Colorado Trip, Part Two

I met Gail at the Denver Airport.  We then drove for 90 minutes to The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.

 The Stanley was built in the early 1900's by identical twins F.E. and F.O.

 Although they are remembered for manufacturing the Stanley Steamer,  they made their fortune in patenting their dry plate photographic process.  Stories abound how the Stanley Steamer was fast, but could not be stopped or turned very well.  It could use any burnable liquid to run!

The Stanley Hotel is now famous for being Stephen King's inspiration for The Shining, which he worked on while staying in Room 217.  The film from the book plays on a continuous loop on the room TV's (see below).  The haunted Stanley sells out immediately each year for the Halloween nights.

Yes, that is Gail taunting Jack Nicholson.

 I thought for sure this picture  hanging in the lobby stairway was of Dick Cheney.  It turned out to be one of the Stanley Hotel administrators, however.

 This was our ghost tour leader Thursday night.  The hotel really is embracing the whole "haunted" theme.

 The Stanley's paint used to be golden-yellow because it was mixed with gold dust!

 The view of the Rockies is superb!

 Gail tried to get into the famous Room 217, but the spirits were not cooperating.

 Here we are in the tunnel under The Stanley on a historical tour.  Our guide was excellent, and expertly pulled in the two kids on the tour to make it fun and exciting for them.

 In the tunnel, we could sense we were in a vortex, something creepy.

 The next morning brought a light snow and rain mix.

Well, it was time to drive to Denver for our one night stand there.

 We gamely took the bus into downtown, and found that Larimer Square was having a Day of the Dead celebration.  We had a fun people watching window seat to eat pizza from.

 Saturday morning was cold but clear, and we hit the bike paths that Denver is famous for.  We were about seven miles from downtown, but took the Cherry Creek trail all the way in without having to mix with cars. All cities should be like this!

The trail was clean and adorned with numerous murals.  We followed the creek all the way.

 Here comes Gail!

 Heading into LoDo, we passed this mural.

Well, it was time to leave and drive to Colorado Springs where we would prepare for our night of Trick or Treating with the Johansons.

 In Old Colorado Springs, we checked into our B&B, Spurs and Lace.

 It was run by the most charming couple, Leo and Joyce.

 The main street was having a big family daytime Halloween event, with all the stores passing out candy.  There was this haunted house we went through, also.

 There were actually hundreds of kids, not evident in this picture.

We immediately felt right at home at Andria's, helped by a full salon treatment.  Susanna working on Gail's tangles, here.

Then, as the sun began to sink, we prepared for the big night.  We had a hybrid theme this year.  The kids insisted on Star Wars, and the adults went with the 1999 classic, The Matrix.

 This was the result - the usual mayhem and wardrobe malfunctions, but a whole lot of fun!

 Will it be the red pill, or the blue?  Don't you think I'm a convincing Morpheus even though I'm white, and have my glasses Scotch taped to my forehead?

 Well, Dave (Neo) and Andria (Trinity) were actually much more in character.

Gail was a lively Switch, (not what her sister called "a hipster granny").

Happy Halloween!!!

Stay tuned for part three, the return to California through The Southwest.

Colorado Trip, Part One

On Wednesday, October 21st, I drove to Colorado Springs to spend time with Andria's family.  Gail flew out to join me in Denver on the 29th.  The following post covers the time up until Gail came out.

The first night, I stayed in an unremarkable part of Flagstaff, Arizona.  The next day, I made it to Santa Fe, and had time to walk around this gorgeous city.

 The Georgia O'keeffe Research Center was striking with the turning leaves, and beautiful sky.

 I walked up Canyon Road with its more than 80 art galleries.

 The last light of the day.

 The Pueblo style of most of the buildings blends well.

 Sculpture garden.

On Friday, I made it to Colorado Springs, and the Williams/Johanson household.

 Nora's class was all given a kit for making bread over the weekend.  She launched right into it, making a loaf and cinnamon buns for the family, and another loaf for charity.  She did a fine job!

 I was honored that Stella quickly sought me out.

Saturday morning, and the view of Pike's Peak from the deck.

Magpies seem to be scattered all over the area.

Sunday, we went to the zoo, which is small, well run, and  family friendly.

 We fed lettuce to the giraffes, whose tongues would make anyone smile.

 The reptiles were creatively housed.  Note the gator in the pool.

 Susanna bravely feeding this giraffe.

 They seemed to enjoy being scratched, too!

 The giraffe whisperer doing her thing.

 We all got in on the action.  Soren searches for the right giraffe.

 Two lion cubs wrestling with a pumpkin.

 The zoo is on a steep mountainside.  It has great views of the city below.

 Nora feeding a budgie.

 Soren enjoying a budgie of his own.

 The river otters were doing synchronized swimming that was mesmerizing!

 The kids said enough to walking and opted for this ATV. (It was non-functional).

We ended our zoo visit with a ride on the ski lift.

On Monday, Andria drove Susanna and me out into the country to see her horse friends, and the area where she is taking riding lessons.  We fed these three "paints" carrots.

 Susanna warmed up to these beautiful horses, and fed them carrots.

What a good looking threesome!

Gentle horses!

Susanna got to test out her umbrella she got at the zoo.  We later did a rain walk together.

 On Tuesday, I took an afternoon hike in the nearby mountains, reaching an altitude of about 9,300 feet.  I stopped to admire this waterfall on the way to the trail head.

 Pretty stream and fall colors.

 This area is steep and rugged.

 The trail climbed and crossed this slide area.

I passed through this aspen grove before turning back.

 I took a little hike on Wednesday at Garden of the Gods, about 20 minutes from the house.

I found great hiking trails south of the main features with few people.

If you're wondering "Where's Dave?", he had to work PM shifts and sleep through much of the day.  Don't worry, though, he will make an appearance on the next post.  Tomorrow, I meet Gail in Denver - wahoo!!!