averygoodun42 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
averygoodun42) wrote2008-08-07 10:50 pm
averygoodun42) wrote2008-08-07 10:50 pm
Colorado...
So, as I've mentioned a few times, I've been having some rather severe technical difficulties over here. Unfortunately, one of those difficulties was downloading all of the Colorado pics onto the computer that needs four hour naps in-between fifteen minute sessions of activity.
Golly, described that way, it sounds like my computer is turning into a cat!
It had better not sprout fur.
Anyway, I wrote the synopsis of the trip just after we got back, but I wanted to illustrate it with the photos I took with my new baby. However, I've kind of run out of patience. So here's my travel post (which may be a little dated now) with only a few of the (many, many) photos I took. :-(
This trip was fantastic. It's amazing how much difference being healthy makes on a trip!
We got into Colorado Springs and when we stepped out of the airconditioned airport, we all kind of looked at each other and said, "Wow." It was so dry, my lips started cracking almost immediately, but it didn't feel like it was 91 degrees. It was warm, but nothing scorching.
Of course, it doesn't really get scorching until you pass the 98 degree mark.
Anyway, Geoff's dad picked us up and drove us down to their Pueblo house, where Geoff grew up. We settled in and relaxed for a day or two, and then we were off to Canon City and the Royal Gorge (which we didn't bother seeing) to meet up with all of my family.
If you're ever in Canon CIty and want a nice place to kush camp, the KOA there is really, really good. The people are friendly, the showers are hot and the sites are nice. There are also nice touches, like flowers (both fake and real) spread around the compound, a breakfast 'wagon' with decent food for decent prices (I did say it was kush camping, didn't I?) and the option of cabins with a/c.
I love my macro! These little flowers were about 5 mm across. Hee!
Oh, you mean there was scenery, too?
It was really nice to see everybody, although it was a shame that Geoff's parents had to go back almost immediately. His mom didn't feel well. :-( Geoff's sister ('M') and sons ('C' and 'T'), however, stayed as planned. :-)
It was also nice to see that with all the parents and all the kids, we didn't even need to communicate about rules, as we all are of like mind. When we saw a kid acting out, we all called the kid on it, no matter whose kid it was (within our group, of course.) The really nice thing about being of like mind is that we all get along.
Anyway, after two nights and several bad, bad sunburns at the KOA, we packed up our stuff and set out for the sand dunes. Happily, M and her kids were able to join us for the first night as there was room in my sister's tent for, well, an army. Seriously big tent. It took three elephants to put it up.
It had been about 18 years since I'd last been to the Great Sand Dunes. The last time I'd been there, the road into the park hadn't been paved, the park was as isolated as isolated can be, and it was damned hot and damned dry. This time, the road was paved the entire way, even in the campground, there was a motel and gas station just outside the park gates, and there was plenty of evidence of the long, cool, wet spring the San Luis Valley had experienced. The hills were still green(ish)!
There's so much in my mind I want to say about that area, but the first thing that always strikes me when we drive South on Highway 17 is that it's exactly how I picture the trek through Dunland, with the Misty Mountains rising ominously to the East. Granted, the Sangre de Cristo's are rarely misty (especially in the summertime), but they do have Presence and Ruggedness enough to qualify as a double, I think. (here's some good shots of the range: http://www.wetmtndarkskies.org/SangreDeCristo.png and http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://sangres.com/cimages/features/panoramas02/slv-sangres01big.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sangres.com/photos/panoramas02.htm&h=433&w=1242&sz=46&hl=en&start=75&um=1&tbnid=vKSBNIfYPhKFWM:&tbnh=52&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsangre%2Bde%2Bcristo%2Bmountains%26start%3D60%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DefH%26sa%3DN )
The second thing that came to mind as we drove along that flat, straight stretch of road was how awesome a place it would be for a massive wind farm. If there's one thing that grows in the San Luis Valley (without water being shipped in), it's wind. You don't get mountainous sand dunes without lots and lots of wind. Getting the power out of the valley might be a bit costly, but good God! All of Colorado (at least!) could be powered from that agriculturally useless land!
