Day 3 (cont)

Leaving the gold mine area was not easy, we could have stayed and panned for gold the rest of the day.  We came down from the mine just as the bus of 40 kids decided to pan for gold in the same stream!

Continuing our trek eastward, we drove through the town of Idaho Springs.   Much to my surprise, the town was loaded with lilacs.   Due to the altitude and the time of year, they were just starting to bloom.   Lilacs are my absolute favorite and I miss them every year in Michigan.  Not wanting to stomp on anyone's lawn, we stopped at a Safeway grocery store where the lilacs were growing wild in the back.   I climbed the hill and picked a bouquet to have for the remainder of the trip.

Determined to make it through Denver and into Nebraska today, we carried forward.    Starving, we were on the lookout for a quick bite to eat along the mountain road.   We found a sign for Buffalo Bill's Museum and buffalo herd -- we had to go see!   The fog grew so thick we could not see the lines on the road anymore, but we made it to the museum parking lot.   We had no idea all the things that Buffalo Bill did in his lifetime until now.   We even tried a couple of his show acts while in the museum, Q did pretty good at roping calves!  That is a real rope and a loop he made -- not bad.

 

We stayed at the museum and had lunch -- buffalo burgers, of course.    Unfortunately, the fog was so great we never got to see the buffalo and we needed to keep moving to make Nebraska.  :(

We made it to Gothenburg, NE tonight - long drive.  A local donkey greeted us in the hotel parking lot, making sure we felt welcomed.   The hotel took the extra step and found a unique way to get kids and adults to smile after getting to their rooms, a 25 cent item -- and I bet it made you smile too!

Retiring for the night - more in our adventure tomorrow.

 

Day 3

We left the Phoenix area at over 111 degrees, we awoke our 3rd day to a balmy 39 degrees in Fairplay, CO. 

As we drove out of Fairplay, we passed by South Park City -- yes, the famous South Park of the Comedy Channel.     We proceeded over the mountain and were in awe over the view of Breckenridge.   The view is indescribable!

As we started our descent into Denver, a sign for touring the Phoenix Gold Mine popped up on our left -- we HAD to stop.   It was a precarious 6 mile drive up a mining trail to get to the mine......not to mention turning us around as we still have a trailer connected!     We toured the mine and learned so many things about mining -- we saw veins of minerals, machines used in mining and an active mine.   We got to pan for gold too - with some luck :)   We want to thank Alan, our tour guide and Al, the owner of the Phoenix Gold Mine -- we had no idea what it took to extract gold and other precious metals from the earth!

More on Day 3 coming later.

Day 2 (Continued)

We continued down our route through winding mountain roads and came upon some gorgeous valleys

Waterfalls were abundant in the mountains from the snow melt, despite still having snow on the mountains.

We leveled out on the valley floor - the valley was desert like in some places and fruitful for farming in others.   In a search for lunch, we came across signs in the shape of alligators -- "Colorado Gators" -  we were more curious than hungry, so a quick turn to the East took us down this side road to an area with several ponds and seemingly broken down buildings.   Being us, we could not resist seeing alligators in the middle of the desert and figuring out what you could fish for in these ponds.

Well we were in for a treat!    We were greeted in the gift shop with a whole family; kids, moms, dads, grandmothers, etc.   We paid our entrance fee and proceeded down the path following the gator prints.    We first have to step over a a 6 x 1 on the floor, then a second one - only to find out that desert tortoises occupy every area and have to be separated from each other.   They are very fast!

We walked into a room with hundreds of aquariums -- hundreds of rescued reptiles occupy these aquariums.   Most were friendly enough to be held - as our guide started pulling them out and putting them in our hands.   We finally said no to the scorpion!   But we did not say no to the alligator - what an experience, we got to hold a REAL LIVE alligator!  His name was Captain Hook.   He is much softer than I thought.  

We continued through the farm -- this is a fish hatchery and they started with one alligator for "garbage disposal" of the dead fish.   1 grew to 400 - yes, I said 400 -- there were alligators every way we turned.   All rescued gators.   People started bringing other animals to them as well -- ostriches, bunnies, turtles, birds - quite a sight to see - you have to go if you are ever on 17, Mesco, CO.  

We left the Colorado Gator farm and headed for a place to eat and sleep for the night.   We saw tons of antelope and elk along the way.   We ended up in a town call Fairplay -- you have to research it -- named for the gold prospecting mindset of things need to be "fairplay" - I am simplifying the whole story - but worth a stop and a read.    We stayed in this beautiful old Inn; Fairplay-Valiton Hotel -- every floor board made noise -- it was amazing.   We had called ahead, they were expecting us, when we arrived, the owner/operator was across the street eating.  The note instructed us to call from a antique phone to find out our room number

The lobby had beautiful original woodwork and fixtures.    Two dogs greeted us as well.  There were authentic pieces in the lobby such as the original registration window, old typewriter and a license for prostitution (evidently you had to have a license to practice back in the day).

We walked the creaky stairs to our room at the end of the hall.   We loved the uniqueness of the place and the fact that none of the doors were locked as we walked through the hall - it was like we were in someone's home.    Modern bathroom to make us feel comfortable, although I was hoping for a claw-legged tub.  We cannot wait to see how we sleep!

 
We will see what the next day brings!

Colorado...Day 2

Second day on the road;  left Phoenix area at 111 degrees on Monday -- arrived into Durango at a cool 49 degrees -- this morning is very nice; around 70  We started with a quick breakfast at the hotel.   The hotel sits right on the river - beautiful view.

We set our sights high for the day, but knew that we would take it one bite at a time.   We headed to Pagosa Springs.   Great little town with amazing views.   We captured the Chimney Rock view first -- not many places to pull over and take pictures on this road.

Stopped at a local gift shop and picked up some yummy fudge! 

Wolf Creek Ski Resort was our next stop -- a re-con for future skiing trips.   The resort is tucked away in the mountains.   They are doing so much construction, what it looked like during last year's ski season is going to be nothing like this up and coming one.   The mountain still had snow in places and waterfalls from the melting snow in others.   Could not resist running up the mountain for a quick reminder of snow.

Lots of road to cover today and much to see - more in the blog later. 

We are back on the road

We left Chandler on Monday morning-ish -- okay it was a late start and we left in time to get lunch. 

We were torn - wanting to help in the tornado stricken areas, yet not wanting to be one that needed help with the new storms brewing - we decided to take the northern route to Michigan.

Loaded with a u-haul trailer and a back full of "stuff" - we headed north.   

Our first stop after lunch (which was a couple miles from home) was Montezuma's Castle.   Quinn is very much into Minecraft these days, virtually building amazing structures online -- the consideration of seeing an ancient cliff dwelling was extremely appealing.    The dwellings did not disappoint.

As we headed further north, we made the choice to land in Durango for the night -- we pushed forward through the Navajo Nation.   The wild horses were abundant - we saw over 150 wild horses grazing and running through the open areas in the Navajo Nation.  

We stopped in Kayenta to get gas and a bite to eat.   One of the hotels had a copy of an old cover wagon -- we could not resist a quick snapshot

Our one sad moment was as we were getting gas a pack of 6 dogs came up to us -- the friendliest dogs you have ever seen.   They were hungry and wanted attention.   We had a couple of leftovers that we tossed to them and convinced them that 8 of us could not fit in my car.   Hated leaving them behind.

We got to Durango late and fell into bed, dead tired.   Tomorrow we head up into the Rockies.