2010 Fall Trip--10/18 Monument Valley

I'm not going to do a lot of writing about our day today. Words just can't describe the beauty we saw today. (If you click on any of the pictures they will show as enlarged on your computer)

2010 Fall Trip--10/17 GV to Flagstaff

Ever since we arrived home from our last trip through NM and CO I've been looking forward to our current trip to Monument Valley and then into the never visited (for us) state of Utah. I guess it's all those old western movies that I watched as a kid that hooked me on the mystic of Monument Valley.
We left Green Valley this AM with Starship Avion in tow and Tipper in the back seat. For once, we got through Phoenix without any problems, however it was Sunday. Usually we seem to hit Phoenix at rush hour. One of the things I love about AZ is that we started in a low desert area (elevation 1800 ft), actually went lower when in Phoenix and then started climbing toward Flagstaff which is over 7000 feet in elevation and in a sub-alpine climatic zone. We have marveled at the Ponderosa Pine and actual hardwood tree's. Such a difference from what we're used to. We are somewhat familiar with Flagstaff, as son Jeff graduated from Northern Arizona University for his undergraduate degree.
I've always liked the story of how Flagstaff got it's name. Back in 1876 a group of pioneers were passing through and on July 4th they camped at a spring in the shadow of the San Francisco Peaks. To celebrate the centennial, they stripped the limbs of a large pine tree and hoisted up Old Glory. The flag staff stood for years and was known as a meeting place. When the town was settled it was decided to call the area what it had been called for years--Flagstaff. The first family of Flagstaff are the Babbits. In 1886 four Babbit brothers gave up the grocery business in Cincinnati, hopped on a train, and landed in Flagstaff. They came west to start a cattle ranch, which they did, however things were not going well on the ranch and their backer suggested that they try a business that they knew something about. They had a sandstone building erected and once again went into the grocery business. That business flourished and they soon expanded into hardware, saddles and harness and other ranch goods, and even operated several trading posts in northeast Arizona. And that cattle ranch?? Well, they managed to hang on to it and finally it prospered. It's still in the Babbit family and they continue to ranch without the assistance of modern machinery. And the original store is still in business. Many of you will remember that Bruce Babbit was govenor of Arizona from 1978 to 1987 and then served as Secretary of the Interior from 1993 to 2001. Quite a story.
We walked around in town, drove the Route 66 portion, and then headed back to the RV park. According to the radio the low temp tonight will be below 40 degree's! Earlier this evening we had a cold rain, but being a desert dweller now I have a new appreciation of rain. New territory tomorrow!!
Top Photo--Home Sweet Home with leaf's.
Bottom Photo--Babbit Brothers store
jmk

July 13, 2010 Old Fall River Rd, RMNP

Our trip today will be on the Old Fall River Road which was the first road through the park. It was started in 1913 and completed in 1920. It is only 9 miles but in that distance you travel from woodland through sub alpine to alpine tundra climatic zones. The road today is very much like it was years ago, except that it is one way today. I'm sure there were many tense moments when cars were allowed to travel both ways. Once you reach the summit and the Alpine Visitors Center you use the newer Trail Ridge Road to descend. I had thought that the trip might take 3 hours, but in actuality it took 7. We couldn't resist all the photo op's.
Top Photo--Bull Elk just below Alpine Visitors Center
Middle Photo--At about the half way point we had stopped to take pictures and up rolls a taxi. Photo also gives you a little glimpse of the actual road.
Bottom Photo--Just one of many spectacular views.

July 12th, 2010

We're finally at our destination just outside Estes Park, CO. Our friends Kay and Ernie's son in laws family has owned cabins up here for years. At one point some of them were rented to the summer help in the national park or shops in Estes Park or just vacationers. Several years ago one of the cabins burned so a vacant space exists and that's where Starship Avion has landed. In addition to Kay and Ernie another couple from Columbus have joined us. At one time we all lived in Columbus so it was fun to catch up on the happenings. Our camp is about 3 miles from Estes Park which is a total tourist town. There are the tee shirt shops, jewelry stores, candy and ice cream shops, etc, etc. You've been "there" I'm sure. Just outside town is Rocky Mountain National Park. Yes, the park is crowded now, but you know what, every once in a while you will look at a towering peak or a mountain meadow and the thought hits you "This is what it looked like 200 years ago when an Indian, mountain man, or trapper looked at the same sight". What a thrill.
Top Photo--Starship Avion at rest.
Bottom Photo--The Estes Park Gang.

