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Thursday, June 16, 2022

Exploring Central Colorado

As you can imagine, we had LOTS of time on our hands while waiting for McCandless International Truck Center to diagnosis and subsequently repair Big Boomer, the tow vehicle for our 5th wheel.  When given lemons, we always try to make lemonade.  So, in between visiting my little friends near the Truck Center each day, we hopped on Maximus the trike and began exploring the area.


This guy popped out daily to say hello to me.


The little Canada goslings look so cute--until they grow up!  Then they become monsters, invading our lands, defecating all over God's green earth.  Many never return to their Canadian homeland, instead settling throughout the United States.  There were hundreds of geese residing in Gateway, the business park in Aurora where McCandless Truck Center is located.





The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City was our first stop.  Land that was used in the 1850s as prairie homesteads transitioned to a $50+ million arsenal built by the U.S. Army in 1942.  Deadly chemical weapons, including napalm, mustard gas, and sarin, were all manufactured and stored here for 2 decades.  Thereafter, the U.S. Army leased the property to private companies to manufacture pesticides.  It was not until the mid-1980s that the U.S. Army took action to measure the level of ground/water contamination.  (And we wonder why and how people get cancer!)  The arsenal was closed officially by the U.S. Army in 1992, and the property morphed into a National Wildlife Refuge.  The Refuge has catch-and-release fishing (‘cause who be crazy enough to actually eat what comes out of these waters!). Lots of burrowing prairie dogs take up residence here, as does a healthy-sized bison herd.  The property also has a variety of hiking trails that connect with open space paths for the nearby new housing complexes (yes, let’s build near a previously-designated Superfund site!)  We traversed the Refuge trails on several occasions to relieve our stress.  The Visitor Center at the Refuge is built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) specifications, mostly funded by the good old taxpayers through President Obama’s Recovery Act.  I was deputized as a Junior Ranger here, having completed the required testing.  Another badge to add to my heavily-laden hat.

Mom's two favorite "men" posing with a bison.  


Notice the red-winged crow sitting on a reed in the foreground.

That there is one healthy herd.

This bunch of bucks were benevolent and permitted me to take their photo.





We visited Golden on several occasions.  We didn’t take the Coors beer plant tour—Dad viewed the plant B.M.M. (Before Married to Mom) and Mom/I had no interest.  Instead, we popped in the Visitor Center, toured the free-of-charge Golden History Museum, and walked Clear Creek Trail to get a flavor for the town.  I particularly enjoyed the outdoor History Park along Clear Creek.  It contains many structures that were once situated on the Thomas Pearce Ranch about 15 miles outside Golden.  Pearce immigrated to Golden from England in 1878 at the age of 19 seeking a better life.  He worked his tail off in the nearby mines.  In 1900 he began homesteading land in nearby Golden Gate Canyon, with his first “structure” just an earth berm home built into the side of a hill.  While still toiling in the mines, he spent his “free” time raising livestock and farming.  Back in the day, folks blazed their own way, created their own destiny.  They did not expect any special accommodations or anyone to do it for them. Hence, through Pearce’s perseverance and hard work over the next decade, he transformed his property into one of the largest ranches in the area.


Mural depicting Golden in 1913


Downtown Golden 2022

Exhibit from Golden History Museum


Photo of Clear Creek taken from the Washington Avenue Bridge.
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Structures within the History Park



Two of my favorites among the many bronze statues... 

...on display in downtown Golden.




I also enjoyed visiting the Foothills Art Center in Golden, another interesting venue with no entry fee.  They had a cool exhibit called The Beauty of Age.  It demonstrated the wisdom and knowledge that come with age, yet the carefree spirit of youth that never ceases to be.  Every wrinkle and every scar tell a story.  (I think this display made my parents feel a little better about becoming old farts.)   But what really grasped my attention at the Foothills Art Center was their exhibit Samsara.  I learned through good old Merriam-Webster that samsara is “the indefinitely repeated cycles of birth, misery, and death caused by karma.”  Through incorporating paint, soil, and even human hair into her photography, Artist Brooke Shaden depicts the cycle of life, death, and, for some cultures, reincarnation.  She explores death’s grief process in her piece called Redacted Eulogies.  By extracting only a few words from an actual eulogy, a simpler, yet different perspective of a person shines through. The artist challenges viewers to consider what their own eulogies would say.    The entire exhibit was dark, yet intriguing and thought-provoking.  Other than Bodies: The Exhibition that I viewed in New York City in 2009, Samsara is the most unique art display I have ever seen, earning my coveted Rambling RV Rat 5-cheese award for excellence.



