July 11, 2025

July 11, 2025

After breakfast in our Farmington, NM hotel we began the long drive back home. On the way we went through the cute downtown area. The last couple years the city has beautified the area and added lots of sculpture. This Horny Toad (Regal Horned Lizard) was the crowd favorite. It is also mine.

We crossed the San Juan River and drove south and then west across the Navajo Volcanic Field. Much of it has been eroded leaving oddly-shaped badlands, mesas, and a dozen mountain-size volcanic cores. The most famous monolith is Shiprock near the Four Corners. Nearest our route is Ford Butte and Bennett Peak.

We then followed the Chuska Mountain Range south to I-40. Humorously we saw a replica Fort Courage from the TV show F-Troop at one exit. The last run home was across the ever-amazing Salt River Canyon. Aimee made us come home early because she has a sewing event tomorrow. I said okay after she bought me an ice cream cone for the ride.

July 10, 2025

July 10, 2025

From Pueblo, CO we drove south until we reached the Spanish Peaks. These are two isolated peaks that represented the start of New Spain or Spanish America. We have one last rendezvous with Zebulon Pike. After the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson sent Pike to explore its southwestern boundary (Arkansas River) with Spain. After reaching the headwaters and then attempting to scale Pike’s Peak, he either got lost in the snow or purposefully crossed to the Rio Grande. The Spanish were wary of American expansion and were waiting for an incursion. We drove west to Alamosa, CO where Pike was arrested as a spy.

From Alamosa we continued up the South fork of the Rio Grande River and then over Wolf Creek Pass (11,000 feet) into the San Juan River valley. We stopped for a delicious Thai curry lunch in Pagosa Springs. We also checked out the source of the town’s hot spring. It is supposed to be the world’s deepest.

Afterwards we make a short detour to visit Chimney Rock National Monument. It is managed by the National Forest Service. Like the two other Chimney Rocks in the USA, it is a distinctive landmark. I thought this was going to be a quick visit, but it turns out to be very interesting and we spent a couple hours there.

After watching the park film, we drove a dirt road up the ridge to a mesa that is almost at the same height as the pinnacle. This flat top at over 7000’ surprisingly contains the ruins of a small Anasazi or Ancestral Puebloan community. It is complete with two kivas and a dozen rooms. It is a mystery why a Stone-Age culture would locate a village this high up and so far from any water source. To me the likely reason probably had to do with defense. One storyboard even said these Anasazi domesticated turkeys and used them as “guard turkeys” to alert for intruders. As always, the park ethos prefers to think it had to be either ceremonial or possibly astronomical related. No matter, Aimee and I are glad we made the stop as these ruins are in a stunning location.

Back in the car we drove across the tributaries of the San Juan and then down the Animas River to its confluence with the San Juan in Farmington, NM. Conveniently our hotel has a nice Mexican restaurant in the same building.

July 9, 2025

July 9, 2025

Before leaving Colorado Springs, we decided to visit the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. We have heard good things about it and Aimee and I always like seeing and photographing animals. The zoo is built on the slope of the hill about halfway between the famous Broadmoor Hotel and the entrance to NORAD. Like every major tourist attraction nowadays we had to buy a timed ticket. We bought the earliest to avoid fighting the crowds.

Aimee’s brother said the highlight for them was the Giraffes. Aimee also recently read a book called "West with Giraffes", so that was our first target. The zoo has major construction going on in the African area, but we still managed to be the first there. The zoo hangs tree branches nearby to attract the dozens of giraffes.

We got into a nice conversation with an older docent who also likes to travel so she gave us a private tour of the giraffe feeding station. She provided us with lots of feed (at no charge). We wave the sticks and lettuce hoping some will find it tastier than the larger tree branches. We have a blast feeding these very tall gentle creatures. They have long purple tongues and not only eat the leaves on the tree but the whole stem.

The feeding stations are getting crowded so we move on to the other African animals. It seems we are too early. The animals are still in their cages while the zoo keepers are putting out feed for the day. I guess zoo keepers aren't early risers.

We next visit the Australian area to see Wallabies. They don’t interest us that much since they visited our campground in Australia. There was an exhibit full of colorful parakeets. Apparently these birds are native to Australia where they are called Budgies.

We passed the leopard exhibit but they were too far away to see. We saw a tiger but he had no desire to get up and move in the heat. That is a common complaint today.

Our next stop was the reptile house. The highlight was a colorful Chameleon. Another interesting stop was an exhibit with a dozen baby skunks. These cuties have had their scent glands removed and are being raised for sale to other zoos. Who knew that skunks were in high demand.

In our excitement for feeding the giraffes, we forgot to take any videos. So we stop again at the giraffe exhibit. I saw the giraffes peeling off the bark of the tree, so instead of buying feed, I start pulling off strips of bark from the hanging tree for them. The giraffes seem to appreciate the help. I can’t believe their stomachs can process this indigestible material.

