Miramont Castle: Exhibits & High Tea … and a Mural-Wander Around Manitou Springs

Thursday, 2 July 2015 (Part II)
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado

In addition to being an interesting historic venue to tour, Miramont Castle is a museum-within-a-museum kind of place, with several exhibits housed in rooms on the property.  In my previous post, I wrote a bit about the history of the castle and took you on a virtual tour of the rooms that are open to the public.   Now let’s briefly visit the exhibits.

Manitou Springs: Miramont Castle

Thursday, 2 July 2015 (Part I)
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 76F (24C) / Lo 57F (14C)

Our days in CoS are winding down — fast.  Alternating sightseeing and hiking with relaxing at home, we found the days flew by too quickly.  So much to still see and do in the area.

Some might say that we should have spent more time exploring, but we like the pace we set ourselves … quite different from our “vacation” mode trips when we are traveling without the Phaeton.

Glimpse of the Miramont Castle Gardens.

Don’t let the patch of blue sky in the photo above fool you … it was momentary … here one minute; gone the next.  In fact, the skies threatened rain, with a high chance of precipitation in the forecast.  Figuring that an indoor activity would be preferable to the hike we planned to do, we looked to see what was available in the immediate area.  None of the museums enticed us, however, so we decided to check out a “castle” instead!

Historic Old Colorado City

Tuesday, 30 June 2015 (Part II)
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado

Mui had his heart set on having tapas for lunch, so after our hike in the Garden of the Gods (post here), we got in our car and drove the short distance to Old Colorado City (OCC).  Like so many towns in the west, OCC owes its birth to gold.  It was founded in mid-1859, shortly after prospectors were lured to the area by major gold strikes that were announced in the Pikes Peak region.  Pikes Peak or Bust was the rallying call of the day.

We had already checked the TripAdvisor comments and knew not to expect much of our visit.  Of course, if you are an art gallery browser or just like to check out the various stores lining the streets, there’s plenty of that.  And restaurants as well.

I sort of got the sense that the place comes alive later in the day.  But no matter, we were there for lunch not to sightsee … although we did stroll up and down the small historic center while we waited for the restaurant to open at 11:30a.  Since I’m not much for crowds, the quietness of the streets worked out for me.

Fun mural at the Colorado City Creamery.

Garden of the Gods … Redux

Tuesday, 30 June 2015 (Part I)
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 87F (31C) / Lo 52F (11C)

When we left the house this morning, we had no intention of going to the Garden of the Gods.  But we had to jiggle our plans a bit, so that’s where we ended up.

Florissant Fossil Beds: Giant Redwoods in Colorado! … and More

Thursday, 25 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 84F (29C) / Lo 55F (13C)

Sarah, a fellow-blogger and RVer (of See Where the Road Leads fame), took time out of the Alaska road trip she is on with her hubby and Kitty to suggest that we might enjoy visiting some fossil beds in nearby Florissant.  After a couple of hazy-skies days at home, we were raring to go somewhere fun.  So this morning we hopped in the CR-V and made the 40-mile (64 km) drive to the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (FFBNM) — one of only nine NPS units specifically set aside to protect fossils.

Falcon Trail: 13 Miles Up and Down … and a Side Trip to 1871

Saturday, 20 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 86F (30C) / Lo 63F (17C)

The morning dawned bright, with blue skies and puffy clouds, and comfortably cool temps.  The forecast was for a hot day, but by leaving early to get on one of the hiking trails here at the USAFA we figured we just might beat the worst of the heat.  Hah!  We were wrong!

For today’s hike we opted to do the Falcon Trail, a multi-use loop trail that runs entirely within the boundaries of the USAFA.  When we left the Phaeton at 7:00a, we were still debating doing just a portion of the 13-mile (21 km) trail as an in-and-out hike.  By the time we were at the trail access point five minutes later, the decision was made to hike the entire loop.  Five minutes after that we were walking, our Camelbaks heavy on our backs … the water bladder filled to the gills with the liquid refreshment we knew we would be needing for this moderate-to-difficult hike.

Driving the Pikes Peak Highway in 7 Minutes and 8 Seconds

Wednesday, 17 June 2015 (Part II)
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado

Seven minutes and eight seconds … that’s all it will take you to make the 39-mile (63 km) roundtrip drive on the Pikes Peak Highway.  Mui processed his GoPro video; cut out some scenes … added others; slowed down portions of his footage … sped up others.  Just so you can come along on this drive at warp speed.

Strap on your seatbelt and let’s go.  I don’t think you’ll need any motion sickness meds … just be warned!

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Pikes Peak: America’s Mountain

Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 80F (27C) / Lo 55F (13C)

The mountain that looms over Colorado Springs has been known by many names.

The Ute Indians referred to it as Sun Mountain because it catches the early mountain rays.  The Arapaho called it Heey-otoyoo, meaning "Long Mountain” — that’s self explanatory; just look at the photo to the right.  Then came the Spaniards in the 1700s … they named the mountain El Capitán.  In 1806, when Lt Zebulon Pike was sent to survey the lands acquired through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, he named the mountain Grand Peak … some say it was Highest Peak.  That name lasted until the first recorded ascent in 1820 when the mountain was named James Peak … in honor of the botanist who made it to the summit.  Thirty years later, the mountain was officially named Pikes Peak … the name that has lasted to our time.

