Stacy: Day 5 (July 24, 2015)

My next two journal entries will be short/written differently because I'm exhausted.

Garden of the Gods: So amazingly beautiful! One of them, visible from the Visitors Center, looks like a Stegosaurus. :o) Kim handed the real camera to me, and apparently I went hog wild... she used her phone. I'm sure Kim will post some pics, but here's one.

While we were playing tourist, taking photos like crazy, a man with a professional camera and a woman with a clip board walked up to us. They asked if we'd mind having our images used in a pamphlet, and (once we said, "SURE!") had us sign waivers. They were from the University of Colorado Health System, and the pamphlet should be on their website sometime in October through December of this year. That's no guarantee that we'll be in it, but still... one can hope. :oD

Continuing on our way: We found a neat GeoCache near a "Haunted" and abandoned power plant. I was so engrossed in reading its description that we initially passed it. But, Kim was kind, and turned around. It was only 1.5 miles away.

Blanca Peak: We saw yet another "Fourteener," as they call them: the tallest mountains in Colorado, all above 14,000 feet, but this time didn't go up to its summit. Instead, we went around it a bit, to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. This area of Colorado is definitely beautiful, but so far the rocky coasts of Maine are my favorite USA landscape.

Yeah, so, sand dunes. Kim is insane. But, we all knew that each of us in this family is insane................. The weather was really nice when we arrived: Big, puffy clouds and a fairly cool temperature for bright sand. When it came time to go out to the dunes, the sky had become more cloudy, and we could see rai on one of the mountain ranges. We grabbed our cardboard boxes (to use for sliding down the dunes), and walked quickly to the small river.

Just to get it out there, no, we did not get stuck in the rain out on the dunes! I know how my writing is sounding, but remember: exhausted. We climbed the closest and smallest dune. I don't know how anyone makes it to the top of the tallest dunes at 750 feet.

The wind. Oh, the wind. It wasn't so much the wind whipping sand at my shins. It was more... carrying a large piece of cardboard in a strong wind. That's not easy. Not at all. Turns out, cardboard doesn't work. Bummer. But, at least we tried! Well, Abby tried. The cardboard was still useful, however. We used it to sit on as we took off/put on our shoes before/after crossing the sometimes ankle-deep "river".

Oh, I stepped on a special cricket on a sand bank in the middle of the river. He wouldn't let go of my toe!

At least it was cool enough for us to walk barefoot on the dunes. Sand at the beach was hotter than the dunes that day! I saw one person write that you should never wear sandals on the dunes themselves because the temperature can get so high on the actual dunes. We did not have that problem.

The rains caught up to us as we drove to our next destination: Treasure Falls. We were losing light as we made our way through the last of Colorado's plains, and entered Wolf Creek Pass (one of the few passes through the Rockies). We stopped and took photos at what we believe was the Rio Grande early on. But, we're not sure at all. It was definitely beautiful, though.

Treasure Falls: It was now technically past sunset, but we were determined to see it! We walked quite quickly up the path-1/2 mile round trip-and my heard was beating quickly. Having been above 5000 feet for 2 days already, and climbing 1000 feet each day (in the car), for the first time, I was being affected by the higher altitude (just shy of 8300 feet). I wasn't necessarily light-headed or queasy, but just felt something was disconcerting about my heart. I made sure to steady my breathing, but continued walking (a bit slower). I wanted to see it!

WOW! What a sight! Even when mostly shrouded in the darkness of dusk in the mountains. I was perfectly fine as we descended back to the car.

Back in the car, we completed our ascent in the mountains, and crossed the Continental Divide. Upon turning a "corner," we were treated to an absolutely stunning sunset. We had intended to take our sunset pic at Treasure Falls, but decided this-even without us in it-was too amazing not to use.

Finally, after holding our bladders for far too long [there's absolutely nothing for hours!!], we made it to our hotel.

Straight out of the Victorian West, this hotel made us feel out-of-era. Seriously. Even the dining staff in the restaurant are dressed up! The women are wearing... um, period clothing that is slightly revealing. Perhaps almost can-can dancer-esq? I'm not sure. Men's clothing hasn't really changed much. The bartender was wearing a crisp white shirt and a patterned teal vest. The desk clerk was wearing much the same as the bartender, but his vest was black. The elevator was retro-fitted into the 100 year old building, and is tiiiiiny! The entire place has very few modern pieces in the halls, dining areas, and even rooms. There is a TV, and the bathrooms are modern, but the furniture and decorations are straight out of the 1800s.

After taking a self-guided tour of the hotel, we went to bed.

I'll write Day 6 tomorrow, and will hopefully catch up. We shall see!!! Tomorrow we're spending the entire day at Mesa Verde.

This is one of my majorly anticipated stops. I seemed to hurt my knee on the 24th, and have trouble walking up/down stairs and even slight inclines. Let's hope that it heals enough so I can do some stuff at Mesa Verde!!!!!