The Foothills Arts Center building was once a church.



Entries in The Beauty of Age exhibit.  Notice the biker dude is front and center...


...But this was my favorite portrait in the exhibit.

 

Just one sample of the dark yet thought-provoking Samsara exhibit.


Golden has TONS of open space and parks that offer hiking/biking trails of all levels of difficulty.  We hiked along the trails in South Table Mountain Park, which culminated with panoramic views of Golden from the mesa top. Additionally, we clocked 6+ miles at William F. Hayden Park on Green Mountain.  We trudged straight up Green Mountain Trail, incurring a 1,000-foot elevation change within the first mile.  It was quite windy, too, but well worth it for the magnificent views of Denver. 

 

Table Mountain from afar.


Views from the ascent.

Panorama from the mesa top.

View of the Coors plant from the mesa top.

Green Mountain Trail in William F. Hayden Park.



Denver, the Mile High City, can be seen from the top of the Green Mountain Trail.



Right within Aurora is the Colorado Freedom Memorial.  It is a touching tribute that includes glass tablets etched with the names of our ultimate superheroes, members of our Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives protecting the liberties so many now take for granted.  It also recognizes those families who lost their loved ones in this mission.  With Memorial Day approaching, we thought it fitting to pay a visit.  Speaking of Memorial Day, we always seek out a way to pay our respects to our fallen military personnel.  Therefore, we reached out to the Patriot Guard Riders of Colorado to assist with flag-placing on graves within Fort Logan National Cemetery, where 150,000 service personnel and their family members are interred.  We joined Jim, the State Captain of the organization, and Wanda his wife, along with several other members in this mission.   What a great group of people, so warm and welcoming!  They invited us to join them again the following day for breakfast before we all served on the honor flag line at the Morrison Memorial Day Ceremony.  About 10 days later we met with this fantastic group one final time for a Welcome Home mission at Denver International Airport.  We are so grateful to them for their kindness and friendship.    They made us feel like part of their family.  In fact, member Gary and his wife Ruth offered for us to stay with them on their property instead of in a hotel.  What a demonstration of camaraderie and compassion!  I would be remiss if I also did not acknowledge the generosity of Barbara, one of our buddies from Quartzsite dance, who invited us to stay in her home near Rocky Mountain National Park or long-time RVing friends, Curtis and Stephanie, who suggested we fly to Idaho to stay with them in their home while we awaited repairs.  We would never impose on folks, so we passed on all offers.   But we feel so blessed to have such caring, kind-hearted people in our lives!

 















We took a long motorcycle ride one day.  We passed through Coal Creek Canyon and then enjoyed a series of switchbacks in Pinecliffe, named appropriately for the tree-lined topography.  Soon we were in Nederland, a typical mountain mining town, where we entered the 59-mile-long Peak-to-Peak Highway.  Lots of snow-covered mountains towered above us.  We viewed Longs Peak, the tallest (14,255 feet) summit within Rocky Mountain National Park and Mt. Meeker, which comes in at a respectable 13,911-foot elevation.    Mt. Meeker is also the backdrop for picturesque St. Catherine of Siena Chapel on the Rock, part of the Camp St. Mayo Heritage Center grounds in Allenspark.  I was disappointed that I couldn’t go inside the Chapel due to an ongoing wedding, but I admired it from afar.  It never ceases to amaze me the phenomenal real estate owned by the Catholic Church.  Our route also took us past Lake Lilly and the Twin Sisters peaks.  By the time we arrived in Estes Park, the wind picked up considerably and rain clouds were accumulating.  We took a quick tour of Estes Park then headed back to Aurora.  It was a long, chilly and wet (yes, rain did catch up with us) day.  But we were grateful to admire the Creator’s masterful works and take our minds off our truck repair issues.

 



St. Catherine of Siena Chapel on the Rock in Allenspark

Statue of Jesus on the Mount at the Camp St. Mayo Heritage Center.


Long's Peak in the center.

                             


Storm clouds rolling in..

...gonna get wet, but those clouds create some dramatic pictures.


One weekday we took a break from touring and went to see Top Gun Maverick.  Wanting to save some of my cheese money, I suggested we go to the matinee on ½ price tickets.  Mom, our household’s Chief Financial Officer, jumped all over that suggestion!  Afterwards, we dined at Coriander Flavors of India on North Tower Road in Denver.  During our 3 ½ week layover in Aurora, this became our go-to restaurant.  It had several vegan selections for Dad, all of which he enjoyed.  Mom and I always chose the chicken biryani.  It was a bit spicy for our taste, but the meat so tender and the dish so flavorful, we suffered through each time and ate the entire portion.    Combining their great food with pleasant, efficient service and reasonable prices and you have one of my Rambling RV Rat 5-cheese award recipients!

