Did This Impact You?

On our journey home this year, we stopped for the night near Winslow, Arizona.  Five miles down the road from the RV park was the Meteor Crater landmark.  I don't know how many times we have passed this place, coming or going, during our many years of travel.  We never stopped, probably because we were too focused on our end destination.

This trip, the timing was perfect.  We got to Meteor Crater RV park in the afternoon and had enough
time to visit this one-of-a-kind, unique place.   The meteorite that hit here is estimated to be 150 feet across and weighed several hundred thousand pounds.  The explosion created a hole 700 feet deep and over 4000 feet across.  Twenty football fields could be put on the crater floor and 2 million fans could watch from the walls.  Think of how loud that would be with all the screaming going on!

In 1902 an engineer from Philadelphia, Daniel Barringer, bought the 2 square miles of land that encompasses the crater.  He spent the next 26 years digging for the large mass of molten rock, never succeeding since it disintegrated upon impact.  One other interesting fact that we found out during a discussion with a worker:  in 1957 a small plane was flying inside and crashed.  There is one small piece left of the plane on the floor, but the rest was pushed down the mine shaft created by Barringer.  After that, no planes were allowed.

From 1963 through 1970, Apollo astronauts trained here because the surface was so similar to the moon.  So, I guess you could consider this as the only link that Arizona has to NASA.

In the patio area of the visitor center is a large wall detailing the various missions by American Astronauts.

Oh, and don't forget to mind the speed limit.....there are special signs along the way:

It's not the Chattanooga Choo Choo

Nope, it's the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad!

This is a trip that we have wanted to do for many years.  The excursion on the narrow gauge railroad goes between Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico, passing from state to state 11 times along the way.  The 64 railroad miles is an all day trip on the train,but a short 1.5 hour ride on the bus to the original departure point.  You have a choice of starting in Chama or Antonito.  As we traveled, we referred quite often to the map that was passed out by the docent.

Patty and Ron Schorr, our friends from Boyd Lake, went with us.  As you can tell from the photo above, we were all dressed for cooler temperatures.  The weatherman had predicted 100% chance of rain for both Chama and Antonito that day.  We came prepared with jackets and an umbrella.  Boy, we were lucky that he was wrong!  The day was partly overcast, but it didn't rain until were were almost back at our hotel in Alamosa.

We traversed many types of landscapes during the trip.  The Lava Tank that is no longer used is located on high desert, with mostly sage brush dotting the hillsides.

Many places in the lower elevations had an abundance of blooming plants, including Blue Lupine,Scarlet Skyrockets, Fleabane and an assortment of yellow wildflowers.

As we climbed in elevation, we were surrounded by Pine and groves of Aspen trees.

 Photo opportunities were in abundance!  The open air car was packed but since there were plenty of open windows and space in several train cars, I didn't have to vie for a place there.  Leaning out the windows was no problem, except for an occasional cinder in my eyes.

As the train stopped to refill it's water tank, Don and Patty leaned out the window.

Here is a view of the 600 foot drop going over the Toltec Gorge, along with a sign near the trestle.

We were nearing the town of Osier, where we were served lunch.  The train coming from Chama had already arrived at the station.

No box lunches here!  Everything was homemade, and you could have turkey dinner with all the trimmings, a meatloaf dinner, soup, salad, choice of desserts and drinks.  If you went away hungry, you had to be a very, very picky eater.

The train continued to climb up to the town of Cumbres, which stands at an elevation of 10,015 feet above sea level.

Finally, after 6 hours, we reached our destination of Chama. If you look closely, Santa was waiting for us. Obviously, his full red suit was too warm for the day, so he opted for a red shirt and shorts instead.  Guess he deserves a vacation too!

Playing in the Sand

Since we were so close to the Great Sand Dunes while staying in Alamosa, we decided to veer a bit out of our way to visit this amazing National park.  This is the view as we drove on the country road in southern Colorado.  The dunes are sandwiched between a high desert landscape and the Sangre de Cristo (blood of Christ) Mountains.

The visitor center had a very interesting 20 minute film that the four of us watched before heading out to the humongous pile of sand.

