Sunday was another incredible day.  We were going to rest up for the drive tomorrow.  But then we discovered that we were only 50 miles from the new and improved Royal Gorge Bridge and Park.  We both had been there as kids but thought we should see it as


adults.  The drive there was totally awe-inspiring.  I know I didn't appreciate that as a kid.  It was only 50 miles, but the scenery changed every few miles.  Sometimes the mountains were low and gently rolling, dusty sage -colored.  Sometimes they were towering and intimidating slabs of dark granite.  Then there were the huge piles of round boulders that looked like cairns on steroids.  There were even walls of orange sandstone.  This was all in the fifty miles from Salida to the Royal Gorge!  And through it all ran the beautiful Arkansas River.  I have discovered that I am the ultimate tourist "gawker".  I kept saying, "Ooh, look at that! OMG, Look! Stop the truck so we can get pictures!"

Now the really strange thing was that, as we got closer to the Royal Gorge, the land actually flattened out!  We took a picture just a mile from the gorge and you could not tell what was coming.  I am going to let the pictures say it all about the Gorge itself.  Of course, it was breath-taking.  We walked out about halfway to get good pictures (didn't we get to drive across back in the day?).  Anyway, If you don't want to walk across you can ride in the gondolas to cross over, or the crazy zip-line (Kay Mein, there is your ultimate zip-line).  Crazy as it sounds, there was even a tightrope walker crossing on a cable.  Thankfully he was tethered because he fell halfway across.  It was really windy up there.

After touring the Gorge, we had lunch there.  We split the Nitty-Gritty Brisket Sandwich.  Possibly the best sandwich I have ever had.  Then we headed back to the camper, tired but happy.  We will be heading to Grand Junction in the morning.

  Saturday was a fairly quiet day.  We took Jax on a long walk by the river because we were going to leave him in the camper for a few hours.  Unfortunately there were no Bighorn Sheep this morning, or we were not there at the right time.  We left Jax and headed into Salida for lunch.







There were several recommendations for a place called MO's Burritos, so we decided to give it a try.  Wow, they were delicious, but HUGE (see pic)!  I could only eat about a third of mine and Pops ate about half.  The good thing is that we will have another meal from them.

    After lunch we headed for the Salida Fiber Festival.  I am talking about textiles, not shredded wheat.  Riverside park was packed with tents and booths all filled with yarn, spinning wheels, rugs, leather, clothing (knitted hats, socks, scarves, and ponchos).  There was even art made from fabric, yarn, and leather.  It was interesting and there was a surprisingly large crowd.

  As we were walking back through town we spied  the Brown Dog Coffee Shop and stopped in.  There was an 80 yr. old man in there that filled us in on his entire life.  He was cute and we enjoyed visiting with him.  Next we stopped in at Sweeties to buy a large, delicious, raspberry fruit bar that we will share over the next few days. Yummy!

  Back at the camper we took Jax for another long walk and apologized for leaving him all afternoon.  I am glad to say that I think he accepted our apology.

  BF Kay and I tried sharing a glass of wine on Facetime. However,  my phone connection is not great and it didn't work out too well.  But we got a good laugh at our attempts.  Miss that lady.

  Another quiet evening listening to the river, loving the cool breezes and visiting with neighbors.

On Friday we started off the day with a bang!  We were standing by the river visiting with a couple from Iowa when Jax started barking like crazy.  We looked across the river and saw a whole herd of  what we thought were deer with curved horns, coming down to the river to drink.  Even Jax's barking didn't scare them off, so we had plenty of time to take pictures.  Later we found out that they were actually Colorado Desert Bighorn Sheep.  I always thought Bighorn Sheep were short and stocky, but I guess not all varities are.  They were very majestic and the babies were so cute!

After lunch we went in to Salida to walk around the Historic District.  We kept seeing the huge dome of Tenderfoot Mountain,with a huge S on it, that looms over Salida.  There is a road leading up to it that is called Sprial Drive that you can drive, or many bike and hiking trails as well.  Locals say it's not cool to drive up, you have to hike or bike it.  Well, I guess we are not cool.  We decided to drive it.  It is just a dirt road, very steep and curvy (read that as scary).  From the road up there you have an amazing view of Salida and the surrounding area.  I don't think the pictures do it justice.