We stopped by the elephants again but viewing was limited. I wanted to see the lions but they were sleeping, albeit very close. They are terrifyingly large predators. No wonder our ancestors left Africa thousands of years ago.

Our last stop was the African waters area to see hippos and penguins. The only interesting thing was the South African Penguin predilection for suddenly breaking out into a howl which would then cause another to bray. They have the nickname of Jackass Penguin for that reason. The adjoining Primate house was pretty quiet except for a male Orangutan.

The zoo is very crowded now, especially with families pushing strollers and pulling wagons so we decide to head out. We were a little disappointed in the zoo; we probably had too high of an expectation. However we loved the Giraffes and that made it all worthwhile.

We left heading south back to Pueblo where we were able to check into our hotel early. Aimee has been wanting to see the new Brad Pitt movie, so we spent the afternoon watching Formula 1. It was entertaining and a little educational. We have no knowledge of racing, especially F1. It is highly technical. Unlike Indy Cars, which usually run on ovals, F1 races on road tracks with lots of turns. There is team strategy and lots of arcane concerns like temperature of the tires and how old the tires are. For the uninitiated, it was sometimes hard to follow.

July 8, 2025

July 8, 2025

After climbing out of Royal Gorge, Zebulon Pike saw a tall peak that might give him a good view of the Arkansas headwaters. Unfortunately he tried to scale it too late in the season and was stopped by deep snow drifts. Aimee and I are going to attempt to finish his mission. It will be a little easier as a rail line was built to the summit of Pike’s Peak in 1891.

We got tickets for the first train at 8 am. We are glad we did as parking is nearly impossible in the narrow valley of Manitou Springs. And of course it is expensive. Partly because the train line is now owned by the nearby luxury Broadmoor Hotel. Pikes Peak has been on my list for many years, since I saw a meme listing iconic American sites. Pikes Peak was the only one we hadn't visited.

The train is expensive but very well run. We left precisely at 8 am. Our guide and conductor had a great non-stop comedy routine on the hour-long ride up. Besides being entertaining, I learned this train is the highest and longest of the three cog rail lines in the US...and that we have already ridden the other two. Cog rails are needed when the incline is greater than 10%. This one reaches over 25% at several points along the nine-mile length.

The line runs up the deep pine forest before emerging above the treeline. Pike’s Peak is a giant piece of granite that can be seen for miles. The exposed granite has been broken down through millennia of freeze-thaw into fragments. The summit is a giant boulder field. At the top is a Visitor Center where we join people who have hiked up or driven the nineteen-mile toll road. The summit is at 14,115 feet, the highest we have ever been. Aimee and I both feel a little strange at this altitude. The oxygen content is just 60% of sea level. We both chug some water to ward off altitude sickness. We spend the limited amount of summit time, traversing the parking lot, reading the interpretative signs and enjoying the vistas.

The descent left precisely at 10 am and took almost as long. At the bottom we retrieved our car and drove an hour north to the Denver suburb of Parker, where we met Aimee’s only brother. After getting the house tour, we had lunch at a nearby French bakery. After catching up on family news, we made the long drive back to Colorado Springs. Conveniently our hotel has a lobby bar and pizza parlor.

July 7, 2025

July 7, 2025

After learning about Zebulon Pike and his exploration of the Arkansas River headwaters, we decided to follow his footsteps. From Pueblo, CO we paralleled the river upstream to Royal Gorge (or Grand Canyon of the Arkansas). This very narrow canyon stymied Pike’s advance forcing him to climb out of the gorge. Today it is easier to appreciate. In 1929 a tourist bridge was built across it. It was the highest suspension bridge (955 feet) in the world for many years until the Chinese built similar bridges recently.

I thought this was going to be merely an expensive step across a tall bridge, but it turned out to be a nice experience. There were a ton of storyboards about the history and even a movie. Two railroads competed to build a rail line inside the gorge to service a new silver mine in Leadville. A shooting war erupted that included the gunslingers Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday. Today that rail line is strictly for tourists while rafters ply the river rapids.

The bridge company has added lots of extra adrenaline-rushing activities for the adventure seeker, including rock climbing, canyon swinging and zip-lining. At our age, we took the gondola ride back across the gorge to the other side. Humorously our cabin mates were a couple of immigrants living in the Houston area. She was from Dublin and he a chemist from South Africa.

From Royal Gorge we drove back to nearby Cañon City, but took the detour along Skyline Drive. It turns out to be a scenic but very narrow one-way road atop the adjoining Hogback Ridge. It is only three miles long. The Colorado front range is full of these tilted rock layers. Along the way we stop to see a set of dinosaur tracks running along the cliff wall.

Besides the gorge and all the outdoor activities, Cañon City is famous for being the home of eleven prisons. That has to be some kind of record. Not surprisingly Skyline Drive was built by inmate labor. We stopped at a Thai restaurant in the Historic downtown area for a tasty red curry lunch.