Anyway, we got to the campsite just as the afternoon rainclouds started gathering on top of the mountains. The rain started falling just as we got out of our cars, and so began a mad dash to set up our tents before it started pouring. The nice thing about the rain was that it cooled things down significantly. Rushing around putting up the tents wasn't as arduous a task as it would have been (had been) in the 90+ heat. It also got us motivated. All three tents were set up within half an hour. Just in time for the rain clouds to move on and leave us with a hot, sunny afternoon.
My dad and brother went off in search of beer and ice (they had to go to Hooper... something like twenty miles away), while the rest of us just relaxed and settled in. Just as we had given up on them ever getting back and were preparing to go to the Dunes without them, they came back. Since we'd already started the leaving process, it was smooth sailing, and we got to the dunes only minutes later.
(1st day pictures...) :-(
The kids had a blast playing in the water, and just as they got too cold, the rest of us got too hot, so we all happily made our way back to camp for some dinner.
I should state that camping at the Sand Dunes is a very different experience from camping at any KOA. First of all, there aren't showers, except for the kind that fall from the sky. Second of all, there are wild animals. Dangerous wild animals. There are big, steel food storage boxes given to each campsite with strict instructions to not take ANY food into your tent at ANY time, because, really, who wants to be woken up by bear's breath? Or slightly worse, bear's teeth?
Third of all, there's no electricity, except the kind that runs on batteries. This makes for dark nights and crystal clear skies. My BIL said that when he got up in the middle of the night, the Milky Way was stretched out in all it's glory. I wish I'd seen it. Especially as I didn't sleep all that well anyway.
So the storm clouds of the afternoon petered out through the night, leaving us with the stars to suck out all the heat. By morning, it was quite chilly, though certainly not chilly enough to freeze anything solid. But that and the fact that our air mattress leaked during the night made for a bad night and a tired morning. We had planned to stay for two nights, but the night had been so rough, and I was so tired (not to mention Geoff had fared much worse than I had, comfort-wise) that I proposed to Geoff that we get one of those motel rooms for the second night. He was very happy to hear that suggestion.
Unfortunately, the motel had a 'no vacancy' sign up when we drove by it on our way to the dunes that morning. We had already taken down our tent by then, so we decided to just go back to Pueblo that night. It's not that long a drive (2 hours). But since it would be the last day with all of my family, I wanted to stay as long as possible, and preferably not leave until after dinner.
So we stayed. And played. M and C tried going up a dune, though the sand turned out to be too hot for M's poorly clad feet. My parents, brother and I, meanwhile, went for a walk up the creek while everyone else stayed put and made sculptures and sand castles and swimming pools.
And the wonderful thing about the walk was that it wasn't too terribly hot. Okay, it was hot, but the breeze would come along and cool us off. A cloud would cover the sun for a moment, giving us respite from the super hot sun. And as our walk progressed, the clouds began covering the sun more and more frequently, giving us more and more relief.
(second day dune pictures (a couple of the macro shots...))
When we got back to the campsite for dinner, everyone was pooped. We'd already told everyone of our plan to stay at the motel, and, when asked, updated them that we were going to just go home that night. The idea appealed to more than one person by that point. We were all tired and dirty and longing for real beds. So, while dinner was being prepared, we packed up. I wanted to leave while there was still light in the sky, as the drive to Walsenburg from the Dunes is a gorgeous drive.
Unfortunately, packing up takes much more time than setting up. Yes, Geoff and I were all packed and ready to go, but, as I said, it was my last day with my family, so I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. I didn't want to leave before they did.
So, we helped them pack up. We ate dinner. And finally, we said our goodbyes and left. Just in time for the sunset.
(sunset pics) :-(
The rest of the drive was almost magical as the nearly full moon was out, carving out glimpses of the mountains as we drove through the valleys and canyons. Several times, the moon created a scene that I wished I could capture, but although I love my new camera, it is just a point and shoot, and I am but a rank amateur. Besides, the scenes would have looked fake had I actually been able to capture them by photo or paint. All in all, it was probably more magical to make the drive by night, gorgeous though the scenery is in daytime.
So, we got back to Geoff's parents' place near midnight, and while Geoff wiped Babe down before putting him to bed, I jumped in the shower. Amazing how good a strong shower feels after getting all grimy. I even washed my hair twice. Then it was Geoff's turn. And then it was bed, sweet bed.
