Friday, June 29, 2012
Cheri June-29-12
10:24 PM | 
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We planned on beginning our day’s journey by heading for Crested Butte. It is about 35 miles from here.
The town was incorporated in 1880. Crested Butte served as a supply center for the outlying mining camps. Coal was discovered in 1880, which sustained the town. The last mine closed in 1952 and people started buying summer homes there from the old miners. Development of the ski area in 1962 marked the beginning of Crested Butte’s rebirth.
Many buildings from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s still stand today. Crested Butte was designated a Registered National Historic District in 1972. All of the old buildings gave us a feeling of stepping back in time. We spent 2 hours there checking out the galleries, jewelry and pottery shops etc. We saw so many unique items. It is a big artist community.
We also visited the Montanya Distillers. They make high-mountain Rum. The distillery and tasting room was located in a 100 yr-old historic Powerhouse there in Crested butte. They make 2 different rums and they have only 4 ingredients, all natural, all US-sourced: mountain spring water, Maui sugarcane, yeast and a tiny touch of Colorado Mountain Honey at bottling time. It was a very neat place and the rum was excellent.
We stopped for lunch at Maxwell’s Steakhouse located on down the street. What a great atmosphere. We loved the huge fireplace with the mountain lion on the mantel. Our food was excellent. We were so happy we picked Manwell’s.
We headed out of Crested Butte towards Paonia. Once again we are on dirt roads, but this time they are solid packed roads. We climbed to Kebler Pass. We had lots of beautiful views again today. As we headed down the other side of Kebler Pass we drove through the Aspen groves. It was just beautiful. The road was very windy and Gay loves driving the motorcycle on these kinds of roads. It was open range up there so we had to be careful of all the cattle on the road.
In all, we did a 167 mile loop back to the 5th wheel. It was a day that made your heart swell to see the beauty of this great country.
To see pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Crested Butte Loop Ride.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Cheri June-28-12
8:31 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Today we headed into Gunnison to check out the Pioneer Museum. It has an extensive collection of memorabilia and artifacts from throughout Gunnison County. There were 18 buildings to go through.
There were two rural school houses, Log Cabin Chapel, Barn, a house with early-day furnishings, Gunnison’s first Post Office (1876), carpenter shop, blacksmith shop, print shop, telephone display from the late 1800’s, arrowhead & mineral collection, extensive military collection with a big display of guns, doll collection and early period clothing display. They also had D&RG Narrow Gauge train with water tank and depot.
Gay & I really liked the extensive collection of antique cars. Over 75 cars in this collection belonged to one person.
It took us about 4 hours to go through everything and just as we were finishing up there was a loud clap of thunder and the sky opened up with a down poured rain and hail.
There were piles of hail outside the museum. We waited there about 45 minutes for the storm to get over. The sky still looked black and so we decided to head back to the 5th wheel.
At 5pm we headed down to the Club House for their Goulash Dinner. There were only 10 people who signed up. The food was ok and we ate more than we should of. It was a nice ending to a great day.
To see pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Gunnison Pioneer Museum.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Cheri June-27-12
10:39 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Today we began exploring the Gunnison and surrounding area.
We are in a park about 12 miles out of Gunnison. Our first order of business is to find a rain suit for me. Gay already has one and just about every day we will be here, they are calling for rain. We were in luck and found one in Wal-Mart at Gunnison. We wanted to be prepared just in case we were out and about when it rained.
We headed north out of Gunnison on HWY 135 to Almont. In Almont we picked up CTY Rd 742 towards Taylor Canyon. They were working on that road and at one point we had to follow a lead car through part of the construction area.
The scenery was nice but the road was hard packed dirt and very rough. We ran into light rain so decided to put our rain jackets on. We stopped at Taylor Reservoir, took a few pictures and were on our way. We had about 8 miles to go to the tiny town of Tin Cup. They have 4 residents that live there full time and in the summer they have around 200 residents. The only way in or out of there in the winter, is by snowmobile or snowshoes. It is not a place I would like to live!
Our guide book told us we should eat at Frenchy’s Restaurant. We had no more than got inside when we got a down pour, even a little hail mixed in. It was a quaint little place and the food was good. They were very busy. This was obviously a popular stop for all the 4-wheelers in the area. Before leaving we decided to put on our full rain suit, it was a good thing we did, before we got out of town the rain came down again.
The roads from then on were very narrow and rocky with lots of ruts. We had to make a stop and put on our sweatshirts and jackets under the rain suits because we were getting cold.
We climbed 7 miles to the top of Cumberland Pass, an altitude of 12,015 above sea level. The views were spectacular and the wild flowers along the road were beautiful.