Next we went to a small lake called Sands Lake Bird Sanctuary.  There is a hiking trail around it, so we did that for our hike.  This lake is actually a resevoir for the Fish Hatchery run-off.  The water runs into it and then out to the Arkansas River.

Later in the evening we were visiting with neighbors from Florida and they were telling us about an even more spectacular (and scary) drive that we should take.. It is called Old Monarch Pass.  They said that the view from there rivals anything else we have seen.  Hmmm, may have to try it tomorrow.

In the morning I had put one of my Dump Meals in the crockpot.  I was so glad I had.  No need to cook, supper is ready.  If anyone is traveling for awhile I highly recommend this.  You do all the prep and mess at home, then bag it and freeze it.

Make as many as your camper freezer will hold.  Then all you have to do is dump it in the crockpot and go sightseeing.  Supper is ready when you get back.

Wow!  Thursday, what a day.  We left the Land of Enchantment.  We stayed 2 extra days and could have stayed more.  New Mexico is so beautiful  Crystal clear air, bright blue skies, beautiful scenery.  It is so unique.  Even the bridges and overpasses are pretty and unique.  I tried to take some pictures and I apologize for the poor quality.  Pops wouldn't stop the rig in the middle of traffic to let me take them.  I had to take these on the fly, through the truck window.


One of the things that amazes me about traveling in the US is how the landscape changes so dramatically in just a few miles.  The desert is not just the desert.  Depending on where you are there are beautiful rock formations, rolling hills, or flat scrub.  But even the scrubby flat places are a beautiful soft sage color with bright pops of color from wildflowers here and there.  The high bluffs range from sandy orange to to black or purple, depending on the sun and shadows.  As we kept driving, I kept thinking, "why does anyone need to leave the US to see amazing things"?

As we drove north we could see the mountains of Colorado in the distance.  We kept stopping to take pictures.  Finally we decided to detour to Great Sand Dunes National Park.  It was not on our itenerary but we could see it off in the distance and thought it wasn't very far.  Turns out it was 25 miles, but we have nothing but time.  What a strange place. Huge sand dunes on a sand sheet, at the base of the mountains.  They were formed because the whole area had been underwater at one time, thousands of years ago.  As the water dried up, the sand and silt were left and the winds of the area blew them into these huge dunes.  Besides the dunes, there were hiking trails up into the aspen groves and an apparently beautiful waterfall about 10 miles away (you had to hike 3 mi., wade across a stream, go thru a cave, hike another half mi. and there they are---sorry to say we diidn't do it---maybe next time).  We really wished we had planned to spend a couple of days there.  But if we keep detouring we may not reach Utah at all.

Don't get off the path! These prickly pear cacti are everywhere!







We were a little disappointed in southern Colorado.  Very flat and lots of farmland (looked like Kansas if you didn't notice the huge mountains in the distance).  Kept driving north and began to gain elevation.  We began to see more pines and aspens.  We gradually climbed to Poncha Pass (9700 ft) and then dropped 2000 ft down into Salida, Colarado.  Checked in at a cute little campground beside a river.  Lovely cool breezes and pretty trees with the sound of the river running by.  Ahhh, peace!

We thought we had settled in for the evening to watch some football and relax, but found out there is no cable and TV reception is bad.  However, while walking the dog we saw the game was on in the rec room.  We decided to go watch for a few minutes but ended up staying for the whole game.  Great game, even if it was the Broncos, not the Chiefs.  We watched the game with a very interesting couple who were on their  way to Santa Fe.  That is one of the best things about RVing.  You always meet interesting people.  Great evening!  Great day!  We were really tired, but happy.

Learned a lesson today:  Don't do your laundry at the campgrounds!  I did a week's worth of laundry and it cost $20!   $3.50 for the big machine and $2.50 for the smaller ones.  Dryers cost $0.25 for       6 minutes.  It took 2 1/2 hrs.  Dryers wouldn't get the clothes dry.  Next time I think we will go into town and try the laundromat.  Surely it is cheaper there. Well, live and learn.