A Day at Home … Fixin’ a Leak and Makin’ “Kuru Köfte”

Tuesday, 16 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 77F (25C) / Lo 53F (12C)

Sometimes you decide to stay home for one reason — in this instance, to relax and catch up on “living life on the road” type of stuff.  But today it turns out to be good for an entirely different reason that we decide to spend the day at home.

Garden of the Gods: Light Hiking

Monday, 15 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 72F (22C) / Lo 53F (12C)

A return visit to the Garden of the Gods (GotG) today proved more fruitful for our plans to hike a couple of the trails in the park.

We tried to start our day early, but “things” got in the way, and we didn’t leave the Phaeton until 7:30a.  Twenty minutes later we were turning onto the Gateway Road — the entrance into the park from 30th Street.  Having studied the map we picked up from the visitor center (V&NC) yesterday (post here), we already knew which trail we wanted to hike.  The bonus for picking a trail at the far end of GotG was that we got a sneak preview of the park by car on our way to the trailhead — which wasn’t that easy to find after all.

Garden of the Gods: Visitor & Nature Center

Sunday, 14 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 75F (24C) / Lo 46F (8C)

Made a mistake today.  Well, sort of a mistake.  You see, instead of hiking one of the trails here on the grounds of USAFA, we went to the Garden of the Gods (GotG) — a registered national natural landmark since 1971.

We went to a free park!  On a Sunday!  In the summer … when schools are out!  What were we thinking?  Apparently, we weren’t — thinking, that is.  To boot, when we arrived at the GotG V&NC, we found a long line of vehicles queued up along 30th Street, and a barrier and a police car blocking the entrance into the park.  What the heck?

America the Beautiful

Saturday, 13 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 77F (25C) / Lo 48F (9C)

O beautiful for spacious skies … For amber waves of grain … For purple mountain majesties … Above the fruited plain! … America!  America! … God shed His grace on thee … And crown thy good with brotherhood … From sea to shining sea. …

Thus goes the opening stanza to one of America’s most patriotic songs — America the Beautiful … although if you’re like me, you’ll be surprised to learn that the words have changed some since Katherine Lee Bates first wrote the poem in 1893.  (All three versions are in the Wikipedia article I linked to above.)

So what does this beautiful song have to do with what we did today?  Aside from the fact, that is, that Bates was inspired to write the words after a visit to Pikes Peak, which towers over Colorado Springs (CoS) and is visible from almost everywhere you go in and around town … including USAFA (photo above)!

Welcome to USAFA

Friday, 12 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 68F (20C) / Lo 56F (13C)

Get used to references to USAFA.  Why?  Because United States Air Force Academy is simply too much of a mouthful to say for the 30 days we will be here.  Actually, 25 days now, since we arrived here five days ago.

Boy, time sure flies fast.  I’ve said that before, haven’t I?  Well, it’s true and repeating it doesn’t seem to slow time down; or speed it up, for that matter.

Almost at the USAFA South Gate.  It won’t be long before we’re settled for a month!     

So, how did we get here and what have we been doing since we set up camp at USAFA?

A ‘Plog’ [Photo(b)log] of the Highway of Legends

Sunday, 7 June 2015
Carpios Ridge Campground — Trinidad Lake State Park, Colorado
Temps: Hi 77F (25C) / Lo 51F (11C)

No Work Today.  Except ...

… for continuing with a little online reading to educate myself about blog thefts — be they posts or entire blogs.  I gave myself a day off to enjoy some of what the area has to offer, so on with the fun stuff.

143 Miles on the Toad’s Odometer … Great Drive!

Quiet Day @ Trinidad Lake SP … and the Research Continues

Saturday, 6 June 2015
Carpios Ridge Campground — Trinidad Lake State Park, Colorado
Temps: Hi 83F (28C) / Lo 52F (11C)

First Let’s Have Some Fun.

A pitch dark site; quiet too … after our late-arriving neighbors finished setting up in the dark; only the occasional strong gust rocking the Phaeton; no thunderstorms … no weather alerts … a tiny bit of rain pitter-pattering on the roof.  Yup, had a good night’s rest at Trinidad Lake State Park.

Wake up came with the reminder that I needed to deal with the plagiarism/copyright infringement issue.  Sigh!  Shelving plans to go hiking, I sat down at the computer to get started with researching what actions I needed to take, and solutions that would keep me blogging.  At least it was still quite chilly outside, so I didn’t feel too bad about being at my desk.

Fisher's Peak, a basalt-capped mesa, is thought to have been formed by horizontal lava
flows over a million years ago.  The 9,600-foot high (2,925m) mesa looms over the reservoir.

Third Day on the Road … and We Arrive @ Trinidad Lake State Park, Colorado

Friday, 5 June 2015
Carpios Ridge Campground — Trinidad Lake State Park
Trinidad, Colorado

Note (8 June 2015): I briefly took my blogs offline by making them private, but an expert on Google’s Blogger forum said I probably had to keep the blog public so that Google can find it when they look into the DCMA violation I filed.  So I changed back again.  Since the blog is out there already, might as well post to it until action is completed on my filing.  When might that be?  Your guess is as good as mine.

In the meantime, you might notice a change in the tone of this post.  That’s because I simply copied and pasted from the private journal.  Skip over what you don’t want to read ;-)  And if some of it doesn’t
make sense, remember the words were written before I switched the blog setting to be public again.

Blogging No More?  Maybe.  But First …

Our third day on the road … the last leg of the drive to our weekend stop before we continue onto Colorado Springs, where we will be spending a month.  The trip started in Port Aransas on June 1.  So how is it that this is day three when the date for the post reads the 5th and we started out on the 1st?