The rain had stopped and we even saw a little sun! We had 10 miles to go down the other side of the mountain to the little town of Pitken. The roads were winding, step, narrow and full of large rocks. Gay turned off the engine and we coasted about half way down. We passed a number of 4 wheelers headed for Cumberland Pass. It was the perfect road for them.
We saw several ruins of old mine camps and cabins that were built back in the 1800’s.
We stopped at the General Store in Pitkin as soon as we arrived in town. We took a few pictures and were on our way again.
We were finally back to asphalt highway heading south on HWY 76 through Ohio city and back to HWY 50.We stopped in Gunnison to fuel up and headed back to the 5th wheel.
It was an adventure and a half today. We sure don’t want to go back on those roads with a motorcycle again!
The ride was 113 miles.
To see pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Tin Cup Ride.
Gay June-26-12
9:07 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Well we were packed up and on the road by 10:15 am. We only had 177 miles to travel to get to our new campground (Blue Mesa Recreational Ranch), sounds really neat doesn’t. Well it’s on the side of a hill and the roads are black top, that’s about it, the campsites are all dirt and sage brush. The power, water and sewer are all the way to the back of the sites. I had to get out the hose I use to wash the 5th wheel and truck in order to have enough length to get water to the 5th wheel. Also used most all of the sewer hose I had to reach the sewer. No cell phone service and the internet we have to pay extra for. We asked if we could get the internet service from our site and they said we should be able to. Well we paid $2.00 for twelve hours of use to see if we could get it at our site, we did have a good signal but it is very slow. I thought what we had the last two weeks was slow but this is much worst and we will be here for two weeks, enough about the campground. We had an interesting trip as the road was mostly climbing mountains and then down the other side and up again. The scenery was beautiful and Cheri took a lot of pictures from Silverton on to our campground as we had already posted pictures from Durango to Silverton. After we left Ouray the country changed from mountains and pine trees to lower mountains and stage brush. It is going to take awhile to get use to our surrounding. We came through Montrose which is a good size city and has everything we would need but it is 55 miles to the west of our campground. We haven’t checked out Gunnison as it is about 12 miles to the east of where we are. We do know that there is a Wal-Mart there. Shortly after we left Durango we stopped to get some fuel as we didn’t have enough to get to Gunnison. I only put in enough to get us to Gunnison as the fuel is about 20 cents a gallon cheaper in Gunnison. To see pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Durango to Gunnison.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Gay June-25-12
8:24 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
There was one last road in the area that we hadn’t been on so this was the day for that road and our last ride here before we leave tomorrow. It was a 70 mile ride and probably one of the best rides. The ride took us north along a back road. We saw some pretty scenery, plus the river running where we took some pictures and a hot spring. We stopped at a place called the Bee Hive which is a place where they raise bees and package the honey they get from them. It was very interesting and you could get almost anything you wanted with honey in it, even wine. Then we made a stop at a trading post that was very interesting. They did a lot of work with leather and had some beautiful products for sale, all out of our budget. We ate lunch back in Durango at a hole in the wall place called Oscars. We had been told that they had very good hamburgers and they were right, we had an excellent lunch. It was around 2:00 pm when we got back to the campground. I loaded the bike on the 5th wheel so it is ready for our trip to Gunnison tomorrow. We got our mail today, so we are caught up with everything for a while. To see the pictures click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Country ride 6-25-12.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Gay June-24-12
8:11 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Forty five years ago God blessed me with Cheri to be my wife. It’s hard to believe that it has been that long ago. She is my lover and best friend and I couldn’t imagine life without her. After church we stayed for coffee and treats. We had fun visiting with all the different people and everyone was congratulating us for our forty five years of marriage. In fact we were the last couple to leave. Last week I think we were the first couple to leave. We check ads and the internet to see where we wanted to go for lunch to celebrate. After some searching we settled on the Back Porch BBQ in Bayfield. As it turned out it was poor choice, it wasn’t what we had expected. After lunch we stopped at the Family Dollar store to look around and I found an anniversary card and showed it to Cheri and after reading it she said ditto, then I put the card back. On the way home we stopped and filled the bike with gas and got our lottery tickets, maybe our anniversary will bring us good luck. This afternoon I settled in and watch the NASCAR Race and Cheri did some more on her sewing project. We have one more day here and then we will be moving to Gunnison CO. for two weeks.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Gay June-23-12
7:52 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was a quiet day on the home front today. We had no plans to do anything and that was pretty much the way the day went. We did our morning walk and that was all the exercise we had for the day. I think it must be the high altitude and thin air that makes us tired. We went for breakfast here in the campground this morning. They had biscuits and sausage gravy, scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, pancakes, hash browns, juice, and coffee all for $5.00, what a deal and was very good. Cheri worked on her sewing project and I cleaned the bugs off the front of the 5th wheel which took me all morning, after that I had enough for the day. We had our mail sent and thought it would be here today but when I went to check it hadn’t come in. We haven’t had any mail since May 24. I think that is the longest we have went without getting any. Cheri baked biscuits and made a chicken and spinach pot pie for a late lunch and early dinner, another great meal.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Gay June-22-12
8:30 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
First I must wish my mother a happy birthday. She is 91 years young and still lives by herself, still does her own laundry and house cleaning. Thank you for being my mother and all the things you have done for Cheri and me. When we came out this morning the couple next to us was getting ready to leave and the next thing we were visiting, they had full time RVed for seven years and now have a home in Texas. They now travel on vacations with a small 17 foot trailer. We got to check it out inside and out. It was very nice and something we will certainly take into consideration when we get ready to settle down. Today we did a 124 mile motorcycle ride. It was just a ride through the country side south of Bayfield. We stopped in Arboles, a small town which had a few buildings that were boarded up except for two, one was the post office and the other was a gas station, café, grocery store, liquor store and a bar. I guess that is what you call consolidation. Our ride brought us back to Durango so we could get some groceries. When you go grocery shopping with the motorcycle you don’t buy very much at a time. As we were riding we passed a bank that had the temp reading of 90 degrees. It was hot but without the humidity it wasn’t that bad riding. Cheri took a few pictures while we were riding.