In spite of the laundry issue, this is a nice campground.  If you ever camp in Santa Fe, I would highly recommend the Santa Fe KOA.

We have been cleaning and packing today, getting ready to leave in the morning for Salida, Colorado.  We have enjoyed every moment of our trip so far (well maybe not the laundry). There have been so many magical moments in this place that I can't wait to see what else is to come in Colorado and Utah.  Stay tuned!

  Santa Fe weather has been great.  It has been in the 80s during the day and 60s at night.  This is the rainy season and last night it rained again.  The storm clouds were impressive and the days are bright blue sky and white clouds.

  Speaking of skies, I forgot in my first blog, to tell about our Astronomy Adventure.  We went out to the desert to a "dark site".  There were 12 of us and Peter the guide.  He had a 20 inch telescope that actually came from Arcadia, Kansas, of all places. We looked at Mars, Saturn, and several nebulas.  It was incredible!  My favorite was Saturn.  You really could see the rings shimmering.  Some of its moons were visible as well.  We were out there for about 3 hrs.  Great adventure!

  We decided to spend 2 more days in Santa Fe.  We will leave for Salida, Colorado on Thursday.

 

 Santa Fe

August 30, 2016 we arrived safely in Santa Fe.


    We stopped in OKC on the way.  OKC is such a fun town! I think I could live there!  Had dinner at our favorite seafood place and the shrimp is the best.

  Anyway, onward.  We crossed the vast emptiness of the west Texas panhandle,  I keep imagining the pioneers crossing this land.  It is nice and flat, but horribly hot, dusty and empty of anything beautiful to break up the monotony.  Then, suddenly, we started seeing the rolling hills, desert scrub, arroyos and mesas. We had a big discussion over the difference between plateau, butte, and mesa. Found out that mesas and buttes are both plateaus.  The difference is the size. Difference between arroyos, gullies and gulches?  Again, size.  Yes, people, size does matter!  Ahhh, New Mexico

  By the way, anyone traveling on I-40 west from Amarillo, be sure to stop at Russell's Travel Center.  It is just past the Texas/New Mexico border.  It is a cute "must-see".  Part 50s diner, part truck stop, part restored old car museum with old filling station memorabilia, kiddie cars, model cars, etc.  We saw a beautifully restored 1955 corvette and many others that were spectacular.  Fun place to stop.



  Arrived mid-afternoon at the campground.  So good to see Michelle and Rich.  Campground is really cute and so New Mexico.  The only problem is that we have no cell service here (maybe that is a good thing).  We have wifi, but it is spotty.  Oh well, who needs it.

  Thursday was a crazy day!  We went to a strange interactive "museum" called MeowWolf.  It is very hard to describe, so I have included some pics and you can use your imagination.  I will also give you a few hints: We went thru a fireplace to another room. We went thru a refrigerator into another "dimension".  We saw a little boy swimming in a toilet.  Walked thru a neon jungle, etc. etc. etc.

   Friday we went hiking.  We drove up the mountain to Big Tesuque Trail (9700Ft).  We hiked for about 2 hrs.  Absolutely gorgeous scenery, mountain streams, aspen trees, pines, boulders, etc.  I had to take a few breaks to breathe.  I am going to say that is because of the altitude, not my physical condition (read that as OLD).  We ate at a beautiful Japanese restaurant after the hike. Pops and I both slept well that night!

                 

   Saturday we did the Tourist thing.  We walked Canyon Road for hours.  In and out of galleries and shops.  So much beautiful art and sculptures.  I fell in love with a bronze rabbit named Rosemary, but Pops wouldn't let me buy it ($2250).  Rats!  Then we had lunch at a tapas place.




  Sunday we went to look at some houses that Michelle and Rich are thinking of buying.  Beautiful places but maybe not the perfect one yet.  Then we went to another little shop that Michelle likes.  Had a good lunch at a Mexican restaurant.  Think ubiquitous New Mexican green chilies.  You   can't come to NM without finding green chilies everywhere.  Hint: Stay away from green chili margaritas (Yes, I have tried one-Yuck).

Monday is going to be rest day before leaving for Colorado and on to Utah.