Day 11 - Flagstaff, Arizona to Home

Sometimes things just don't worked as planned and last night was one of them. Barb was very sick and we were up most of the night. Our plan for the day was to drive to Chino Valley, Arizona, and have breakfast with good friends that were neighbors back in our Redmond, Oregon days. However, we thought it best to just head home. As the sun was coming up, Barb thought she could make the 2 1/2 hour trip and off we went. Not the best way to end a trip, but at least it come at the end.

Orverall, a great drive and fun time.

Day 10 - Farmington, New Mexico to Flagstaff, Arizona

Tired and going to bed at 7:30 usually means up early and we were. Very early, as in just getting light. Anyway we packed up and headed to Ron's for a quick breakfast sandwich. Next up gas and westbound on US 64 to Shiprock and then South on US 491. Both highways alternated between good and needing a lot of repair, but both were 4 lane, so all was good.

US 491 took us to Gallup on Interstate 40 and the Starbucks visited eight days ago. Having recently driven this stretch of Interstate 40, there was nothing new and today it was just getting from one place to another. We made one stop for a walk around and another in Holbrook for a latte.

Arriving in Flagstaff too early to check in, we drove another 20 miles to Williams to check out the railroad hotel there. We prefer the other two. As it was lunch time, we decided on the Goldies Route 66 Diner. What a good choice. Kinda like a old time diner.

Barb Liked the diner	Haven't seen one of these in years

Heading back to Flagstaff, Barb called and found we could check in early. 5:00 reservation at Red Lobster for a lite dinner and probably an early night.

Tomorrow we head home, but first a side trip to have breakfast with very good friends in Chino Valley, Arizona.

Day 9 - Colorado Springs, Colorado to Farmington, New Mexico

Out very early and in the dark to avoid the "go to work traffic" on interstate 25. It worked. A very quick and safe drive to Pueble, Colorado and breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

After breakfast we continued on Interstate 25 to Walsenburg and then took US 160 West. This is a drive we have made many times while living in Colorado to visit friends in South Fork, Colorado.

La Veta Pass on US 160 tops out at 9,426 feet, just South of the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) mountain range. This range has three of colorado's fifty-eight 14,000 plus mountains. There several other Fourteeners are close by and in most directions there are tall mountains.

Sixtten miles or so North of US 160 is the Great Sand Dunes Nation Park and Preserve, which seems out of place amongst so many mountains.

Continuing West on US 160 we passed through Alamosa, Monte Vista, Del Norte and South Fork. Mostly small towns ranging in population from 500 up 9,845. All of these are on or near the Rio Grande River, which I have taken a few nice trout from.

A few miles West of South Fork we starting climbing, eventually reaching 10,856 feet at Wolf Creek Pass, followed by a 7% downgrade into a very bueatiful valley.

Pagosa Springs was the next town and it is one that does not bring back fond memories. Back on October 24, 2010, we hit a deer just outside Pagosa Springs, when heading back home after two month drive around the country. We eventually made it home in a rental, while our insurance company invested over $9,000 in a very badly damaged Honda Accord.

The rest of the drive into Farmington, New Mexico, was uneventful. Tomorrow we have a short drive to Flagstaff, Arizona, for our last overnight before home.

Day 8 - Around Colorado Springs

As expected we showed up at Einstein Bagels to share another bagel sandwich. Will be the last for this trip.

Last night we were told of all the growth off Interstate 25 North of town, so decided to take a look. Its true, what was in our time mostly grassland is now almost entirely built up. Big office buildings, hotels and strip malls. Its all there. Including a couple of Starbucks.

With nothing to do till lunch, we headed to South end of town to wander the around the Citael Mall. We were hoping it wouldn't be mostly shut down like the one the other day. We arrived a little before 10:00, only to find it didn't open till 11:00. So it was back to the hotel to do a little packing and await lunch time.

Well, we did a little packing and then went to Marigold again for their French onion soup. Still the best.

Took one last drive up to Peregrine. This is the house we had built in 1995, when we moved from Portland to The Springs.

This was really a beautiful home. Three story, 4,200 square feet, four bedrooms, four baths, large woodshop and great views. All for two people. We are now in the one story stage of life.

Had a great dinner and conversation with good friend Steve at P.F Chang's. Steve is one Colorado Springs friend we get to see often, as he visits Arizona most every year.

Packing is mostly done now. Hopefully and early start tomorrow for our drive to Farmington, New Mexico. Only two more nights and we will be home.

