Southern Colorado Family trip, some rocking PIC HEAVY

A few weeks ago our oldest son had fairly major surgery. School starts next week so we had been waiting to see if it might work for us to take a family trip before summer is over, but his condition and ability to travel were the unknown.

Well he's been doing well so last Monday we packed the minivan and headed south. As per our normal routine we had no plans, no reservations and no idea what the time would bring.

My oldest daughter is driving now, so she got us headed south on I25 and I had a chance to catch up on work email and start looking for a place to stay. I managed to book a suite in Colorado Springs that had enough beds for all 6 of us, and included continental breakfast - AND wasn't too expensive.

We pulled in late in the day. Denver traffic, really all traffic from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs - has gotten so bad that it took us 6 hours to make the 2 hour trip. I hate this traffic mess and will do almost anything to avoid it, although in this instance I could not. After a quick dinner we got settled into the hotel and everyone went to bed.

Tuesday morning we got up, had our free continental breakfast and headed to Garden of the Gods, only a few minutes from the Quality Inn.







After exploring the park for an hour or so, we headed out to the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings. It is a fairly small area, and has a lot of obvious modern updates, but the museum was cool and the cliff dwellings were pretty neat.

For the money, I probably wouldn't do it again. It was over $60 for our family to see the few hundred feet of (I believe) reconstructed dwellings and walk through the extensive gift shop and the museum. The museum was really well done, but also small.

Grinding corn




Exploring the ruins





We grabbed lunch and thought we'd try to get to Pike's Peak. We got to the base and it was raining. They said that the summit was closed and we'd be ahead to come back the next day.

We took some time to stop into the rock shop at the base of the road up to Pike's Peak and OH BOY did they have some deals. I got 20 16" strands of chip stone beads, moonstone, malachite, blue topaz, prehnite, garnet - and they were on a screaming deal. My wife got herself a nice OJ bead necklace and a matching one for her mom for her birthday coming up. The kids all got a few odds and ends. Everything was half off and it was great to chat with the owner, who isn't normally there except that his store attendant had jury duty, so we got some extra-special deals.

After leaving the shop we drove a bit just to see some of southern Colorado - and really enjoyed it. The rain made it a good day to be in the car. We explored up 24 to Florissant, where the fossil beds are (plants and insects). I popped into the rock shop and was underwhelmed. It had a few local specimens, some blah stuff you see everywhere, and some nice stuff that wasn't for sale that the attendant couldn't identify except to say they had purchased it at last year's Denver show.

From there we headed through Cripple Creek. It is all casinos but there is a visitor's center that is supposed to be good, which was closed, and a large gold mine that you can tour - but was expensive so we passed. All the while it rained so we didn't get out on foot to explore.

We had dinner and got back to the same hotel in Colorado Springs from the first night.

The next morning we got up and I sent everyone to breakfast while I caught up on some work I hadn't been able to finish the night before. We finally checked out of the hotel and pulled out of Colorado Springs around 10 am and headed toward Pike's Peak again.

The day was gorgeous and the weather was perfect, so we paid our fee and headed up the mountain. They said it would take an hour and it was about 90 minutes. There are folks from all over driving up and some are a little less comfortable with the drive, and don't have enough courtesy to pull off and let the mile-long train of cars behind them pass...

We got to the top and the view did not disappoint.







Some old grafitti:


We got our fill and headed down the mountain, and on to Lake George, where I took the kids to the mining claims of the club I joined with rockroller a few weeks ago. I didn't have the truck this time so we had to hike a mile or so into the area where we could dig.

The kids all just surface collected on old diggings and found a few points each, and were all thrilled. I can't wait to get back when we have some real time and hopefully get them digging for real treasures.




My wife stayed in the car and read her book, so we didn't want to leave her alone too long, and made our way to the car and then got on the road toward Fairplay in South Park.




I couldn't find any hotel rooms under $300/night using the normal search tools, so I looked up the Fairplay Grand Hotel (where I spent a frigid night several years ago when I took the kids to look for blue barite crystals in Hartsel) - and they had a room for under $100/night that would sleep us all. I went ahead and booked it for 3 nights into the weekend because everywhere I had looked was very booked and very expensive. I figured what we saved in dollars we'd pay for in drive time, but it ended up being a great place.





This place has character. It is over 100 years old. It has a nice restaurant and an OK bar in the building. There was no soap in the bathroom and just like our stay several years ago we were warned it would get cold at night and to take advantage of the down comforters on all the beds. It poured rain the first night and the roof leaked above us. Only a few drips ever made it into the room. The place is very quiet. Fairplay is not a busy town and we never heard traffic, sirens, or drunks in the street.

