My Yarn Fix and Zip Line Update...

Monday:  My adventure today is a trip to visit yarn shops in Colorado Springs. First stop is Ewe and Me, A Yarn Shop which was a rather upscale shop with all the latest yarns.  They had a baby jacket on display made with some really nice soft yarn, however, they didn't have the pattern for it.  Apparently someone made it for the store but failed to give them the pattern.  This was rather disappointing so I left with nothing.

 

Next stop was the Holly Berry House in a quaint old section of town where all the wonderful old brick buildings were revitalized with gift shops and restaurants.  This was a small shop but they had a scarf on display which I liked but - you guessed it - no pattern.  So, I left there with nothing.  Getting to see a "pattern" here (or lack thereof).

 

Scarf with no pattern

 

Yarn Outlet

Since this shop was close to Manitou Springs, I decided to stop and browse a bit.  Got lucky and found a good parking space so I lit out on foot to check it out.  As cute as this town is, it's basically one souvenir shop after the next with a lot of restaurants in between.  Maybe I just wasn't in the mood...really?  Not in the mood to shop?  Wow!  But then I haven't made one purchase yet, hmmm...

 

 

Last stop was the Yarn Outlet on the way home.  Bingo!  Found some yarn I liked plus her prices were fantastic.  This is a big outlet store so everything is a couple of bucks cheaper than a traditional yarn shop plus she had some of the latest yarns.  She helped me pick out some yarn for a Bandana Cowl that I want to make.  Nice lady and nice shop.  She invited me back to a "Knit-In" tomorrow but I really don't want to drive the 50 miles back up this way.  She also told me that there was a yarn shop in Canon City in the back of a bookstore, hmmm....I must find it.

Tuesday:  I made a Walmart run to pick up a prescription refill then into downtown Canon City in search of the yarn shop in the back of a bookstore.  Found it!  Just mention yarn and I'll find it.  Met Ann, the owner, very nice lady and she invited me in to knit with her and Sheila..  They have their share of characters just as our yarn shop does and I had the best time!  Sheila is a hoot!  She is from England, came to America when she was 22 with the Ice Capades.....what an adventurer!  We talked, laughed, told stories and knitted the afternoon away.  Now that I have a friend here, I don't want to leave, however, tomorrow is mooo-ving day. 

The ladies here are knitting little Christmas ornaments for a charity...here are some of the ornaments:





Sheila made this one

I left the yarn shop  around 2:30 and George finished work at 3:00 so we took off for the Royal Gorge.  We bought  tickets to ride the Gondola over the gorge, then walked the Suspension Bridge back.  There was a plaque and flag for each State on the bridge.  George is holding up the Florida flag.

So, did we or did we not do the zip line?  We did not....reason being that we couldn't take the ride on the side-by-side zip lines as they were not staffed to run both at the same time.  Maybe next time. 

The Gondola

Suspension Bridge

View from the Suspension Bridge



George with Florida flag

Beautiful Sun Flowers

 

Royal Gorge Railway...

Royal Gorge Railroad, Canon City, CO

What better thing to do on a lazy Sunday morning than to take a train ride!  We made reservations last night for the 12:30 train ride through the gorge on the Royal Gorge Railroad.  We booked coach seats (the cheapest) because we basically spent the majority of the ride in the outdoor coach checking out the scenery.  The route opened in 1879 and Teddy Roosevelt actually rode the train in 1905.  It was a 2 hour ride with spectacular views through the gorge and along the Arkansas River which, at times, was very narrow.  We passed under the Suspension Bridge, built in 1929, which is for foot traffic only, and spans some 2,000 feet over the gorge.  On the train ride back, we shared a Basil Pesto Chicken Panini which was plenty for two.  We plan to walk the bridge one day this week.

 

Our Gate

The Gorge



Suspension Bridge

Rafters on the Arkansas River

After the train ride, we headed back to camp and moved into a larger campsite.  The one we were in was not meant for a rig our size so we are now comfortably re-located in a site which looks out over a beautiful meadow full of flowers and the Colorado Rockies in the background...what could be better.  Uh, no humidity, that's what!  We sat outside all afternoon in 80-something degree weather with a nice breeze without breaking a sweat.  My kinda weather indeed!  We also met our soon-to-be next door neighbors from our first campsite, Larry and Peggy, who are also moving next door to us tomorrow.  We made plans to have Happy Hour with them tomorrow evening.  Meantime, George got the grill out and we grilled brats and fresh corn from Rocky Ford and discussed buying this site, well, I discussed it but George was not "onboard".  Boo hoo.



