Once again we were on the open
road after leaving Four Corners - heading southeast in New Mexico to Interstate
25. Unfortunately, the winds were
starting to pick-up and we were tired after a long day of travel. Right outside of Santa Fe, we pulled into a
Rest Area – no slides out for this evening – to stay the night off the road
because of the heavy winds. The next day
we got started and headed north into Colorado - Rocky Mountain country - picking Pueblo as our next
destination.
Time to get the RV settled in for a few days! The Escapee camping
listed Haggard’s RV Campground in Pueblo West and that is where we headed to
set up home. The campground is owned by
a very special couple, Nancy and Matt, who definitely make your stay extra
special.
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| Matt & Nancy Fetty |
Everyone is family here, so
please check it out if you are in the area, as we would highly recommend this
campground. Click here to view their website: HaggardsCG
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| Facing the beautiful snow capped mountains |
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| Just one of the sunsets seen |
With our home established
for a few days, it was now time to explore the area around Pueblo – scenery
that is quite amazing as we’re sure you’ll agree – as we set off on our Jeep
adventures here in Colorado.
First stop on our itinerary from
the campground was the Royal Gorge Bridge in Cañon City (pronounced Canyon)
which is about 28 miles west of Pueblo.
This deep chasm is spanned by one of the world’s highest suspension
bridge, 1053 feet above the Arkansas River.
This area is closed right now but scheduled to open sometime August 2014
because of a devastating forest fire that destroyed some 50 buildings last
year. At the lookout point, Jeff was
able to get a great photo of the bridge.
Then we noticed after driving a short distance on the road out that we
had quite an opportunity for yet another great photo. This one is of the Arkansas River, meandering
through the canyon.
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| Royal Gorge suspension bridge |
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| Arkansas River |
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| Kay and her flowers ~ it's spring! |
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| A look at the loss of trees after the fire. |
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| Someone just didn't want us to go! |
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| Some merchants have opened for tourists. |
Okay, now we are on Day 2
for something spectacular . . . Jeep Trip anyone? They call it The Gold Belt Tour ~ National Scenic Byway. The ride began
about 10 miles west from the campground, where we connected with quite a unique
road named the Phantom Canyon Road. This
byway route retraces the railroad route of the Florence and Cripple Creek
Railroad (F&CC). The railroad hauled
rich gold ore from the mines near Cripple Creek and Victor to processing mills
in Florence from 1894 to 1912.
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| No trout here - too shallow! |
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| The start of a spectacular jeep ride. |
The road conditions on Phantom Canyon Road are unpaved. There are definitely steep drop-offs and in some areas it narrows to one lane so you will not see vehicles that are over 25 feet in length (definitely a no-no!). The trail takes you through towering monoliths, through tunnels and over bridges – hard to believe that a railroad traveled where the Jeep was going many years ago.
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| These roads start getting narrow |
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| A very small creek bed |
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| Tunnel #1 |
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| Lots of windy roads ahead |
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| Not too close to the edge!!! |
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| Tunnel #2 |
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| Bridge #1 and still climbing |
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| Wood deck bridge |
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| From Jeff's window the road below |
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| Beautiful!!! |
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| More narrow roads - we didn't meet anyone here! |
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| They call this spot "The Ledge" |
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| Starting to see Aspens among the Spruce trees |
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| More climbing . . . |
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| Our picnic spot! |
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| A little waterfall! |
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| The signs that say "Watch for Falling Rock" |
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| Our first sight of snow this winter! |
These rugged and remote
areas are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Colorado
Division of Wildlife – some 27,000 acres total.
It took us about 2 hours to travel the 32 miles. Starting elevation was
a mere 5,180 feet at the main trail head and rose to a mighty 9,730 feet when we
reached the town of Victor (pop. 450). Kay’s ears popped quite a few times!
Driving a little further you
enter authentic Colorado gaming in Cripple Creek, where if it’s casino action
you’re looking for there are endless slot machines (13 casinos total). We were there only for the mining history and
to take a few photos of the surroundings.
Sorry to say that we didn’t make it in time to Bronco Billy’s for their
$.49 breakfast (served from 2a – 11a.), but that’s okay!!!
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| Main Street in Cripple Creek |
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| Painting above Police Department |
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| Stopped here for lunch |
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| A very cute restaurant |
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| Old mining equipment from the 1800's |
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| Tailing's that are over a mile long as it is wide |
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| Victor |
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| Driving into Cripple Creek |
The drive back to the
campground was beautiful as our descent in elevation through the San Isabel
National Forest was quite an experience (5-6% downgrades).
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| More snow. |
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| What a surprise to come across this lake |
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| A long stretch of unpaved road. |
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| Much better roads for the trip back. |
If someone told us that we
would see a Castles in Colorado, we were definitely on it. On the brochure states, “Built by ONE MAN with
the help of God”. We live for the
excitement of something so unique and different that we had to experience this
160 feet tall structure named, Bishop Castle.
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| Serpent's head to the far right |
The Castle was begun in 1969
as a one room stone cottage by Jim Bishop and is located in Colorado City. Click on Bishop Castle to view their website.
We took some great photos of
this unique stone structure with its unusual angles, stained glass windows and
winding staircases. The sign
paraphernalia around the site was pretty unusual too!
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| The entrance to the Castle |
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| Very interesting way to say "Welcome" isn't it? |
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| Some of the beautiful stained glass windows |
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| Photo taken from the second floor. |
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| It looks like quite the construction zone |
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| This little fellow caught my eye |
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| Quite the set of stairs to climb. |
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| The main room - definitely unfinished |
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| The backside of the Castle |
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| Very unique structure. |
Well, it looks like we will
be hitting the open road just as soon as this wind stops. When it gets windy here it’s a killer. The sky looks so ominous. But we understand from the campground owners
that this is pretty typical for spring in this area.
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| Very low clouds on a windy day. |
Our travel plans at this
time is to continue to drive north – definitely staying away from the Great
Plains area during their tornado season – to Rapid City, South Dakota and then
head east. We can’t believe that our
winter travels are almost over and realize just how fortunate we are to have met
so many great people on our journeys.
The sights have really been awesome!
As our friend, Jess would
say, we “ROCKED” this winter! We'll pick up with you when we return to our home in Wisconsin. Take care!
Hugs to all ~ Kay &
Jeff