 

We set out on a glorious Saturday morning for Boulder via Maximus the trike. We hiked near Boulder Canyon leading us to a spectacular view of the Boulder Waterfalls.  Boulder Creek sure was running at a healthy pace from the snow melt.  Boulder, home to the University of Colorado, is a typical college town.  It is a blend of historic and modernistic, with some structures of traditional architectural designs and others with contemporary styles.  We hiked along the Chautauqua and Loop Trails to view the Flatirons, rock formations named by the early female settlers for the rocks’ similar shape to the gadgets used to press/steam laundry.  Though these trails are short in length, they really get your heart pumping.  These trails are EXTREMELY busy on weekends. Furthermore, parking is difficult to find and comes with a fee.  We tucked into a pay-for-parking space at the Chautauqua Historic Park.  A Chautauqua is a summer social and educational assembly for adults.  The first Chautauqua was organized by Methodists in Ohio in 1873.  But the concept grew into a national movement for cultural, spiritual, and educational enhancement.  It was a way to introduce people to new ideas, literature, and the arts.  Speeches by prominent preachers and politicians may also be included on the itinerary.   Initially, these gatherings were held in temporary structures like tents.  However, as time went on, permanent cottages, auditoriums, and dining halls emerged.   Boulder’s Chautauqua Park opened in 1898 as a summer school for teachers.  Now 1 million visitors from all walks of life are serviced by the venue each year.  It holds the distinction of being the only Chautauqua West of the Mississippi River that has operated continuously with many of its original structures intact.  It is a gorgeous property that I would have enjoyed exploring more thoroughly had it not been so darned crowded with guests for on-site weddings and parties. 

 

Boulder Waterfalls

Boulder Creek

The Flatirons view from the Chautauqua Trail.

View of the City of Boulder from the Loop Trail.

Chautauqua Park - Baseline Road Entrance.


Some quaint cottages...

...and Chautauqua structures.

Artists painting "en Plein Air", the French way of saying "outdoors".


With a population of approximately 386,000, Aurora is the 3rd largest city within Colorado.  Students within their school system hail from 130 different countries and speak 150+ different languages.   Colorado Community Church, where we attended Sunday services, is representative of this multiculturalism.  What a wonderful experience!  How blessed we were to be welcomed by their congregation and to hear the truly inspirational messages of God’s word through Pastor Robert Gelinas.      

 

On another day we toured Idaho Springs, home to the State’s first substantial gold discovery in 1859.  It was this discovery that triggered the Colorado Gold Rush, with 100,000 prospectors flocking to the Rocky Mountain area. “Pike’s Peak or bust,” they chanted.  While some proved to be lucky, others went home with empty pockets.  Idaho Springs has a quaint, historic district comprised mostly of restaurants and taverns.  It has somehow managed to stay alive all these years and not succumb to ghost town status like so many other mining towns.  We took the 10-cent walking tour.  Nothing going on this early in the morning except some big horn sheep foraging for breakfast way up yonder on the distant hills.  We visited the water wheel used in 1893 to power the stamp mill at the gold mining operation of Charlie Taylor.  Charlie was a colorful character and probably the most notable resident of Idaho Springs.  He attributed his excellent health to 2 factors:  He never took baths AND never kissed a woman.  (IMHO, the latter factor was likely a direct result of the former!)  











We headed then to Mt. Evans, but we didn’t get far—we learned the Scenic Byway to this 14er (a term for peaks of 14,000+ feet) was still closed due to weather/road conditions.   (The road to Mt. Evans did not open until June 10, just days before our departure from Colorado).

 