View from Site #33

 

 

 

Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak

Garden of the Gods

Gray Spires

It's Saturday and we are off to Garden of the Gods in the Colorado Springs area, which is about a 45 minute drive from our campground.  We stopped at the Visitor's Center to get some information and a map.  First stop is the Main Garden Area which is a paved walking path through some very unusual red-sandstone rock formations which were sculptured some 300 million years ago.  The park has many dirt trails and is a hiker's paradise. 

 

The entire park was donated by a fellow named Perkins whose only desire was to keep the park entact and available for public use.  After that, we drove through the remainder of the park and exited at the Balanced Rock. 

 

Kissing Camels

George checking out the rock climbers

 

Balanced Rock

Next on the agenda is Pike's Peak.  George has been chomping at the bit to drive the Jeep up the 19 mile road to the Summit, and what a breath-taking drive it was.  The only other option is to take the Cog Railway, which takes several hours.  However, there were several bicyclers making their way up...bless their hearts.  Anyway, it's a beautiful day with a big blue sky - perfect for the drive and the scenery was gorgeous. 

 

Waiting to get into Pike's Peak

Almost to the Summit





Here we are...at the Summit

View from the top

PIKE'S PEAK ELEVATION:  14,115 feet above sea level 

 

I say this because, once at the top, we both got very light-headed from lack of oxygen so we just stayed long enough to get some good pictures. 

 

Once at the bottom, we were in Manitou Springs, a very cute artsy-fartsy little town.  We didn't stop because we were too winded to do any more walking just now but I may come back here later in the week.

 

Next stop  was Cripple Creek , which was a mining town in the 1870's but, modern-day Cripple Creek, boasts Casino's on every street corner and everywhere in between.  On the way there, however, we saw at least a dozen mountain goats crossing back and forth across the street stopping traffic in both directions.  People were getting out of their cars (me included) to take pictures.

Cripple Creek, CO

Downtown Cripple Creek

 



 

Victor Hotel

Old Abandoned Mine

Victor was the next town and it, too, was an old mining town but its only claim to fame now is the Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad which takes you through past abandoned mines and the Anaconda Ghost town.




 

 

Lastly, George wanted to take the Jeep off-road on a dirt path that would ultimately lead us back to the campground.  When we got to the turn-off, the road was closed and he was terribly disappointed.  Not only that, but he had to re-route us back home as we were on "the wrong side of the mountain" which took twice as long to get back to camp.  Even though the scenery was beautiful, I napped a bit as this girl was very tired.

Once home, we relaxed for a while then had a quick dinner and very early to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun Day in Dodge City

Thursday:  I think I heard more rain during the night but one thing is for sure, the temperature dropped and I was scrambling for the comforter.  The weather here today is just about perfect...sunny, warm, no humidity and a light breeze.  I took off around 10:30 to explore.  My first adventure was to Happy Nails for a much needed pedicure.  I spied this nail salon last night on our way home from Central Park. My pedicurist recommended a lunch of fried rice from the Chinese place down the street, which she also owned.  Couldn't get fried rice out of my head so I obliged.

 

Next was a drive around town and a stop at the Village Mall where I discovered two new stores that I've never heard of before, Maurice's and Buckle.  Both were boutique-style stores and the clothes had a modern-day western flare.  Of course I bought something...(a shirt, a purse and cute pair of socks)!

Back at the ranch by early afternoon and hoping we would be able to play golf at the local course but George worked until after 4:00 so we just stayed home, early to bed and will be off to Colorado tomorrow.

Friday:  We are gettin' outta Dodge today, driving about 6 hours to Canon (pronounced Canyon) City, CO.  We took Route 50 here, aka the Santa Fe' Trail, which is the route that the pioneers took when travelling out West.  We passed through Garden City, home of the Leiker's, our friends and next door neighbors. Along the way, we stopped at Rocky Ford Cantalope, a local farmer's market (recommended by our neighbor Mike), and got some sweet corn, onions and canary cantalope...must be unique to the area as we've never heard of it, but it's very juicy and tastes kinda like a honey dew melon.

