native peoples land 9-20 may

the southern colorado rockies were gorgeous this time of year with lots of activity.  pagosa springs our next stop.  aly's cousin and hubby took great care of us.

a common sight along the arkansas river

another common sight

and another

sangre de cristo mountains

treasure falls near pagosa springs

cousin judy and hubby chuck

after leaving the cool temperatures and the tranquility of the rocky mountains in aly's home state of colorado, we headed for the desert southwest via lands inhabited from so very long ago by native peoples.  we took 4 days and explored mesa verde, canyon de chelley, homolovi ruins, took a minute and was 'standing on the corner in winslow, arizona', then off to more historic sights of montezuma's castle and montezuma's well, the tonto natural bridge state park, winding our way through arizona.  from the anasazi to the ancestral puebloans, the hopi to the navajo, the sanagua to the ute, the history being extremely rich and exciting and the construction and use of the land and resources seemingly almost rudimentary yet incredibly complex.

mesa verde, spruce tree house

mesa verde

mesa verde

mesa verde, cliff palace

mesa verde, the mesa

canyon de chelley

canyon de chelley, mummy cave

canyon de chelley, flowers on the north rim

canyon de chelley, navajo fortress rock

'standin' on the corner in winslow, arizona...' see the image of the 'flat bed ford' in the window?

rt 66 and winslow's famous corner

rt 66

montezuma's castle just off I-17 in the verde valley

montezuma's well, near the castle

tonto natural bridge (believed to be the largest travertine bridge in the world) in the state park of the same name near pine and strawberry, arizona

we found our way to scottsdale and cave creek visiting aly's brother and sister in law, cycling with old college friends of aly's and touring the mim museum (musical instrument museum--highly worth a visit).  we drove within feet of one of arizona's blazing forests (literally) and into the land of the blooming saguaro.

arizona's sunflower fire near payson

saguaro blooms

in the mim (musical instrument museum)

buddy, sister in law rae, brother gordon, aly

tim and lena--old college pals of aly's

tim and lena's tegan and gaby--english/australian bull dog sisters

the desert at sunset

as if it weren't hot enough in scottsdale and cave creek, we forged westward to lake havasu city and the colorado river being our last stop in arizona before heading into california.  a wonderland of water sports, moonscape scenery, thee london bridge and temps soaring into the 110s.

lake havasu (basically a wide spot in the colorado river and they call it a lake)

lake havasu in the gorge

more lake

thee london bridge brought over from london and reassembled

rented water sports

lake havasu city from our campground on havasu island

our last eve in arizona

moving westward...talk with you soon.

colorado the beautiful 5-8 may

after camping on the outskirts of denver for 3 nights, we spent a whirlwind long weekend with friends and family.  downtown denver with brother larry and folks.  thanks to those who hosted and fed us, namely the wood's, the smidt's/skipper's and the johnson's.  we loved meeting puppies sadie and jude--we didn't even get their photo.
 

brother Larry, pop Joe, step mom Mary Lou and my Buddy

leaving denver we meandered southerly on the back roads towards garden of the gods, pikes peak and colorado springs.  snow, sleet and rain escorted us the entire 65+ miles while a delicious salmon dinner awaited us at bert's place.

on the way to colorado springs, via deckers

garden of the gods

balanced rock at garden of the gods

garden of the gods

entrance to pikes peak--'America the Beautiful' was written by Katherine Lee Bates in 1893 after her visit to the top

driving up and up and up to the top of pikes peak...SCARY!

the cog railroad--another means to the top of pikes peak (we drove)

summit of pikes peak, co 14,110 ft, 11.30am, 8 may, and 26 degrees

by days end, we found ourselves camped near the 1000+' royal gorge suspension bridge looming high above the arkansas river in central colorado.

self explanatory

the royal gorge suspension bridge over the arkansas river

royal gorge suspension bridge

we continued our journey through the arkansas river canyon and southern colorado on route to arizona and california...stay tuned for the next update.  gravy loves the snow, we recently turned over 20,000 miles on our pw (pleasure-way rv for those of you who don't know) and we are both feeling well.  hope the same for you.  

texas to denver and some 1-4 may

while walking around the lake in southwestern kansas in lovely meade state park, we asked ourselves, 'wonder what the rich and famous are doing right now'?....we had the entire lake and state park to ourselves and felt very rich and very fortunate.  traveling off main roads you really do find some of the most beautiful places.  the richness we found after leaving home may day, was just outside meade, ks, just north of the 37 mile 'handle' of the oklahoma pan handle.

camping at meade st park, kansas

we made our way through western kansas bound for denver.  the 1st sight of the rockies a sure giveaway that the front range, where denver is located, is not far off.  lots of semi trucks and road construction, but we expect this as summer will soon be in full swing.

we arrived at my folks house just in time for dinner, then got settled into our lovely camp sight at bear creek lake park nestled in the foothills just outside of denver.  3 lovely nights, perfect summer weather, and miles of hiking and biking trails which we took advantage of.

aly resting on the shores of bear creek lake, co

a refreshing creek in the park

buddy with aly's lifetime friend and family