To see the pictures click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Country ride.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Gay June-21-12
8:35 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
On our walk this morning we saw a deer walk across the road from our campground, we have also seen deer on our last two motorcycle rides. It was a day of work (don’t like that word now that we are retired). Let’s start over; it was a day of projects that needed to be done. Cheri did laundry and cleaned inside the 5th wheel. I washed the truck as we had a big collection of bugs from our drive in from Colorado Springs. I also got the motorcycle cleaned up, more bugs from our last two rides. I was going to clean the bugs off the front of the 5th wheel, but I run out of steam and it was getting hot, that’s my excuse and I am sticking to it. It was very hot here today and had to run the air conditioner for the first time since we have been here. I was checking out the temperature yesterday and it was hotter in Maine and Wisconsin then it was in Florida, hard to figure out the weather anymore. We still see smoke from the fire near Pagosa Springs and some days it is hazy here and can smell the smoke in the air. We have been told the fire has been burning since the first of May.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Cheri June-20-12
8:38 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Today we left the campground around 9:30am and headed for Silverton.
As we passed through Durango, we met the train headed for Silverton. We had ridden the train some years back, so this time we are riding the bike up the Million Dollar Highway to Silverton. The views in the San Juan Mountain Range were just beautiful. Silverton is at an elevation of 11, 300 ft. As we enter Silverton, it is like stepping back into history. It is nestled in a valley between the mountains.
In the early 1800’s a visitor to Silverton could have found Wyatt Earp dealing cards at the Arlington Saloon, and hanging out with his friend Bat Masterson. Today with its historical buildings, Green Street still looks much the same as yesteryear.
The buildings have been well preserved and now house lots of shops, restaurants & bars.
There have been many movies shot here, which include How The West Was Won, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, as well as True Grit.
We also checked out Notorious Blair Street—back in the day it was home to 32 Saloons, Gambling Halls & Houses of Ill-Repute, all in a three-block stretch!
We grabbed a burger at the Handlebar and then checked the town out. It was a very neat place to visit.
By 3:30pm we were on our way back home. We made a stop at Dairy Queen for a Blizzard and arrived home at 5pm.
A beautiful day and a great adventure.
To see the pictures click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Silverton
Gay June-19-12
8:51 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We did our morning walk for some exercise and that was it for the day. After our long day yesterday we needed a day to recharge our batteries. So we did nothing and it took all day to do it. I did grill some burgers for lunch and we played a game of cards that Cheri won. The rest of the day was spent reading, napping, and watching TV. Tomorrow we plan on taking a motorcycle ride to Silverton.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Cheri June-18-12
10:21 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
At 9:15 am this morning we headed for Mesa Verde National Park. It covers over 52,000 acres and it preserves and protects nearly 5,000 archeological sites and 600 cliff dwellings. We visited 3 of these cliff dwellings today.
As we entered the park, we climbed back and forth across the cliffs until we reached the visitors center. There we picked up our tickets to do our guided tours of 2 of the dwellings. Now it was on to the museum and our first cliff dwelling, Spruce Tree House, inhabited by the Pueblo people. We made the 100-foot decent down a winding path to check out this dwelling. It is a self guided tour and is the park’s best-preserved cliff dwelling constructed between A.D. 1211 and A.D. 1278. The site contained 130 rooms and 8 Kivas (ceremonial rooms). It is thought to have been the home to about 60 to 80 people.