Day 7 - Around Colorado Springs, Colorado

It is now an offical habit that we start the day splitting a Einstein bagel. Then it was back to the hotel to wait for the weather to warm up just a little. Not really used to cold mornings.

We tested Interstate 25 South to see what the traffic might be like when we leave in two days. Not bad, moving a lot better than I thought it would. Next up was to getting gas, which was just a bit less expensive than at home. Then it was off to The Garden of the Gods.

So today's post is going to be mostly about The Garden of he Gods. Colorado Springs has the Air Force Academy, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, nearby 14,110 foot Pickes Peak and many other worthy attractions. But for me, The Garden of the Gods tops them all. All of the following photos can be enlarged by clicking. But first a video.

Click on photos to enlarge:

The photos represent just a small part of the park. Paths wind through the area and you ony realize the height of these slabs of pink sandstone and limestone they are when you are actualy among them.

We took another drive up around Peregrine and then headed to lunch. Needing something on the healthy side opted for salad and soup at Olive Garden.

Barb did some housekeeping (also known a laundry), while I worked on getting the photos ready for the Blog.

Had a great time at dinner tonight at Jose Muldoon's. Joining us were three very, very good friends from my working days. Talking about the old days brought back a lot of memories.

Tomorrow we have no plans, so will be starting with a clean slate.

Day 6 - Around Colorado Springs, Colorado

Last night I finally figured out how to fix the adding photos problem, so I'm posting one I meant to do earlier. I've never had a problem before, but it seems switching to the Chome browser solved the problem. This was taken at the Santa Fe Plaza the first day we were day.

Started the day by splitting an Einstein bagel and then back to our room to put up the Service Room sign. Then it was off to Cripple Creek.

Starting out early meant Interstate 25 South was an easy drive, as was US 24 westbound. Starbucks in Woodland Park, Colorado showed up as expected and provided a mocha to fuel the morning. We continued on US 24 to Divide, Colorado, and then headed South on Colorado 87.

This is not a two lane highway you want to take in winter. Topping out at 10,205 feet, with a few severe dropoffs and curves to match, the guardrails offer evidence of driver mistakes. On the other hand, it is a very bueatiful drive, with tall trees, mountains and the kind of views that distract drivers.

Looking down on Cripple Creek. Most of the building to the left are hotel/casinos. Note the small white cross in the foreground. There were many of these down the hillside.

This is looking down part of East Bennett Avenue. Most buildings on both sides of the street are casinos. East Bennett doesn't look very steep. Just a small hill, but at 9,494 feet a small hill becomes a big hill if you are not used to the altitude. We weren't.

I don't know if its the state of the economy, but every slot (and there were a lot of them) I saw in Bronco Billy's was 1 cent. Now you could opt to play 5 to 30 cents per pull, but you could also have a 100 pulls per dollar. If you win a few cents every 10 pulls, you play a long time on a double sawbuck.

And how do I know all this? Well, I went into Bronco Billy's, put my twenty bucks in and 10 minutes later walked away a winner. I considered it a win as I didn't put another twenty in.

Avoiding anymore casinos, we were off on County Road 1 to Florissant, Colorado. Again a nice drive in the country. Then back down US 24 and Interstate 25 to Biaggi's for a bowl of soup.

Later we met old friends Randy and Ivy for dinner at the Bonefish Grill. What an excellent choice and what a fun time to talk over old and new times. A very nice way to end a day.

Tomorrow we will revisit The Garden of the Gods. Hopefully we will find a parking spot and be able to walk among the rocks.

Day 5 - Around Colorado Springs, Colorado

Two immediate missions to start the day. First was breakfast, so we headed to Einstein Bagels to split a breakfast sandwich. Second, we needed to find Barb a hoodie to protect her from the cold. Cold that is compared to Arizona.

Since the shops didn't open until 10:00, we drove up to Peregrine to check out our old home. Other than a new coat of paint, it looked the same as when we had it built in 1995. Rising to over 7,200 feet, Peregrine is mountainside residential community surrounded by pine trees and Colorado's red rocks. We miss it.

Once back at The Promenade Shops At Briargate (pretty fancy name, right?), it wasn't too long before Barb found the hoodie she wanted. Now cold mornings and over airconditioned restaurants will no longer be an issue.

After a little more driving around, we headed to Marigold Cafe and Bakery for lunch. This place has the very best French onion soup and it was all I ever ordered when living in The Springs. Just as good today as back then.