From Cañon City we drove along the Colorado front range of the Rockies to Colorado Springs. It is a beautiful drive. The dramatic mountains with their red soil and green pine trees are stunning. After checking in we relax for an hour. We drove to the Colorado Springs airport to have dinner at the Airplane Restaurant. It sits inside an old Boeing KC-97 tanker. It is very cute. The waitresses are dressed as pilots and stay in character. The meal was pretty good for airplane food, although I had to remind Aimee to put her phone in airplane mode.

July 6, 2025

July 6, 2025

One of the popular activities in Albuquerque, NM is taking a Breaking Bad tour. While Aimee and I very much enjoyed the series, that is too much. We did tip our hat to the locally-filmed show by stopping at Walter White’s gravestone not far from our hotel.

From Albuquerque, we continued north on I-25 taking the El Camino Real trail to its terminus in Santa Fe. Just west of town we made a stop at La Cieneguilla Petroglyphs. This is an Indian rock art site managed by the BLM. Poorly I might add. Signage is almost nonexistent. After failing to find much on the basalt cliff face, we gave up and continued on.

Our next stop was at Santa Fe Community College to see Ethyl the Whale. This is an art installation bought from the Monterey Aquarium. It is made entirely from recycled polyETHYLene plastic, hence the name. It is very cool and I can’t believe how big it is.

We drove into the center of Santa Fe stopping next at the Cross of the Martyrs. The trail up the little hill has a dozen storyboards on the history of Santa Fe. This oldest US capital city was founded in 1610 and was probably the most isolated spot in the Spanish empire. The local Pueblo Indians chafed under Spanish rule and revolted in 1680 killing 21 Franciscan priests. The cross is dedicated to them.

From the hilltop we get a great view of the old town center so we decide to walk there for a tasty fish taco lunch. Afterwards I follow Aimee around as she peruses the many craft and art stores. The large downtown seems to be one large art factory. Besides the stores we see art pieces everywhere. Santa Fe is truly an art colony.

On the way back to the car we stopped by the Basilica of St Francis. I liked the bronze doors of the church. They are modeled after the famous Gates of Paradise at the Cathedral of Florence, Italy.

After a couple hours, we left Santa Fe following the Santa Fe trail. After the US acquired the Southwest from Mexico, this became the main trade route for the city. The terrain changes dramatically climbing into mountains full of juniper and pinyon pines. We also get a few short rain showers. Once over Raton Pass we enter the prairie grasslands of eastern Colorado. We take a break at a rest stop in Colorado City where we relearn about a Comanche-Spanish battle here. It reinforces a Comanche history book we read last year. Juan Bautista de Anza (of Tucson fame) hunted and defeated a Comanche chief here. From then on the two sides respected each other in a peaceful coexistence. Something the Texans to the east could never achieve.

We finished the day in Pueblo, CO, a small city on the Arkansas River. We stopped downtown first for a tasty Indian vegetable curry dinner. Afterwards we strolled their new Historic Riverwalk complex, modeled after the one in San Antonio. It is very well done. Aimee and I were both impressed. The real Arkansas River was rerouted to the south after a devastating flood.

We also saw some extensive artwork and storyboards about Charles Goodnight. We learned about him in Amarillo. He led famous cattle drives bringing Texas Longhorns west and north through here avoiding going anywhere near the Comanches.

We also ran into information on Zebulon Pike. At the same time Lewis and Clark were exploring the northwest, Pike was sent to look for the headwaters of the Arkansas River. He was also testing the boundary with the Spanish. Too close unfortunately. He was captured and sent down the El Camino Trail to Mexico. After his release he wrote a famous account of his expedition of discovery.

July 5, 2005

July 5, 2025

Tucson is heating up so Aimee and I thought we needed a little escape. With the Independence Day holiday now behind us we set out this morning on the highway east. We have the sun in our face and the A/C is having a hard time keeping us cool. After four hours we leave I-10 and take the shortcut to I-25 past Hatch, NM. It is almost noontime and Hatch is known as the Chile Pepper Capital so we find an interesting spot for lunch. It is a little kitschy, decorated with several dozen iconic fast food plastic statues. Surprisingly the food is pretty good. We have chicken smothered in Chile Pepper Cheese sauce.

We follow I-25 north along the Rio Grande valley. It reminds me of Egypt and the Nile; a thin strip of green fertile river inside an inhospitable desert. We are also following the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro or Royal Road of the Interior. Spanish traders and colonists would follow this arduous trail from Mexico City to Santa Fe. Eighty miles north we left the highway and travelled down a dirt road to the Rio Grande. On the banks we found the remnants of Fort Craig Historic Site. This BLM property is overseen by a lonely volunteer RV camper. He said we were only the fifth visitor today. The large fort was built by the US Army to protect trade from Indian attack. While there are a few stone walls, most of it was built of tamped earth and adobe brick which has mostly melted after two centuries of rain.

Surprisingly Fort Craig was also the location of an obscure Civil War battle. Humorously the Southern rebels avoided directly attacking the Union fort because it was heavily defended with fake “Quaker” cannons, logs painted black to look like the real thing. We finished the day in Albuquerque.