Oh well, plenty of other things to do, like the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum and Gravesite on Lookout Mountain.   Lookout Mountain is part of the Denver Mountain Park System that was established in 1913, a few years earlier than the National Park System was conceived.  The museum costs $5/adult, a very modest entry fee to journey through the life of the legendary Bill Cody.  His father was killed by pro-slavery proponents in 1857 when Bill was just an 11-year-old lad.  Young Bill then became the bread winner for his family.  He was a jack of all trades through the years, supposedly holding a variety of positions like messenger on a wagon train, Pony Express rider, prospector, Union Army serviceman, and civilian scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars, to name a few.   But it was his job as a bison hunter to provide meat for the railroad’s construction workers that earned him the nickname “Buffalo Bill”.    Bill watched as industrialization and sprawl began to change the West that he knew.  So, he started Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, a show that included cowboys and Indians.  Though the Indians were a bit sensationalized in the show, Cody provided them an opportunity to exhibit some of their culture and a way to participate in the economy. In turn, the Indians taught Cody about their heritage and way of life.  As a result, Cody became a great advocate for the Indian Nations.  Cody practiced fairness and equality, incorporating women and an ensemble of different ethnicities (Arabs, Mongolians, etc.) into what later was known as Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World show.  The riders displayed colorful costumes representative of their native lands and performed feats of skill with horse breeds of worldwide distinction.  Cody’s shows toured throughout Europe as well as the U.S.  As renowned and famous as he was, he rests in a modest gravesite upon Lookout Mountain.

 



I want this lamp!

Yee Haa!  Ride 'em, cowboy.


Gravesite of Buffalo Bill Cody

View from Lookout Mountain

View of Lariat Loop Scenic Byway from Lookout Mountain

View of Lariat Loop Scenic Byway from Lookout Mountain



We returned to the trike in the middle of a rainstorm. But we didn’t let no stinkin’ rain stop us!  On to the Mother Cabrini Shrine.  Maria Frances Xavier (Francesca Saverio in Italiano) Cabrini was the first U.S. citizen (she was naturalized) to be canonized a saint by the Roman Catholic Church for her co-founding of and extensive work with the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  She also established the Queen of Heaven Orphanage in Denver.  She would often bring the Orphanage children and staff for a picnic at Mount Vernon Canyon, where the Shrine and Chapel are now located.  What a magnificent property!  We went inside the Chapel to say a prayer and admire the beautiful stained-glass windows.  While Dad stayed in the parking lot to monitor the weather radar, Mom and I walked up the 373 steps known as the "Stairway to Prayer" to reach the Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It started to rain again while we were at the Shrine, so the crowds left.  But we remained for a few minutes of solitude.  Dad wasn’t too happy with our decision.  Our delay resulted in traveling home on the trike amid a nasty thunder/lightning storm accompanied by frozen rain/sleet.    

 



These are the current residents of the Mother Cabrini premises.


This building was once the summer camp dormitory for the girls from the Queen of Heaven Orphanage.  







This cross sits at the first of the 373 steps that lead to the Shrine, collectively known as the  "Stairway to Prayer".



Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus


View from the Shrine.  You can see Denver in the background.





We could not be in this part of Colorado without visiting Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).  The Park has instituted a timed entry protocol.  There are 2 option plans for timed entry.  We selected Option 2 that included access to the Bear Lake Road Corridor.   Our time slot for entry was 10 a.m.–12 p.m.  The early morning temps during our 2 hour trike ride were brisk, to say the least.  Our commute to the Park took longer than anticipated because vehicle accidents created traffic re-routing.  We stopped briefly at the Beaver Meadow Visitor Center outside the Park to watch the film, peruse the displays, and pick up my Junior Ranger booklet.  At 11:05 a.m., we approached the Park’s main gate, but waited more than 30 minutes to gain entry.  And this was well before peak season!  We headed immediately to Bear Lake Road, where we found ourselves at another entry checkpoint, wasting even more time idling among a line of vehicles.   By the time we were granted access, we had only 7 minutes left on our timed entry.  Personally, I found this a very ineffective way to handle crowds, especially since the system itself caused backlogs and traffic jams.  Anyhow, we parked the trike at Bear Lake and started to hike around the heavily-populated loop.  To avoid crowds, we segued onto the trail for Bierstadt Lake.  It started to snow shower just as we reached a ridge that still had a deep snow covering, so we opted to turn around and finish the rest of the loop around Bear Lake, where I enjoyed the antics of chipmunks, golden-mantled squirrels, and stellar jays.   



Bear Lake


Trail to Bierstadt Lake

Part of the snow-covered ridge


View from Bierstadt Trail



View from the other side of Bear Lake

This little guy entertained me.

We then had a quiet picnic at Hidden Valley before traversing its interpretive trail.   Once a through route for Paleo-Indians, the area most recently was a commercial ski operation.  Upon the closing of the ski lift in 1992, the area has been returned to the boreal forest.  Hidden Valley is a gem, peaceful and serene.  And as I became mesmerized by the flows of the nearby stream, I spotted 2 bull elk and 1 cow enjoying a late lunch.  Life is good.  