We made our way back to the top and went into the museum, checked out the exhibits and watched the movie of the area and then it was time to hop back on the bike and drive 10 miles to the next dwelling.
Our guided tour of the Balcony House started at 1:30pm. There were about 30 people waiting for this tour. This tour was 1-hour, which included climbing a 32-foot ladder (wide enough for to people to climb together), crawling through a 12-foot long tunnel and climbing up a 60-foot open cliff face with stone steps and two 10-foot ladders to exit the site.
Our guide was great and gave us incite on the Pueblo people and their life as it was back then. The ruins were really something to see.
Our last tour was at 3:30pm. We had only a few miles to go to reach the Cliff Palace. It was also a one-hour tour involving descending uneven stone steps and climbing five ladders for a 100-foot vertical climb. This was the biggest of the cliff dwellings. There were about 150 rooms. The construction in these dwellings was really something to see. They had no tools to work with!
There were lots of people there at Mesa Verde. The summer tourist season is in full swing.
All the dwellings were so interesting. Our round trip was 180 miles. It was a big day. We didn’t get back home until 8:30pm. The deer were out and about, so we had to watch the roadsides closely.
We packed a lot into today and came home exhausted but what a beautiful day.
To see the pictures click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Mesa Verde.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Gay June-17-12
8:26 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Happy Fathers Day to all the fathers. Take time to pray for your father and tell him how much he means to you today. Cheri and I went to church service here in the camp ground. It was a very nice service with 84 people in attendance. They had coffee and treats for everyone after the service. Other than a few odd jobs around the 5th wheel we spent the day relaxing.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Gay June-16-12
8:35 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We did our morning walk around the camp ground; in fact we have walked every morning since we have been here. At 9:15 am we took the motorcycle and headed to Durango for the car show that was being held on Main Street. They had the street blocked off for several blocks. It was great car show and nice to see cars that we haven’t seen before. Cheri made her way to the book store while I finished looking at the cars. We eat lunch at Subway and then headed out to find the Wal-Mart store. It was about three miles south of Durango. We had a few things we needed and having the bike we were limited to what we could buy and carry on the bike. We also made a few phone calls while we were in town because we don't have any phone service at the camp ground. We took a different way back to the camp ground; well part of the route was different. We stopped in Bayfield to fill the bike with gas to it will be ready for our next adventure. We were home by 3:00 pm and took it easy the rest of the day reading and watching TV. I have uploaded pictures of the car show. To see the pictures click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Durango car show.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Cheri June-15-12
8:23 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Today is Gay’s birthday. I fixed him an omelet for breakfast and then around 11:30 we headed out to do the Tour of Carvings along Vallecito Lake. The carvings are the comeback story of the Vallecito Community following the Missionary Ridge fire of 2002.
Between June 9th and July 28th over 70,000 acres were burned at the cost of $40.8 million dollars. The Vallecito Valley was hard hit, losing 28 homes.
The fire swept both sides of the Vallecito Valley, turning tens of thousands of trees into black poles.
They wanted to pay tribute to the firefighters and help restore tourism to the Vallecito Lake area by have a local wood carver, using actual photos taken during the fire, carve images of firefighting personnel, animals & equipment.
Most of the carvings are mounted on concrete pedestals and are located at various locations around the lake. They stand 18 feet tall and weigh up to 2,600 lbs. They are all carved out of the remains of trees that were destroyed in the fire.
Before beginning the tour we made a stop at the Vallecito Dam. The scenery there was beautiful.
As we began our tour around the lake you can see by the pictures, the destruction of the fire. It’s been 10 years since the fire and the burnt trees stand tall over the new growth that has begun in the area.
We made a stop at the General Store and took time for a quick sandwich and picked up some Elk Summer Sausage. They even had Wisconsin Cheese there!
All the carvings were really great. Such detail, and it was all done with a chain saw!
We also checked out Lemon Dam before returning to the 5th wheel.
At 5pm we headed over to the pavilion here in the park for Wood Fired Pizza. Gay was really looking forward to this. We hadn’t made plans to go out for his birthday because we thought this would be good. We put in our order and waited 45 minutes for our hand tossed pizza and then ended up having to send it back because the veggies on it were cold and the crust was not done. It was a big disappointment. It was only the parks 2nd time fixing the pizzas, so they have a big learning curve on getting their oven hot enough.
They were setting up for a jam session when we left, but we are close enough to the pavilion, we were able to enjoy the music from the 5th wheel.
It was only 44 degrees when we got up this morning but turned out to be a sunny 80 degree day.
