  Well, Jim went for a bike ride and Kathe worked on her needlepoint and did a few loads of wash. Me, I just needed to sleep and forget about everything.

They had a special dinner tonight at the Briarhust Manor in Manitou Springs. The manor was built in 1872 and has been beautifully restored.  The food was really special, so Jim took a picture of the two dishes they tried. Jim's dinner was venison served on a slate and Kathe had some delicious scallops with a lobster corn risotto. YUM!

Gotta go squeeze into my Thunder Shirt...

YIKES PEAK

In the words of John Muir, "The mountains are calling and I must go." That's what Jim said this morning at breakfast when deciding what to do today. We're camped only a few miles from the base of Pikes Peak, so why not drive up to the top and see what's what!

It was a 20 mile drive up the mountain to the summit with many, many switchbacks and no guard rails.  The ranger warned us to make sure we had at least a half of a tank of gas when we started up the mountain, and to downshift into 1st gear and avoid using the brakes on the way down.

It was so steep!  It was so scary! So many hairpin turns.  I tried to get a picture to show the turns, and maybe if you look closely you can see the roads as they wind back and forth  beneath us. One wrong turn and we would have been toast.

At last we reached the summit at 14,115 feet and it started snowing. That's what those white spots are on the picture of the summit sign! SNOW! The temperature went from 77 degrees down in town to 45 degrees at the top of the mountain.



Then it was time to turn around and come back down.  Just as scary! Just as many hair pin turns only now Jim wasn't supposed to use the brakes. At about half way down the ranger stopped each car for a mandatory brake check.  He checked our brakes with an infrared thermometer and gave us the go ahead.  That Jim, thank goodness he's a great driver!

OFF WE GO...

Kathe and Jim's adventure today was a trip to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.  They had a really great experience visiting this beautiful campus and learning about what it takes to be a Air Force Cadet. It was even beautiful in the rain.

The first stop was at the Barry Goldwater Visitors Center where they saw a very interesting film. The film followed a class of cadets from their first day at the academy to graduation.  It really gave you an understanding of the hard work and dedication these young people must have in order to succeed, graduate, and become officers in the Air Force.

After watching the film they toured an exhibit with information on the history of the Air Force and stories of some of the greatest heroes.  There was information on the uniforms and even a mock up of a typical cadet dorm room.



They were able to tour some of the buildings on campus, the most well known being the Chapel.

When they came out of the chapel they saw some of the new cadets from the class of 2020 that were just beginning their training and learning to march. They will spend the summer in basic cadet training before the school session starts in September.

Here are a couple of pictures from the day. Kathe's Dad was in the Air Force in WWII and so she took this picture of a statue of the B-52 which was the plane his squadron flew.

As for me, doggies don't fly. Well, except for Snoopy! I stayed home and rested up for the fireworks which I know someone will be shooting off again tonight.  Only a few more days until the 4th is over and I'll be able to get a good nights rest.

GARDEN OF THE GODS

Just so you know, it rained all night last night! And this morning was very overcast with a prediction of rain and flash flooding in the Colorado Springs area.  I don't mind the rain one bit.  When I come back all wet, I get a nice rub down with a warm towel and a treat, what's not to like?

It was a short drive down the I-25 to Colorado Springs and to the Garden of the Gods RV Resort. We were supposed to be in a super-duper executive site in this highly rated (10,10,10) park but it's only just okay.  Lots of people side by side with not much real estate. Only about 6 feet between coaches, but I guess that's the best we expect for the Forth of July weekend.  We are going to have fun for the four days we are in this area, as there are lots of things to see and do here.

The best thing about this resort is that we are only a few minutes away from a spectacular 1,323 acre city park called the Garden of Gods at the base of Pike's Peak.  The park is known for it's many towering sandstone formations.  In 1897 railroad magnate, Elliott Perkins, gave the land to the city with the stipulation that it be open and free to the public. Today it was filled with the public!  There were hundreds of people climbing all over the rocks and posing for pictures. Trying to get a picture without some stranger in it was a real challenge.