We were just a wee bit tired.
The rest of the trip was really quite boring. We lazed around, rested, recooped, and were general layabouts. It was wonderful. When the weekend came, we made our way up north to see all our Boulder area friends, which was very nice. It was great, in fact.
After a day more than expected, we made our way back south via the Peak to Peak highway. We'd intended to stop at the Garden of the Gods as well, but by the time we reached Colorado Springs, we were pooped, so we decided to drop by Geoff's Aunt and Uncle's place for a quick visit instead.
And the rest of the time was spent lazing. And socializing. But mostly lazing.
The only bad thing was that by the time the vacation was coming to a close, Babe was getting crotchety from homesickness. That and his cousin T was a bit of a bad influence... :-) There were other little burps of invonvenience, of course, like my bag of meds being turned to icky, gooey mush, but overall, the trip was pretty smooth going.
Well, that and I got peopled out. The day after we got back from the Boulder trip, Geoff's parents hosted a family picnic. After the food had been served, I retreated inside to read my book, just because I'd reached my limit. However, it was nice that after only an hour or two of alone time, I was able to rejoin everyone for a round and a half of "Oh Heck". That was really nice.
The day before we left, we needed to sort out logistical problems, like how to get my sister's car back to her (she lives in Denver), and get M's car seat back to her (she lives in Pueblo), so in the end we drove up to Denver, dropped off the car, and then my sister and her youngest drove us down to Colorado Springs to the rental car place. This would have been a major imposition on my sister had she not wanted to go to Miramont Castle with us, which is just east of Colorado Springs.
So, we did a tiny bit of touristing as well. And now that I've been there, I really want to go back to Manitou Springs. It looks like a really nice litte tourist town that hasn't been completely run over by tourists yet. Not like Estes Park and the like. I won't even mention the gambling towns. Plus it's so close to Garden of the Gods that I got good looks at the rock formations of the area. Next trip we'll definitely be going to GotG! Really interesting stuff.
And now we're back. Which is good and bad. Good because it's our home and we missed it and the privacy it affords us. Bad because Geoff and I realized just how much we miss the West. And our family. And our friends.
But, that's life. At least our home doesn't stink of rotten potatoes.
:-D
Golly, described that way, it sounds like my computer is turning into a cat!
It had better not sprout fur.
Anyway, I wrote the synopsis of the trip just after we got back, but I wanted to illustrate it with the photos I took with my new baby. However, I've kind of run out of patience. So here's my travel post (which may be a little dated now) with only a few of the (many, many) photos I took. :-(
This trip was fantastic. It's amazing how much difference being healthy makes on a trip!
We got into Colorado Springs and when we stepped out of the airconditioned airport, we all kind of looked at each other and said, "Wow." It was so dry, my lips started cracking almost immediately, but it didn't feel like it was 91 degrees. It was warm, but nothing scorching.
Of course, it doesn't really get scorching until you pass the 98 degree mark.
Anyway, Geoff's dad picked us up and drove us down to their Pueblo house, where Geoff grew up. We settled in and relaxed for a day or two, and then we were off to Canon City and the Royal Gorge (which we didn't bother seeing) to meet up with all of my family.
If you're ever in Canon CIty and want a nice place to kush camp, the KOA there is really, really good. The people are friendly, the showers are hot and the sites are nice. There are also nice touches, like flowers (both fake and real) spread around the compound, a breakfast 'wagon' with decent food for decent prices (I did say it was kush camping, didn't I?) and the option of cabins with a/c.
I love my macro! These little flowers were about 5 mm across. Hee!
Oh, you mean there was scenery, too?
It was really nice to see everybody, although it was a shame that Geoff's parents had to go back almost immediately. His mom didn't feel well. :-( Geoff's sister ('M') and sons ('C' and 'T'), however, stayed as planned. :-)
It was also nice to see that with all the parents and all the kids, we didn't even need to communicate about rules, as we all are of like mind. When we saw a kid acting out, we all called the kid on it, no matter whose kid it was (within our group, of course.) The really nice thing about being of like mind is that we all get along.