To see the pictures click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels they are in two different albums: Tour of Carvings and Lemon Dam Ride.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Gay June-14-12
10:05 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
I got up this morning not feeling too whippy, so we decided to take it easy today. We had planned on going to Mesa Verde National Park today but that will wait until another day. When we arrived here Tuesday I started to unload the motorcycle and when I loosened the tie down traps the bike wanted to fall over into the 5th wheel. Cheri had to hold the bike while I got the tie downs off and got on to back it off the lift. As it turned out the wheel chock was broken. I took it apart and this afternoon I checked on the internet and found a welding shop in Bayfield. I couldn’t call them because we don’t have phone service here. I loaded the address into the GPS and we headed for Bayfield on the motorcycle. Well there wasn’t any welding shop at the address. We made a stop at a gas station and they told us how to get to a repair shop that did welding. We would never have found the shop without directions. The guy welded the wheel chock while we waited, nice of him to do it right away. We made a stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things that would fit in the motorcycle and headed home. A 5th wheel had just pulled in beside us and I had a nice visit with the guy while he was getting set up. Later I put the motorcycle chock back together, the rest of the day we took it easy.
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| Broken |
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| Repaired |
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Gay June-13-12
9:10 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was 45 degrees here this morning and I guess that is to be expected as we are in the mountains. It did warm up to 80 degrees to be a very nice day. We took the motorcycle and rode into Durango so Cheri could shop at all the stores on Main Street. She also spotted a quilt shop on the way into Durango and we made a stop there on the way back to the campground. On the way back we rode up to the far end of Vallecito Lake. I am not sure if the road went on around the lake or not as we stopped where the payment ended. It was a pretty ride and plan on doing it again later in the week. We were back home by 3:00 pm and made plans to go for dinner at the Rec Hall here in the park. They are putting on a Mexican Haystack Dinner for $7.00 per person. We weren’t sure what a Mexican Haystack Dinner was, as it turned out it was build your own Taco salad, very good and they had ice cream bars for dessert. Cheri and I figured there were around 100 people. Cheri took a few pictures of our ride into Durango and up by the lake. To see the pictures click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Durango Ride.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Gay June-12-12
9:32 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We were packed up, closed up and on the road by 9:15 am. We had 328 miles to drive today to get to our new campground in the mountains about 20 miles north of Bayfield and about the same from Durango. I was a little nervous about the truck as it is the first real test after having it repaired. We were south of Pueblo and were pulling up a long grade and the truck didn’t seem like it had the power we should have and the temp went almost to the red. I pulled over and checked everything and all was ok. I guess the pull was steeper than I thought. It wasn’t long and we were heading west on highway 160 out of Walsenburg into a strong head wind along with the long climb up La Veta Pass to an altitude of 9,413 ft. I guess the truck was performing ok as we passed motor homes and a couple of trucks with 5th wheel stopped along the side of the road with their hoods up. We stopped at a Wal-Mart in Alamosa to eat lunch and do some walking. Then it was time to head on down and up the road, it wasn’t long and we were climbing again to the summit of Wolf Creek Pass at an altitude of 10,856 ft. It was a much easier climb then La Verta Pass because we didn’t have the head wind. We got into our campground around 5:00 pm. The campground is called Vallecito Resort. It is very nice except we don’t have phone service. It has been a long time since we were in a place without any phone service and we will be here for two weeks. I have uploaded some pictures that Cheri took while we were making the trip. To see the pictures click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Monument to Durango.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Gay June-11-12
8:02 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was only 48 degrees this morning and remained cool all day with a high of 70 degrees and a stiff wind. So we just worked around the 5th wheel getting things ready for our move tomorrow. Cheri did most of the work, cleaning and doing laundry. I did a few things outside, got the grill out and grilled up some burgers, hotdogs, and pork chops for lunch and future meals. I did some computer stuff this afternoon while Cheri was checking out what we are going to do while we are in Durango. We played one game of Hand, Knee, and Foot that lasted for 2 ½ hours and Cheri won. What was left of the day was spent reading and watching TV. I guess it is time to move on as we have seen everything that we wanted to here. In fact I think two weeks was too long here.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Gay June-10-12
8:50 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We went to the 10:30 am service at the Monument Hill Church, SBC. The sermon was given by Pastor Tom Clemmons, the title of the sermon was “Your Choice: Grumble or Worship”. The whole sermon was about John 6:41-51. He spoke for an hour and we couldn’t believe how fast the time went. Cheri and I talked about the message after church and said it was the best sermon we have ever heard. We talked with Pastor Tom after church and found out that he his main job is a high school teacher. He certainly has God’s gift to teach about the Bible. It was so nice to hear a sermon on nothing more than the Bible. This afternoon Cheri and I took the motorcycle ride that I was planning on doing tomorrow. We looked at the weather for tomorrow and it calls for rain and a high of 70 degrees. So we thought that we better do the ride today. It was a 75 mile ride north along the mountain range and then back on the plains east. The first part was a wonderful ride but the last part not as good as it got very windy and made it an uncomfortable ride. When we got back we made quick stop at the grocery store and also to fill the bike with gas. It was near 5:30 pm when we arrived back at the 5th wheel. Cheri took a few pictures while we were riding and you can see the haze of smoke in the air from the wild fires up near Fort Collins. To see the pictures click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Country ride 6-10-12.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Gay June-9-12
8:31 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We took a 60 mile ride on the motorcycle today and ended up at the Colorado Springs flea market. Cheri was disappointed with the flea market; I think she is spoilt from the nice flea markets in Florida. We did ride on a nice road through the country side and enjoyed just being out and about. I did find a road that runs up along the mountain range toward Denver and would like to take a ride on it Monday which will be our last day to ride in this area. We were back to the 5th wheel by 1:00 pm and decided to play lazy the rest of the day reading and watching TV. The high altitude is over 6,000 feet makes it hard for us to have the energy to do the things we are used to doing, our morning walks just about do us in. Well with four more weeks in the mountains we should be better. Just think if I look down we are over a mile above Florida.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Cheri June-8-12
8:56 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We ventured back to the Garden of the Gods this morning. We had already gone to the visitor’s center and watched the 14-minute media adventure on the Garden of the Gods, so off we went into the park.