The next morning was another clear day, so we got up early and headed to Buena Vista for breakfast. On the way we saw signs for the Gem and Mineral show. I'd known there was a show in August but had forgotten about it. All the kids wanted to go and of course I did as well, but we kept to our plan and had a quick breakfast and then headed to Leadville to take the historic train ride.

This train ride was not cheap, it cost us almost $200 for our family, but it was well worth it. It lasted about 2.5 hours and was beautiful.





There are miles of old telegraph wire still along the tracks



The views, as I mentioned, are stellar




At one point zip liners flew overhead



At the halfway point, the train stops and you can get out and explore the engine, caboose and old water tower




All the kids took a turn in the engineer's seat, and he gave them all a smashed penny as a memento







After the break everyone loaded back into the train and we headed back the 9 miles to Leadville. There is an old depot there and the original steam engine that used to run the line




We had a great time on the train, then headed into the old town area to grab lunch and so the ladies could shop.





There was some cycling event the coming weekend, so cyclists were everywhere and there was all sorts of activity and prep work for the event. Lots of pedestrians and very slow going driving in town. We went to the mining hall of fame but we were getting tired and the musuem was expensive, and having spent so much on the train opted to move along.

We went back through Buena Vista, and even though it was nearing 5PM I wanted to see the gem and mineral show.

You could see the event from a mile away



lots of vendors, it seemed pretty big




I was pleasantly surprised to find a booth manned by members of my local Fort Collins club



I only explored a little, but was pretty excited about what I saw. I purchased some rough and some slabs, but only made it to a handful of vendors before it felt pretty late.

We grabbed dinner in town and then headed back to Fairplay for the night.



The next morning, the last full day, we wanted to go see the Great Sand Dunes National Monument.

We left not too early, after a nice breakfast in Fairplay.

Near Villa Grove, there is a turn to the abandoned mining town of Bonanza.

We headed up the road to see what it was like.




There were a lot of old abandoned buildings and several former town sites on the way up.



The town itself was still fairly inhabited, it appeared as most of the old buildings had been re-purposed into either vacation or bug-out homes. I didn't want to tick anyone off so I didn't take photos in the town. All the old buildings had outhouses and many had mine entrances behind the house. It was a pretty drive and an interesting side trip, I wouldn't make it a destination though.

We got back on our way and the dunes started to come into view






Our total admission was $6. This was a great relief after an otherwise fairly expensive week (for us) - and that was the best-spent money of the week, by far.

The river that separates the road and the parking from the dunes was all but dry and an easy walk to cross. Earlier in the summer it runs higher and can be more of a challenge (and much colder) to cross




Lots of visitors, but the place is huge. The dunes are the tallest in North America, 2000 feet vertical. The sense of scale is impressive as you walk to and on them.





The family got a bit ahead of me as I'd taken my boots off before crossing, not realizing it was less than an inch deep, and it took me a while to get my boots and socks back on.







It was pretty windy, and we left our water, so I turned us around before we got too far. I've been in the desert in the wind and that can end badly if you don't have enough water and you don't know to turn and head into the wind sooner than you think you need to.

We got hydrated and the kids played in the little water that was there for a couple hours.






After another great time, we headed out. Mt Blanca on the way:



Then more sunflowers than I've ever seen:



Farewell Sand Dunes



The kids had been wanting to go to some hot springs all week, and we'd not managed to get to any. There are hot springs near the dunes, but after driving to them we weren't sure we wanted to stop there, so we headed to Salida on the way back to Fairplay. They have a nice aquatic center hot springs in town and we really enjoyed it


It felt great to soak, but maybe more so to get all the sand off (and out - of everywhere) in the shower.

I've been through Salida a number of times, and while convenient for the Wal Mart never felt like it was anywhere special. Until now. We ventured off the highway toward Old Town for some dinner.

It is a beautiful mountain town.










not cheap though. We got dinner at a deli and ate on our way back out of town. I plan on visiting again and becoming more familiar with the area.

The sunset was awesome, but obscured by trees as we raced west to try to catch the light


The rain in front of the Arkansas River Valley created a glowing red curtain and the effect was awesome. I only managed to capture the aftermath



One last restful night in Fairplay and we went back to the rock show in Buena Vista the next morning. I got more rough, and will share that as I get the saw going. I was excited to find some interesting saw oil for sale. They will be at the Denver show so I plan on purchasing there since the van was already full and I didn't want to press my luck with any more rock-related purchases this trip

Heading out of town we saw the Climax Mine, the largest Molybdenum mine in the world, and quite impressive if not a bit sad to see:


We took our time driving home, stopping in Silverthorne so my wife could get her Outlet Shopping fix, accompanied by our oldest daughter. I taught the other kids how to make macrame bracelets while we passed the time.


We arrived home safe and sound, having had a WONDERFUL week as a family with many fun adventures.