After lunch the day kinda went South. First on our afternoon list was a visit to The Garden of the Gods. This is an amazing place and as soon as Iremember how to put photos up I will do so. We learned quickly that one does not want to visit The Garden of the Gods on a Saturday afternoon. I don't ever remember seeing this many cars before, but then it has been over 20 years and my memory may not be quite what it once was. We managed to take a quick route through, passing several parking lots that were full with people waiting to get in.

The second item on our list was to visit Old Colorado City, which is a few blocks of interesting shops to poke through. Again too many cars and no parking.

We will try both of these again on Monday, when everyone should be back to work. In the meantime, we decided to take a drive up Highway 24 as far as Woodland Park. A short, but scenic drive and one I made many times to fly fish the South Platt at Deckers, Colorado. Well, we didn't get as far as Woodland Park, turning around about halfway. Traffic was heavy and moving fast. So we took the long way back to the hotel and made plans for dinner.

Having dinner with friends the next three nights, we opted to share a hamgurger at Bad Daddy's Burger Bar and it was a good choice. Very good burger and the sauce for the fries was outstanding. Picked up a Starbucks Latte and took a short drive up to the golf course I played a lot back in the day.

In spite of the problems we had with traffic and crowds, it was another fun day. Tomorrow we hope to get out early and head up to Cripple Creek. I say up to because the highway there will take us up near 11,000 feet. Hopefully the slots will be kind.

Day 4 - Santa Fe, New Mexico to Colorado Springs, Colorado

Started the day with another very good breakfast courtsey of the Inn. After packing, loading the car we were off for our next overnight in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Shortly after leaving Santa Fe, we passed by Glorieta, New Mexico, which was the site of the only Civil War battle in New Mexico. Sometiimes called the Gettyesburg of the West, it ended the Confederate hopes of accessing mineral resources in Colorado. While a tactical win for the South, it was a strategic win for the North.

Further on we we had two reasons to pause in Las Vegas, New Mexico. First, was a stop to check out the Castandea Hotel. The Castandea is one one of three old railroad hotels in New Mexico and Arizona. The other two are La Posada in Winslow, Arizona and the Grand Canyon Railroad Hotel in Williams, Arizona. These are old hotels that have been refurbished with modern amenities, but retaining their old world charm. We have stayed in La Posada and Castandea is now on our to do list. Second, Las Vegas had the only Starbucks for several hundred miles.

The drive through Northern New Mexico is a beautiful one. For the most part excellent road surface and visually very pleasing to the eye. Except for the number of crosses planted beside the highway. We must have passed six or seven, the worse of which was a group of five all planted together. Most were located where you would think there was no chance for an accident.

In the many times we have traveled Interstated 25, we have never stopped in Wagon Mound, New Mexico. In fact, we have never even thought of stopping. Years ago, Barb had a friend who retired and moved to Wagon Mound, so this time I took the exit to see what Wagon Mound was about. With a population of 264 harty souls we didn't expect much and got less. Most of the downtown, all of two blocks, was mostly buildings with plywood windows and door. Wagon Mounds claim to fame is a nearby butte named, strangely enough, Wagon Mound, which was a landmark for wagon trains on the Santa Fe Trail.

Just before entering Colorado, we made it over the Raton Pass, elevation 7,834 without incident. In the past we have encountered one lane, with snow up to the car's side windows.

Lunch was so bad it will receive no further mention. Our motel for the next five night also will not receive further mention. Dinner at Biaggi's was the bright spot of the afternoon. Biaggi's was the site of my company retirement dinner twenty plus years ago.

Tomorrow we do stuff around Colorado Springs.

Day 3 - Around Santa Fe, New Mexico

Started the day with a great breakfast at the hotel. Far and away better than the usual found at most overnights. And it was included with the room.

After breakfast we walked to Starbucks for a mocha and then found a sunny bench in the plaza. Lot of activity in the streets surronding the plaza. Vendors were starting to set up for a three day festival that starts tomorrow. Looks like it should be a good time, with music, food and probably an ample supply of pottery, jewelry thrown in. Too bad we will mis it. Since it was early and shops hadn't opened yet, we headed back to our room to rest up for the shopping that lay ahead.

For three hours we looked for that pair of earings and for three hours they remained elusive. By 1:00 it was time for water and a break, so it was back to the room.

When there is shoppinng to do, returning to the room can be a problem. Both of us decided to take naps and time did fly by. When we awoke and saw the weather predicted rain, we decided to cancel dinner at The Shed and any further shopping on the plaza.

