Camping and some pretty pictures

This is from Colorado Springs, Colorado at the campground. I took the 1/2 mile trail, out and back. You can see the campground from where I was, so I decided I needed a picture of the BIG hill I climbed, half a mile up. I capitalize -big- sarcastically.  These turkeys were chilling on the side of the road leading to the campground.

Here is this picture from the campground up to the BIG hill, and then from the top of the BIG hill, overlooking the campground.

I was a little disconcerted at this campground because the one in Sante Fe, New Mexico had trash cans everywhere, good clean bathrooms (with soap), free WIFI, etc. This one had NO trash cans anywhere. But, I realized there was a reason. A sign in the bathroom said please don't throw trash in the bathroom trash cans because it will attract raccoons and bears. And the dumpster was inside a chain-link fence with warning signs to use CAREFULLY. STAY BACK. Wildlife may be feeding in the dumpster. I was kinda looking forward to seeing a bear, albeit from a very safe distance. I didn't see one. Good? or bad.



I left Colorado Springs intending to go to Denver, but when I got there, I never even got off of the freeway. It was just too big, crowded, and fast. The last day in Colorado Springs, I didn't even start the truck, so I was (and still am) in the nature state of mind, and a big city just did not appeal to me at all. So, I blew through Denver and stopped in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is a college town and very oriented toward art and nature. Here are just a few pictures to give you an idea. This was the "old" downtown, you know, the place where us old people shop during the day, and the young crowd drink at night.

Betsy, the flower is for you.

I went to the Olympics!

Not really, but I did go to the U.S. Olympic Training Center, in Colorado Springs.

http://www.teamusa.org/

I want to say it is an amazing place, but that is kind of obvious. I thought it was interesting that they give free tours. Eighty percent of their funding comes from corporate donations, i.e. Visa, McDonald's, etc, twenty percent from "broadcast rights" and "other private" donations. Since it is not government sponsored, I was surprised how open they were to the public.

The Colorado Springs facility is one of three in the U.S., the other two being in Chula Vista, CA and Lake Placid, NY. In Colorado Springs, they mostly train for indoor summer events, swimming, wrestling, shooting, fencing, etc. They have resident training, as well as short term "camps". Their dining facility has won culinary awards. Most athletes need to eat 8,000-10,000 calories per day, so the dining facility is of utmost importance.

The next picture is the scale of Michael Phelps wingspan, 6'7"!

And here is the wingspan of a "normal" person.

Here is the gym for men's gymnastics. Women's gymnastics does not practice here because you have to be at least 16  years old to train at this facility, and most of the women are not old enough. (To compete in the Olympics, you have to be 16 years old by the end of the Olympic year.) The floor exercise mat doesn't look as big in person, nor does the bar look as tall.

Strength and Conditioning gym. Sounds and looks like torture.

Here is a balance beam to scale.

And here is the swimming pool! They drain it once every three years, and guess when I was there. It holds 110,000 gallons of water. They have to inform the city when they are going to drain it, and drain it slowly (over three days) because it will flood the city. I didn't hear how deep it was, but the temperature of the water is usually 79 to 81 degrees. (The temp of the pool in London was about 77 degrees). There are speakers UNDER the water, so the coaches can yell at you while you are swimming, but also so the syncrinized (sp) swimmers can hear the music. At the far end of the pool, are the starting platforms. They added a new design for London this year, and they cost $5000 each. The bottom is a V shape because that helps alleviate the "drag" that the outer lanes have.

I was absolutely amazed at how far this guy jumped. It looks like about the length of two cars nose-to-nose.

It was an awe-inspring tour! All Olympians are amazing people! We are very lucky to get to witness the Olympics.

Day 8, I think

I think today is Wednesday, which will be day 8. I left Austin last Wednesday. It is hard to keep track of dates.

I am at the KOA Kampground in Colorado Springs, CO. I plan on going to the Garden of the Gods today.

http://www.gardenofgods.com/home/index.cfm?flash=1

Then, hopefully find a campground closer to the mountains and going to Pike's Peak tomorrow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikes_Peak

This campground has pictures posted saying "BEWARE - Bear seen in the area" and a picture of a bear sniffing at the opening of a tent. I'm so glad I am not sleeping in a tent! I was tempted to throw out the little bit of food I have in the truck, a box of cheese crackers, and two granola bars. But, I figured if a bear knocked on the door in the middle of the night, I would just give him my food, no questions asked.