It is an extraordinary 1,350-acre park with 300-million year-old rock formations. Years ago there were many roads you could drive on to wander through the park, now they have created a number of parking lots located throughout the park. Many of the roads were turned into walking trails. People park their vehicles and hike to the different formations.
The park was very busy, we had to drive around the parking lot twice before we could get a place to park. We began our hike on the trail. The rocks were beautiful. The formations looked different from every angle. They were all given different names, Cathedral Spires, Three Graces, Gray Rock, Kissing Camels to name a few.
We checked out the North end of the park and then hopped back on the bike and headed for the South end. We checked out Steamboat Rock and of course the famous Balanced Rock. The kids were climbing all over this one.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. It was perfect for riding the bike through the Garden. I took a lot of pictures from the back of the motorcycle and Gay took all the pictures on the trails.
We returned to Monument and checked out the downtown area. We didn’t think there was much there so we returned to the 5th wheel to relax, have an early dinner and watch a little TV.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day. Click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Garden of the Gods.
Gay June-7-12
9:24 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We were out doing our morning walk at 6:15 am. I didn’t think we would get our morning walk done as I had to have the truck at the truck shop by 8:00 am which met leaving the campground by 7:15 am. They took the truck into the shop as soon as I arrived and they came back about 20 minutes later and said that they found a loose connection near the oil pan. Then they wash the truck for me. When I was there the other day I mentioned that I thought they should have given the truck a wash job for all the money I spent to have it repaired. While I was there I heard a couple of guys talking about the storm we had last night. They said that it rained and hailed for a two and half hours and that in some of the lower intersections cars were floating. I thought that it was crazy because we are camp just 20 miles away and all we got was some wind. I got home around 10:00 am and Cheri and discussed what we were going to do for the rest of the day. We were thinking about going to the Garden of the Gods with the motorcycle but then decided to wait until another day as it was pretty hazy and wouldn’t be able to get very good pictures. So after lunch we headed to a health food store that Cheri found on the internet. She wants to try some of the Walden Farms products as they are fat free and calorie free. We got to sample some of the products and found them to taste good, so we bought several of them. When we arrived at the store we could see lots of leaves on the ground from the hail last night and then in the shade we could see the hail piled up under the trees. We talked to a lady at the store and she told us that they had to get the snow plows to push the hail off the roads in Monument which is where we are staying and once again we didn’t get anything but wind. We made a stop at Sam’s to pick up some energy bars. The rest of the afternoon and evening we rested and watched TV.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Gay June-6-12
7:29 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We didn’t have any plans today so we were in no hurry to get around this morning. At 11:00 am we took the truck and made a Wal-Mart run for groceries. As we were leaving the campground the low oil light came on in the truck. So I stopped and checked the oil and it was ok. So we continued with our Wal-Mart trip. When we got back to the 5th wheel I put in a call to the truck dealer and I have to have the truck in the shop at 8:00 am tomorrow to see what is causing the problem. I also contacted Rand McNalley to see about sending our new GPS in for repair. I got a ticket number and then I had to fax in my sales receipt, once they get that they are suppose to contact me with a return request. Not sure why but I don’t have a good feeling about the whole process, time will tell. I got the grill out this afternoon and grilled up some burgers and chicken, we had a late lunch or early dinner which means a snack this evening. We were going to go to the Garden of the Gods late this afternoon, but it clouded up, got windy and looked like rain so we will do that another day. Later we could hear the thunder, never did get any rain. All in all it was a good day and we got to recharge our batteries.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Gay June-5-12
8:44 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