Just past 4:00 we headed down to the complimentary happy hour. We both opted for Cream Sherry and then headed to dinner at the hotel. By this time it was raining hard, with very loud thunder. Glad we cancelled The Shed, as we both had forgotton coats of any kind.

Barb ordered a Quesadilla, while I chose Blue Corn Chicken Enchiladas. Both were very good. Cuisine of Northern New Mexico differs from that of Mexico, in that there is a heavy reliance of chile peppers and the use unique ingredients like blue corn and pinon nuts.

Then it was back to the room to start packing for the drive to Colorado Springs.

Day 2 - Gallup, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico

Up at 6:00 (an hour before the alarm) and down for the hotel (in name only) breakfast by 6:45. A short drive back to the West got a Starbucks mocha and then it was off again Eastbound on Interstate 40.

New Mexico is a very pretty state when the sun is coming up. Not that it isn't pretty at other times of the day, but the sun shining over, around and off of the mountains, mesas and red rock outcroppings really is a beautiful sight in the early morning.

Interstate 40 changes quickly from smooth to rough. I'm guessing a combination of winter weather and the abundance of trucks takes it's toll. Dodging the not so filled in potholes quickly becomes an art, which I have nearly mastered. Besides the potholes, another interesting feature is the number of damaged guardrails. And by damaged I don't mean just a small dent. Drivers are taking out 10, 20, 30 or more feet of guardrail, along with the rather substantial posts that secure them in place.

New Mexico is a land of (pick one) indigenous people, native Americans or Indians. Today we passed through the Sandia, San Felipe, Acoma, Laguna and Santo Domingo Pubelos. There may have been more, but not less. Pubelos are not Reservations. Pubelo Indians were granted their land by a 1848 treaty between the United Stated and Mexico.

Arriving in Santa Fe much too early to check in, we did our usual walk up to the Plaza, stopping to visit some of the Indian pottery, jewelry and art establishments that inhabit old downtown. Purchases will be saved till tommorrow after all establishments have been inspected or until Barb finds the earings she wants. At which point it's mission accomplished.

After Some serious window shopping we returned to our upgraded room at The Inn of the Governors. We have been staying there for around 24+ years and always seem to get an upgrade to a suite in The Governors Wing. The Inn is two blocks from the plaza and near everything that matters, like all those pottery, jewerly and art establishments. It's also near really great restaurants like Coyote Cafe, The Shed, and La Plazuela. Tonight it was La Plazuela for really great Northern New Mexico cuisine and tomorrow we will visit our old friend The Shed.

All in all another great day. Now if we can just find thoses earings Santa Fe will be a success.

Day 1 - Home to Gallup, New Mexico

Out the door and on the road at 8:04 AM for a long overdue drive through Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. We headed North on Interstate 17 toward Flagstaff, Arizona, with only a quick stop in Anrthem, Arizona for a Starbucks. Reaching Flagstaff we turned East on Interstate 40 to our first overnight in Gallup, New Mexico. As with most trips, the first day is usually just getting somewhere to start the trip and today that somewhere was Gallup.

We have driven this route so many times that we expected nothing new and weren't disappointed. Two Arrows was still there, but missing an arrow. Two Guns had no guns at all. The Painted Dessert, Petrified Forest and Meteor Crater National Landmark remain remarkably intact. We passed on Apache Death Cave (who needs death on the first day) and $29 each is a little rich to see a hole in the ground.

One town of note along the way was Winslow, Arizona, home of "Standin' On The Corner In Winslow, Arizona" fame. Winslow is also home of La Posada Hotel, which is one of three remaining old railroad hotels in Arizona and New Mexico. The recently brought back to life Castaneda Hotel in Las Vegas, New Mexico, is our next Railroad Hotel to try. Our arrival in Winslow marked the change from AM to PM and got us a 6" Subway sandwich to split.

The drive from lunch to Gallup was uneventful, except for the number of trains heading both East and West. And only the number of trains, but the length. Some had three engines in front, three engines in the middle and two engines at the rear. These trains went on forever and most were stacked two high with containers. Receiving on average one or two Amazon delivers a week, I was not surprised at the number of Amazon containers moving both directions.

Our Overnight was upgraded to a King Suite, which turned out to be very nice. Dinner was at Don Diego's and was very good, with a very reasonable price. All in all a good day. Hopefully the first of many. Tomorrow we are headed to Santa Fe for two nights.