 





We returned to Maximus and rode along Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous paved highway in North America.   Come along for a short ride:



The Many Parks Curve and Rainbow Curve pull-offs provide gorgeous vistas. When we arrived at Forest Canyon Overlook in the alpine tundra ecosystem, we were at nearly a 12,000-foot elevation.  But one thing about Colorado:  no matter how high a summit you climb, there are so many more peaks towering above you!   There was lots of snow alongside Trail Ridge Road during our visit.  And with temperatures dropping, we were experiencing snow showers as we continued upward.  But this is not unusual; it snows up here even in July/August, and winds can get to 100 miles per hour.  No wonder the few trees that survive here look like an army of pencils standing at attention.

View from Many Parks 

View from Many Parks

View from Rainbow Curve


View from Rainbow Curve

View from Forest Canyon Overlook in the tundra


My parents freezing their butts off in the tundra.


The trees are scarce in the tundra.



Since the Alpine Visitor Center was closed yet for the winter season and it was late afternoon, we decided to turn around and take the shorter route back to the entrance gate.  After all, I had to return to Beaver Meadow Visitor Center to become a bona fide Junior Ranger.   We still had a 2-hour drive back to our hotel, too.  Brrr!



There are many positive aspects to the nomadic lifestyle.  The one we treasure most is that people we meet randomly along the road turn into great friends.  We first engaged with Kate/John at the Marfa Ghost Lights Visitor Center in TX.  They had just begun full timing, were admiring our setup, and we all enjoyed a lengthy conversation, culminating in the exchange of contact info.  Our paths crossed again in Quartzsite, AZ, where we shared several fun times together.  What do you know—a visit with family now brings them through these parts of Colorado.  So, we got together for lunch one day.  They were kind enough to try Meta Burger, an all plant-based eatery.  No “real” meat on the menu AT ALL.  Mom/I had a fake steak sandwich.  As a carnivore, I must admit, the food was quite tasty.  Maybe because they make all their own “meats” in house.



 

Our final sight-seeing trip was to Colorado Springs.  We pulled off at the airfield parking lot to watch the maneuvers being conducted by the U.S. Air Force Academy.  Then we arrived at the Garden of the Gods.  Advertised as a “National Natural Landmark”, it is owned and operated by the City of Colorado Springs.  All I cared about was that it was teeming with tourists.  My parents failed to remember that it was now mid-June, with many kids already out of school and family vacations ensuing.  It didn’t help that there was major construction on the road right outside the Visitor Center, affecting parking and traffic flow.  Entry to the Garden and Visitor Center is free.  However, there is a $6/adult charge to see the film, which is only about 12 minutes long.  What really roiled this Rambling RV Rat was me having to delve into my cheese money to PURCHASE a Junior Ranger booklet.  A travesty, I say!    

 

U.S. Air Force Academy airfield with view of Pike's Peak 

We perused the Visitor Center displays and exhibits and viewed Pike’s Peak from the outdoor balcony.  Due to the number of visitors, our ride along Juniper Way Loop and then Garden Drive was a very slow one.  We passed Scotsman Picnic Area, which was jam-packed.   But surprise,  Spring Canyon Picnic Area further down Garden Drive was empty. Guess most folks found it to be too far from the Rock Gardens.  Not us--we found it perfect for eating lunch in quiet and solitude.  We decided to leave Maximus the trike parked at the Picnic Area and hike from there.  We selected Scotsman Loop and Strausenback Trail.  Both were paths less traveled, just the way we like it.  In fact, the only other users we encountered were horseback riders.  We connected with Perkins Central Garden Trail, named for the family who donated these lands for public use.  This trail gave us access to all the magnificent rock formations.  I was suffering anxiety just watching the climbers scale the rocks!  It was tough to get good pics within the Rock Gardens with the magnitude of visitors, but I did my best to chronicle my visit.

 

View of Pike's Peak from Visitor Center










We were going to drive up to the top of Pike’s Peak but nixed the idea when we learned that the powers-that-be instituted a timed reservation system on May 27, 2022.  After the fiasco we encountered recently at RMNP, this stuffed rat wanted nothing to do with timed entry.  And when we learned driving to the summit would also cost $15/person (or $10/person if a carload of 5), my family unanimously nixed the idea.  With the exorbitant chunk of cheese money Big Boomer’s healthcare cost us, we are being more judicious in our spending.

 

We sure made the most of our unintended 3.5-week respite from RVing.   But with Big Boomer discharged from the truck hospital after a successful surgery, we returned to the road.  Our destination: Marcell, MN for an 8-week volunteer gig at Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center.

 

 I’ll tell ya all about it in my next post.