July 6th through July 11th, 2010

On the 6th we loaded up and headed down the mountain. I am a certified flatlander when it comes to pulling a trailer, but I must admit I am getting better and more confident in going up and down these mountain roads. We went from our campground through Colorado Springs, caught I-25 north and headed towards Estes Park where our old Columbus, IN friends were staying in their son-in-laws cabins.

After arriving we parked Starship Avion, stayed overnight, but then headed back to Denver to stay and visit with cousin John. I know this doesn't make any sense but it was a timing thing. While in Denver we went to several antique or thrift stores, had a lot of good food, and just had a good time being with nice people. The 11th we headed back to Estes Park to await the arrival of more old friends from Columbus, IN.
Photo's--Hike pictures at Redstone Rec Area just south of Littleton.

July 5th, 2010 Victor (revisited) & Cripple Creek

We awoke to hail on the ground! Just after we returned to the trailer last night the storm caught up with us. You can imagine what a hail storm sounds like in an aluminum trailer. I really thought we would have visible damage, but we had nothing. We returned to Mueller S P and had a great breakfast with the Denver group. I simply do not understand why these people don't weigh 300 pounds apiece. We said a sad farewell to the group as they had to pack up and return home. We decided to stay an extra day.

We headed toward Victor, but before getting there we took a little side trip on Gold Camp Road. We checked out a couple of places in Victor and then headed toward Cripple Creek. While Victor is an almost ghost town Cripple Creek has elected to revive itself by gambling revenue. We were totally uninterested in Cripple Creek downtown and elected to drive through an old residential portion of town. While there we saw burro's resting alongside a home. We then remembered that Cripple Creek is the town that allows the descendants of the mine burro's to roam free. There is a group of people in town who provide feed and care of the animals. With the exception of the burro's we found nothing else that interested us in Cripple Creek, but have tucked Victor into the back of our brains as a possible future summer resting place.

Top Photo--Gold Camp Road

Middle Photo--Burro's of Cripple Creek, CO

Bottom Photo--Hail on the ground on July 5th

July 3rd & 4th, 2010 Victor & Mueller State Park, CO

Early on the 3rd, J & E and L & S picked us up and off we went to the old gold mines around Victor, CO. This area between Victor and Cripple Creek had some of the most productive gold mines in the U. S. Many of the buildings are still there and available for exploring. Our next stop was Victor, CO which some say is one step above a ghost town, but it did have permanent residents and a downtown. In reading about Victor two things stick out--in the late 1890's a couple were

having a spat and one threw a coal oil lamp at the other. The resulting fire burned down the east side of town. A few days later a pan with grease in the hotel kitchen caught fire and that fire burned down the west side of town. Consequently, all of the downtown buildings date from around 1899 to 1903. The second item about Victor is that when the town decided to build a new courthouse they started digging the foundation and struck gold!! Boy, those people in Victor had all the bad luck. We met up with J & K

and had lunch in Victor, then headed back to Mueller State Park for a wonderful dinner with the Denver crowd.

July 4th started out bright and beautiful. Betsy and I drove over to Mueller S P to meet up with the Denver group. We just hung around camp and talked mostly. Later in the day we started preparing dinner and noticed that large black clouds were moving into the area. Just as we were finishing dinner the sky opened and it poured. Luckily we were under a 10 x 10 canopy, but eventually the rain became to heavy and we sought shelter in L & S fifth wheel. We had eight people and five dogs in there, but the unit was big enough to shelter us all. We were all talking when all of a sudden we realized that it was hailing!! The hail peppered down and there was some concern that it would accumulate and collapse the awning on the RV, but the awning was retracted without damage. Betsy, Tipper, and I waited until the rain and hail paused and then we took off, up the mountain to our campground. The temperature fell to 46 degrees, and hail covered the road for some of the trip but we went slow and made it home safely.

Top Photo--I'm not sure how this all transpired, but I walked out of a shop and the Denver Circle had somehow gotten involved in a tomahawk throwing lesson. I've always wanted to try my luck at it so I jumped right in. Managed to stick 1 out of 3.

Bottom Photo--downtown Victor, Co.