When we watched the weather this morning they said that there was a wind advisory for the day. Well they were right about the wind as it was very windy and a lot of very strong gusts. We got a call this morning that the truck was done so that was the first thing we did today. Glad to have it back, but I must admit it was nice having the car to use to tour around the area which would have been hard with the motorcycle with the wind and rain showers we have had the last few days. The problem with the truck was an overheating problem that started just as we were coming into Colorado Springs. As it turned out the head gaskets were leaking and had to be replaced. So while they had it apart they put on a new water pump and new thermostats. They also install a new exhaust brake as we had trouble with the old one sticking closed. It was sad that it happened but we couldn’t have been a better place to have it fixed. Once again God was looking out for us. After we got done with the truck shop it was time to take Cheri to a three different quilt shops in and around the city. She is looking for a special material for a quilt that she wants to make and can’t seem to find it. After the quilt shops it was time to go to the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum which turned out to be at the Harley Davidson dealership. They had a lot of antique and classic motorcycles along with a lot of photographs and memorabilia. Of course most of the motorcycles were Harleys and Indians. I did buy a Pikes Peak tee shirt while we were there. We were back at the 5th wheel by 4:30 pm. Neither one of us seem to enjoy the day as much as we should have. I think it is because we have over done it the last few days and need to take a day off and rest. We will see what tomorrow brings us.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Cheri-4-12
11:13 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
This morning we headed for The Royal Gorge Bridge & Park located 12 miles west of Canon City off of HWY 50.
We had been to the bridge some 20 years ago. Wow, how it has changed. They have created a park on either side of the bridge.
It was a beautiful sunny day and only a few people in the park. The lines for activities were short, just the way we like it! It cost us $22 each to get into the park and that paid for everything you wanted to do in the park except for the Soaring Eagle Zip Line and the Royal Rush Skycoaster. There was an extra charge for them.
As soon as we entered the gate we spotted the Incline Railway and decided to hop aboard. It is one of the world’s steepest incline railways. We go down 1,550 at a 45 degree angle. It travels about 3MPH and takes 5 ½ minutes to reach the bottom. It is 7 or 8 small cages all hooked together. There was room for 4 or 5 people to stand up in them. Once at the bottom, you can walk out on the platforms about 4 or 5 ft above the Arkansas River. You look straight up and see the Royal Gorge Bridge stretched across the canyon. On the other side of the river you can see the remains of the old wooden water pipe that use to service the area. The steep canyon walls were all granite. It was a beautiful area.
We got our pictures and hopped back aboard the Railway for the trip back to the top.
The bridge across the gorge is something to see. It is 956 ft. high and one of the world’s highest suspension bridges. They started building it in June of 1929 and completed it in Nov. of 1929. It is 1,270 ft long and 18 ft wide. The towers of the bridge are 150 ft high and there is 2,100 strands of No 9 galvanized wire in each cable. The cables weigh 300 tons. There is 1,000 tons of steel in the floor of the bridge and that is covered with 1,270 blanks for the deck. The original cost to build it was $350,000—todays cost would be $18 million.
You can drive across, walk across or take a trolley or golf cart across the bridge. We decided on the trolley. As we crossed the bridge the planks all clattered under us. It gave you a weird feeling.
Our trolley driver gave us a tour of all the attractions and we decided to hop off at the wildlife park to get pictures of the Rocky Mountain Elk, the Bison and the Big Horn Sheep. You’ll notice the White Bison. They are trying to breed an entire herd of White Bison. We have never seen White Bison before.
We checked out the old Mountain Man Trading Post & Town. They had a gunfight scheduled for 1pm, so we stayed and watched that. We also had to check out all the rest of the buildings in that little settlement.
The Plaza Theater had a little Magic Show. It gave us a chance to sit down and relax a bit. We also saw a video there on how this area was developed and when the bridge was built.
Lunch time had come and gone and we were in need of food. We picked Cliff Terrace BBQ. It was very good.
It was time now to stroll back across the bridge. The views to the bottom were spectacular. They had a flag flying from the bridge for every state. We could see the rafters floating along the river. The river flowing between the canyon walls made for some beautiful scenery.
Now it was time for the Aerial Tram across the gorge. It is one of the world’s longest single-span Aerial Trams. The length is 2,200 ft. It hovers 1,178 ft over the Arkansas River. It was built in 1968 at a cost of $350,000. It will hold 35 passengers. We stepped aboard and there we hung, high over the gorge. Wow! More great pictures. It only took about 5 minutes to cross and we hopped off and we headed down to pick up the trolley and once again cross back over the bridge.