Anyway, after two nights and several bad, bad sunburns at the KOA, we packed up our stuff and set out for the sand dunes. Happily, M and her kids were able to join us for the first night as there was room in my sister's tent for, well, an army. Seriously big tent. It took three elephants to put it up.
It had been about 18 years since I'd last been to the Great Sand Dunes. The last time I'd been there, the road into the park hadn't been paved, the park was as isolated as isolated can be, and it was damned hot and damned dry. This time, the road was paved the entire way, even in the campground, there was a motel and gas station just outside the park gates, and there was plenty of evidence of the long, cool, wet spring the San Luis Valley had experienced. The hills were still green(ish)!
There's so much in my mind I want to say about that area, but the first thing that always strikes me when we drive South on Highway 17 is that it's exactly how I picture the trek through Dunland, with the Misty Mountains rising ominously to the East. Granted, the Sangre de Cristo's are rarely misty (especially in the summertime), but they do have Presence and Ruggedness enough to qualify as a double, I think. (here's some good shots of the range: http://www.wetmtndarkskies.org/SangreDeCristo.png and http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://sangres.com/cimages/features/panoramas02/slv-sangres01big.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sangres.com/photos/panoramas02.htm&h=433&w=1242&sz=46&hl=en&start=75&um=1&tbnid=vKSBNIfYPhKFWM:&tbnh=52&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsangre%2Bde%2Bcristo%2Bmountains%26start%3D60%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DefH%26sa%3DN )
The second thing that came to mind as we drove along that flat, straight stretch of road was how awesome a place it would be for a massive wind farm. If there's one thing that grows in the San Luis Valley (without water being shipped in), it's wind. You don't get mountainous sand dunes without lots and lots of wind. Getting the power out of the valley might be a bit costly, but good God! All of Colorado (at least!) could be powered from that agriculturally useless land!
Anyway, we got to the campsite just as the afternoon rainclouds started gathering on top of the mountains. The rain started falling just as we got out of our cars, and so began a mad dash to set up our tents before it started pouring. The nice thing about the rain was that it cooled things down significantly. Rushing around putting up the tents wasn't as arduous a task as it would have been (had been) in the 90+ heat. It also got us motivated. All three tents were set up within half an hour. Just in time for the rain clouds to move on and leave us with a hot, sunny afternoon.
My dad and brother went off in search of beer and ice (they had to go to Hooper... something like twenty miles away), while the rest of us just relaxed and settled in. Just as we had given up on them ever getting back and were preparing to go to the Dunes without them, they came back. Since we'd already started the leaving process, it was smooth sailing, and we got to the dunes only minutes later.
(1st day pictures...) :-(
The kids had a blast playing in the water, and just as they got too cold, the rest of us got too hot, so we all happily made our way back to camp for some dinner.
I should state that camping at the Sand Dunes is a very different experience from camping at any KOA. First of all, there aren't showers, except for the kind that fall from the sky. Second of all, there are wild animals. Dangerous wild animals. There are big, steel food storage boxes given to each campsite with strict instructions to not take ANY food into your tent at ANY time, because, really, who wants to be woken up by bear's breath? Or slightly worse, bear's teeth?
Third of all, there's no electricity, except the kind that runs on batteries. This makes for dark nights and crystal clear skies. My BIL said that when he got up in the middle of the night, the Milky Way was stretched out in all it's glory. I wish I'd seen it. Especially as I didn't sleep all that well anyway.
So the storm clouds of the afternoon petered out through the night, leaving us with the stars to suck out all the heat. By morning, it was quite chilly, though certainly not chilly enough to freeze anything solid. But that and the fact that our air mattress leaked during the night made for a bad night and a tired morning. We had planned to stay for two nights, but the night had been so rough, and I was so tired (not to mention Geoff had fared much worse than I had, comfort-wise) that I proposed to Geoff that we get one of those motel rooms for the second night. He was very happy to hear that suggestion.
Unfortunately, the motel had a 'no vacancy' sign up when we drove by it on our way to the dunes that morning. We had already taken down our tent by then, so we decided to just go back to Pueblo that night. It's not that long a drive (2 hours). But since it would be the last day with all of my family, I wanted to stay as long as possible, and preferably not leave until after dinner.