I have also seen about 50 rabbits hopping around here. They are apparently very comfortable being around people. And a HUGE flock of black birds. HUGE and very close. That probably scares me more than the possibility of seeing a bear.

And you wouldn't believe some people's toys. One couple drove up last night with the man driving one big ass pick-up pulling a trailer with Hobbie written on the side, and his wife was behind him in another big ass pick-up pulling a trailer with a Harley on it. They park and get two more motorcycles out of the first trailer. There is apparently room to sleep in that trailer. Question: how can two people ride three motorcycles? There was a another couple playing darts, with the board hanging on the outside of their trailer. And, of course, lots of TV dishes/antennas. And, if you ever think to rent a cabin at one of these campgrounds, you may think again. They are not much bigger than my truck. I would be disappointed to drive up and find out that was what I paid a lot of money for.

I LOVE flowers! And here is what I do now that I don't spend tons of time on the internet.

Yall have a good day!

Georgia O'Keeffee

I'm in Sante Fe, New Mexico today and went to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. You know how I love to see art. It was kind of nice being alone, because I didn't have anyone waiting for me. John used to be really patient, but I still knew he was bored. I used to drag Daddy to art museums too. I think he enjoyed them, at least he was always willing to go.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite paintings

http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/

I don't know why there is a big space between the writing and the pictures.

Cave Rock Formations

I want to show yall some rock formations. When I tried to post pics on the last post, it took forever, so I may not get to do them all. But there was some REALLY cool shit down there. There is not much variation of colors.

There was one stalagmite that is still "active". It grows so slowly, you wouldn't even notice it in your lifetime. There is probably more active ones, but only one that we were able to see.

Here is what the walkway looked like. I tried closing my eyes and touch both rails, just in case the electricity went out and I had to find my way in the dark. This cave is 2 million years old, so I wasn't too afraid of an earthquake, but........

Here is the link to the cave.

http://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm


I am in Albuquerque, New Mexico today. I wanted to come here because John and I spent a lot of time here when we were trucking. It is beautiful! I spent the day at a park on the edge of the mountains. Not many people, and very quiet and relaxing. Temperature is about 100 degrees, but the shade was nice and there was a breeze. I'm heading to Sante Fe, New Mexico tomorrow.

Want to hear something fairly gross? I left on Wednesday, and it is now Saturday and I haven't taken a shower yet. I was going to two nights ago, but the campsite I was in had a bug problem! This is the same place where all the bats are "supposed" to eat the bugs. Well, the campsite bathroom had bugs everywhere. They were piled on each other in the sink. They were covering the roll of paper towels. I had to shake them off, just to get a towel to dry my hands. I was doing fairly well until one landed on my neck. Freak Out! No shower. No way, no how.

I changed the settings on the blog, so hopefully it is easier to post a comment now.

Carlsbad, New Mexico

Today I am in Carlsbad, New Mexico. I went to Carlsbad Caverns yesterday. I did the "natural walk in", which means about 1 mile down hill. It took about an hour, so I took the elevator up, and intend to go back in a little while and take the elevator back down and finish the tour, about another mile.

It is creepy in there!!!!!! Thankfully the "Bat Tunnel" is not open to the public! There are approximately 200,000 bats in there during the day. The bat shit is 40 feet deep! OMG OMG OMG!!!!!

I kept thinking about the guys that explored the cave. Imagining what it was like without all the paved sidewalks, handrails, and more importantly, lights. The lights are more like mood lights, not brightly lit, but light enough to see the cool stuff. It is a cool 56 degrees all the time. Quite refreshing when it is almost 100 degrees outside.

There is a point in the cave called the "twilight zone." It is where natural light can no longer penetrate the cave. I'm glad I was not on the guided tour, where they turn the lights out. I was nervous enough without that.

I went back at dusk to watch the "bat fly". All 200,000 bats fly out to feed. Someone said it was beautiful, but I had serious doubts about that. Bats and beautiful can never be in the same sentence, surely. I wouldn't call it beautiful, but it was kinda amazing. The bats flew out maybe 25 to 100 at a time. They are small, only about the weight of three nickels, and only about the size of two child's hands when they are flying. Cameras were not allowed unfortunately. Neither was talking. Apparently bats don't really like people, or unnatural noise. Since it is their house, we have to respect their wishes. I must say, the feeling is mutual. I don't much like them either.

Outfitted

Outfitted, and ready to go! I even got the CB installed.