I had to ride the carousel and Gay had to ride the little Silver Rock Train around its mile long track and then we headed to pick up the car and yes, you guessed it, drive back across the bridge. There is a back exit to the park that took us through the countryside and out onto HWY 50 headed for home.
We ran into a couple of rain storms with high winds. That happened at the end of our day, so we can say all in all we had a great day.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day. Click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Royal Gorge
Cheri-3-12
10:18 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
This morning we made plans to attend the 9am church service at the Air Force Academy Chapel at the United States Air force Academy in Colorado Springs.
The Air Force Academy Chapel is one of the most photographed man-made structures in Colorado. It soars 150 ft in the air. The aluminum, glass and steel structure features 17 spires. There is no significance to the number of spires. Original designs were judged to be too expensive, so changes were made, among them a reduction in the number of spires. The shell of the Chapel and surrounding grounds cost $3.5 million to build.
The spires are all accented with stained glass on the inside of the chapel. They have a huge organ located on the back balcony. The front area was all made of marble. There were only around 50 people there for the service. We expected to see a bigger crowd. The service was very good.
We returned to the 5th wheel and decided this would be a down day. We had lunch, Gay watched the Stock Car Races, and I took a nap. We had a little rain storm and finished out the day catching up on our recorded shows.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Gay June-2-12
8:04 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We left our campground at 7:45 am and headed over to spend the day with my cousin Mick and his wife Diane. The last time we saw them was back in 1997. We visited for a while and then the four of us headed for Elizabeth which is about 50 miles to the north. It was a beautiful ride up through the country side and through the black forest. We watched an old town parade and visited all the vendors and antiques shops. Then it was time to find a place for lunch which was a barbeque place with some very good pork. Then we slowly made our way back to Mick and Diane’s place. We made one stop at an antique shop in Albert. Cheri and I couldn’t believe all the nice things that were in the shop and also some very reasonable prices. When we got back to Mick and Diane’s it was time for Mick to do his chores, we visited while he was getting the work done. He has around 100 rabbits that he raises and sells has breeding stock. He has been doing this for around 30 years and has people come from all over the US to buy his rabbits. Mick also has three teams of ponies that he likes to harness up and have them pull on the seven wagons or stage coach that he has built over the years. Then it was time to sit down to a wonderful supper that Diane fixed for us. We visited until 10:00 pm and finally said our goodbyes and headed back to the campground. It was a wonderful day to spend with family.
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| Mick and me |
Friday, June 1, 2012
Cheri June-1-12
9:51 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We were on our way this morning to Cripple Creek by 10:30am. It is cooler there by 10 to 15 degrees than it is in Colorado Springs due to its elevation at 9,494 feet above sea level.
This historic town sits on the southwest slopes of Pikes Peak. More than 100 years ago gold mines attracted tens of thousands of gold-seekers. Gold mines are a part of the areas colorful history.
Our first stop was the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine. It’s a one-of-a-kind tour of a vertical mine shaft. This mine was started, owned and operated by a woman, Mollie Kathleen.
We bought our ticket and were in a group of 12. We put on our hard hats and they crammed 6 people into a small cage and raised them up in the air so the second cage came up to ground level. Our group sandwiched in along with our guide. Ready or not, we are off for our 1-hour tour.
We were taken down the shaft 1000 ft. below the surface and we all unloaded and started our tour. This mine produced $5 million in gold from 1891 to 1961. We were lead through the shaft and shown how drilling and blasting explosives were set from the early days up to the air-powered tools that were used in later years. Our guide showed us veins of real gold and a 75 ft shaft with ladders where the men worked. We were given a ride on the air-powdered mining train.
They had donkeys that worked down in the mine from infancy. They never saw the light of day.
Life was very hard for the miners. They made only $3.00 per day and worked round the clock in 12 hr shifts. They were each given 3 candles each day to last their 12 hr shift and many times they worked in the dark.
It was an excellent tour, if you find yourself in the area, don’t miss it.
After returning to the surface we ate at the Miner Diner—a full scale Pullman dining car. The food was good and we were ready to move on.
The Cripple Creek Heritage Center was just down the road. It is an 11, 600 sq ft resource center. We watched the movie on the history of Cripple Creek, looked at Gold Mining yesterday and today, geologic & human history and dinosaur fossils found in the area.
We checked out the Cripple Creek District Museum also. They had an extensive mineral collection and mining machinery, two Victorian apartments, a turn of the century Assay Office and two historic furnished cabins. All were so interesting.
It was time to head home; it was a full and informative day. We ran into a couple of small rain storms on the way back, plus we saw one deer and a herd of elk we were just in time for the rush hour traffic once again. The high altitude really gets to both of us. We were glad to be back home and settled in for the night.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day. Click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels Then click on album Gold Mine & Cripple Creek.
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