Usually during this time of the year, there is no water.  But lots of summer rain in the past couple of weeks made the Mendano Creek run again.  There were a lot of families heading up the dunes, their children carrying sleds for sliding down the sandy hills.

 Patty and I posed for a picture before heading up the hill.  We were both thankful that the day was cool and the sand was warm, not HOT!  As we reached the top of the dune closest to us, the wind was blowing and we could feel bits of sand hitting our legs.  Our partners were not as "daring".  They stayed behind in the parking lot.  Both Patty and I ran down the hill and thankfully kept our balance.  I sure didn't want sand in my hair or in my clothes.

Ron and Don's view:

And this is what we looked like as Patty and I headed back to meet up with them:

That's okay.  We still enjoyed our time there.  We were thankful that the Lord blessed us with azure blue skies and sun, especially since the weather predictions were quite different!

Lucky Us!

Yep, lucky us as we visited the Lucky Three Ranch in Loveland.  Also home of the TMD Equine University, there is nary a horse on the property!  This is the home for only mules and donkeys.  

We've been coming to Loveland for 11 years now, and had never heard of this ranch.  Our camp hosting friends, Patty and Ron Schorr, were told about this facility while they were in Texas!  The ranch is owned and run by Meredith Hodges, whose father is the late well known cartoonist, Charles Schulz.

What is now a beautiful and well groomed 126 acre ranch started out as a 10 acre, run down sheep ranch.

This is Ron, Patty, Meredith and us standing by one of the many bronze statues on her property. This particular bronze is called "Leap of Faith", depicting Meredith jumping one of her famous mules.
She has had a world class Reining mule, also Lucky Three Mae Bea C.T., who was a combined Training and Driving Champion who once bested 56 horses in Dressage and Lucky Three Ciji, who won competitions against horses in Side Saddle.  Her knowledge and understanding of the way mules comprehend and act lead her to numerous championships.

This guy is called Roll, and he is huge!  He is a Belgium Draft Mule, now living a comfortable life at the stables.  He and his partner, Rock, were rescued by Meredith after years of abuse.  Sadly, Rock only lived a year after being purchased, despite efforts to completely rehabilitate him.

Don was talking to the miniature donkeys, Augie and Spuds, while Patty looked on.  I wonder if they understood what he was telling them.

As Meredith entered their pen, they were snuggling up to her, wanting some of the good oats she always carries in her fanny pack.

Even if you have no oats, it's hard to ignore these amazing creatures.  Here, I can almost imagine Roll saying to Ron, "Hey, you!  I'm right here!  Where's my treat?"

This cute little guy named Frankie was born in June, 1976, which makes him 41 years old. That is quite old for a donkey, since different sources put the average lifespan between 28 and 34 years.

As we toured the ranch, Meredith told us that when she passes away, she will be cremated and her
ashes will be put in the top hat of this sculpture!  That way, her ashes won't blow away from her final resting place.

This sculpture depicts Meredith jumping Lucky Three Sir Lancelot.  Before our visit here, I would have never imagined a mule competing this way.  Most of the images of mules that I have involve pack animals going down into the Grand Canyon or pulling a plow in the early days of farming.

You know what they say about when we "assume" something....

Well, guess who had the last laugh about that preconception?  Maybe it was Roll, who is pictured here.  I love that photo!

Lonesome Laramie

After touring the prison, we decided to go to the downtown area of Laramie.  I think there were more people at the prison than all of their downtown area!  It's a very pretty and well preserved town, but how in the world can the businesses survive without customers?

 For over 60 years people in Laramie would say, "Meet me at the clock" and everyone would know what they were talking about.

Since Don is not enamored of window shopping, the "task" was left to Doris and me.  I was so glad that she was along as we wandered through the stores, eventually coming across this antique stove and cute stuffed moose.  He reminded me of Bullwinkle.

 I think one of the most beautiful buildings in Laramie is the local Catholic church.  The stonework is absolutely amazing.

I always notice the old paintings on the buildings, like this one for Chesterfield cigarettes.  I wonder, do they still make them any more?  In the 50 's and 60's, they were very popular.  Now, if you live in Colorado, they have been replaced by marijuana joints.  

 We found Don still sitting in the truck, waiting for us.  Time for some coffee at the local Coal Creek Coffee shop where the 3 of us shared a small piece of coffee cake.