Rocky Ford Cantaloupe

FUN FACTS:

Canon City, CO - Elevation 5,332 ft above sea level (slightly higher than Denver)

Summerfield, FL - Elevation 75 ft above sea level

This area is known as the "Climate Capital of Colorado" and is tucked into the folds and bluffs of the Arkansas Valley.  It is also about 7 miles from the Royal Gorge, (aka the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River) a dramatic 1,053 foot slash in the earth and geological wonder.  It also boasts the worlds highest suspension bridge and is used just for foot traffic; a 2,200 foot long gondola and the steepest incline rail line in the world.  The question is, to zip line or not to zip line over the gorge?    I'll let you know the answer later this weekend.

We are staying at the Mountain View RV Resort about 5 miles West of Canon City.  The park is full for the weekend so we had to take a standard site, which is small for our big rig, but they are moving us to a premium site Sunday.  Once we got unpacked, we were anxious to check out the town so, first thing off the bat, we drove our Jeep along Skyline Drive, a 2.5 mile one-way road built along a very narrow ridge top in the 1930's.  There's a hair-pin turn at the end of the ridge top which takes you down the back-side and into town.  It was a very thrilling ride and we plan to go back with the go-pro and take a video.  After that, we parked in town and stopped at Pizza Madness, a local pizza shop.  The place was packed and people continue to flock in when we were leaving.  Needless to say, the pizza was fantastic.

Entrance to Skyline Drive, Canon City, CO

Skyline Drive

Skyline Drive

Skyline Drive



 

 

Wednesday is moo-ving day

Longhorn Steer

Kansas Cornfield

Woke up to more rain this Wednesday morning.  I feel like I'm back home except that the temperature has dropped into the low 60's...nice.  We are leaving here today but not without a drive through the area.  George was going stir-crazy last night so we took off toward Wichita passing more longhorn steer (this time I got a good picture) and beautiful cornfields.  We came upon the Kansas Star Casino and decided to stop and check it  out.  It's connected to a Hampton Inn and is nice as far as casino's go...we aren't gamblers so we headed to the SHARK BAR.  After tee-martoonies, we headed back home as there were storms in the Wichita area.

Kansas Star Casino

Shark  Bar



My Cosmo

 

We left Wellington around noon and checked into the GUNSMOKE RV Park in Dodge City, KS in the late afternoon.  The sites are quite large and the hospitality is warm as a summer day.  We decided to treat ourselves to a nice big steak dinner so George wrangled up a place called Central Station and, my oh my, the steaks were just great and very reasonably priced. 

 

Gunsmoke RV Park



Central Station Bar & Grill, Dodge City, KS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 





 

 

 

 

 

Kansas is not as flat as you might think...

Sunday:  After driving halfway across the Southern portion of Kansas, much to our surprise, there are lots of rolling hills.  Also, not surprising, are lots of corn fields and some real-life longhorn steer.  Wish I could have gotten a picture of them. 

 

Monday is upon us and we are settled into the KOA in Wellington.  We both got a great nights sleep....no mooing cows, just a nice quiet campground....ahhh.  George is working so I decided to take a drive into town plus make a Walmart run.  When I asked him how to get to town, he laughed and said "take a left out of the KOA and you're there".  Or, as I found out, another description would be that we are literally "one cornfield away" from the Walmart.  A little further down the road is "downtown Wellington", speed limit 20 mph - same  as Stonecrest....and we all know that it's impossible to go 20 mph.  So, it took me less than 5 minutes, at 20 mph, to get to the end of town and back.  I think George does these things to me so I won't think about shopping for Brighton handbags and other luxuries.  But what about a nice pedicure?  Nope! Not a nail salon in sight.  So I amble back to the KOA and proceed to knit the afternoon away which proved fruitful as I finished my first Swancho.  For those of you non-knitters, a Swancho is a cross between a Sweater and a Poncho.



Karen's first Swancho!

Tuesday we woke up to rain, in fact, the rain woke me up sometime in the night.  Looks like it's going to be one of those days.  So, more knitting.  I'm also working on a gray and white striped Poncho.  The pattern is soooo easy and a good project to work on while driving down the road.  Here is a picture of what it looks like today:

Also good day to catch up on laundry, make some pimento cheese and focus on a nice home cooked meal for dinner.  In the event you want my Homemade Pimento Cheese recipe, see RECIPES section of this blog.