So we stayed. And played. M and C tried going up a dune, though the sand turned out to be too hot for M's poorly clad feet. My parents, brother and I, meanwhile, went for a walk up the creek while everyone else stayed put and made sculptures and sand castles and swimming pools.
And the wonderful thing about the walk was that it wasn't too terribly hot. Okay, it was hot, but the breeze would come along and cool us off. A cloud would cover the sun for a moment, giving us respite from the super hot sun. And as our walk progressed, the clouds began covering the sun more and more frequently, giving us more and more relief.
(second day dune pictures (a couple of the macro shots...))
When we got back to the campsite for dinner, everyone was pooped. We'd already told everyone of our plan to stay at the motel, and, when asked, updated them that we were going to just go home that night. The idea appealed to more than one person by that point. We were all tired and dirty and longing for real beds. So, while dinner was being prepared, we packed up. I wanted to leave while there was still light in the sky, as the drive to Walsenburg from the Dunes is a gorgeous drive.
Unfortunately, packing up takes much more time than setting up. Yes, Geoff and I were all packed and ready to go, but, as I said, it was my last day with my family, so I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. I didn't want to leave before they did.
So, we helped them pack up. We ate dinner. And finally, we said our goodbyes and left. Just in time for the sunset.
(sunset pics) :-(
The rest of the drive was almost magical as the nearly full moon was out, carving out glimpses of the mountains as we drove through the valleys and canyons. Several times, the moon created a scene that I wished I could capture, but although I love my new camera, it is just a point and shoot, and I am but a rank amateur. Besides, the scenes would have looked fake had I actually been able to capture them by photo or paint. All in all, it was probably more magical to make the drive by night, gorgeous though the scenery is in daytime.
So, we got back to Geoff's parents' place near midnight, and while Geoff wiped Babe down before putting him to bed, I jumped in the shower. Amazing how good a strong shower feels after getting all grimy. I even washed my hair twice. Then it was Geoff's turn. And then it was bed, sweet bed.
We were just a wee bit tired.
The rest of the trip was really quite boring. We lazed around, rested, recooped, and were general layabouts. It was wonderful. When the weekend came, we made our way up north to see all our Boulder area friends, which was very nice. It was great, in fact.
After a day more than expected, we made our way back south via the Peak to Peak highway. We'd intended to stop at the Garden of the Gods as well, but by the time we reached Colorado Springs, we were pooped, so we decided to drop by Geoff's Aunt and Uncle's place for a quick visit instead.
And the rest of the time was spent lazing. And socializing. But mostly lazing.
The only bad thing was that by the time the vacation was coming to a close, Babe was getting crotchety from homesickness. That and his cousin T was a bit of a bad influence... :-) There were other little burps of invonvenience, of course, like my bag of meds being turned to icky, gooey mush, but overall, the trip was pretty smooth going.
Well, that and I got peopled out. The day after we got back from the Boulder trip, Geoff's parents hosted a family picnic. After the food had been served, I retreated inside to read my book, just because I'd reached my limit. However, it was nice that after only an hour or two of alone time, I was able to rejoin everyone for a round and a half of "Oh Heck". That was really nice.
The day before we left, we needed to sort out logistical problems, like how to get my sister's car back to her (she lives in Denver), and get M's car seat back to her (she lives in Pueblo), so in the end we drove up to Denver, dropped off the car, and then my sister and her youngest drove us down to Colorado Springs to the rental car place. This would have been a major imposition on my sister had she not wanted to go to Miramont Castle with us, which is just east of Colorado Springs.
So, we did a tiny bit of touristing as well. And now that I've been there, I really want to go back to Manitou Springs. It looks like a really nice litte tourist town that hasn't been completely run over by tourists yet. Not like Estes Park and the like. I won't even mention the gambling towns. Plus it's so close to Garden of the Gods that I got good looks at the rock formations of the area. Next trip we'll definitely be going to GotG! Really interesting stuff.
And now we're back. Which is good and bad. Good because it's our home and we missed it and the privacy it affords us. Bad because Geoff and I realized just how much we miss the West. And our family. And our friends.
But, that's life. At least our home doesn't stink of rotten potatoes.
:-D