The last stop was by the old Laramie train depot.  That was closed for a special event, but we did get to take pictures of the old snow train once used in this part of the country.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable day.  We had a history lesson at the territorial prison, Doris and I spent a little time in the downtown shops and enjoyed the scenery of southern Wyoming.  This is a view of the Snowy Mountain Range as we drove back to Colorado.

Wondering and Wandering in Wyoming

Our day trip took us to Laramie, the site of the Wyoming Territorial Prison, which was in operation as a federal prison from 1872 to 1890, and then as a state prison from 1891 to 1903.  We lucked out this day, not only was it the best weather we had in a week, but there was no entry fee for that day!  Score!

I guess this is what we might have looked like if we had the "pleasure" of having our picture taken with Butch Cassidy and other criminals.  I guess they wouldn't have had sunglasses those days.  Oh, well.

Don was walking along the porch to the warden's house as I took the picture  The house was built in 1875 by the prisoners for a total cost of $3000.  It had 4 bedrooms and stone was quarried out of the nearby river for the large basement.

Work in the prison was mandatory.  There were no workout rooms, TV's or even radios to listen to.  Rules were numerous, and prisoners could only talk to each other outside, and then it had to be related to the work they were doing.    They had to keep their cells immaculate, and air and dust their bedding twice a week.  They could write letters to loved ones only once a month.  However, they were allowed to smoke or chew in their cells!  I can imagine that was one place where smoke was as thick as an ocean fog.

Doris was ahead of me, and was checking out one of the cells used by the convicts.  I bet it was mighty cold in there at times.  In 1875 the convicts took out 700 tons of ice from the nearby river, and exchanged it for coal to be used to heat the prison.

Prisoners did escape, but if they were recaptured, it was not a pretty picture.  One document told of  Convict #182 escaping through the cellar.  When he was found, he was put in the dungeon and cuffed to the ceiling for 14 days and subsequently shackled with a ball and chain for another 6 months.  Yikes!

There was one story that had a positive outcome.  In June, 1877 Clark Pelton started his stage robbing career.  In November, 1877, he was arrested in Deadwood, South Dakota for armed robbery and served time in a St. Paul, Minnesota prison.  After that, he was tried for the murder of Adoph Cuny and sentenced to 4 years in the Wyoming Territorial Prison.  After he was pardoned, he became a successful businessman and merchant, owning a mining claim and a ranch.

He was a friend of the University of Wyoming, a member of various lodges and raised a family.  In fact, he was one of the first men in the area to offer shares in his company to employees!

The rest of the convicts didn't turn out so well.    Minne Huelett Snyder and her husband were convicted of manslaughter and during their imprisonment were not allowed to speak to each other.

Many of the inmates blamed their actions on their addiction to morphine, which was readily available at that time.  I guess some things never change (except now there are no ads for morphine!).

Look at the photo below.  How old do you think this guy is?  I guessed he was in his early teens, but the records showed William Nash as being 21 upon his arrival  He was arrested for check forgery.

But by far, the most infamous of all the convicts here was Butch Cassidy.  He first got into trouble at the tender age of 13.  He was smart, shrewd and he researched all of the places he robbed before hand.  Even the Pinkerton agency and all the law enforcement agencies couldn't outwit him.

The display on the wall marked all the different places he robbed.  Some were banks, others were train robberies.  He was active in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Montana and New Mexico.  He had a large network of friends who could hide him and give him cover when needed.

Below is a photo of a passenger train that was blown up in 1899 with dynamite. Only the safe and the train car were affected.  No passengers were hurt.

Here is a picture of him looking quite dapper.  Guess he had enough money to buy the best of everything during the height of his career.  All the other men in this picture were criminals, those being shot to death, hung from the gallows, committing suicide to prevent capture, and imprisonment.  Only Butch Cassidy's fate has never been confirmed.

Some say that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a gun fight in Bolivia.  The bodies were never identified.  However, his sister published a book in 1975, claiming that he returned home as the prodigal son to his family in Utah.  He joined his bachelor brothers and lived on a sheep camp on a mountain above the family homestead.

So, are you still wondering about what happened to him?  So am I!