More Beautiful Red Rocks - Sept 23, 2009

Finished packing the RV and hit the road. The snow stopped overnight, but started again as we left town. Apparently it wanted to come with us because it snowed or rained almost all the way to Colorado Springs. To break up the monotony we stopped at a large outlet mall where Randy got a few shirts and I picked up some beading supplies. When we got to Colorado Springs, we checked into Golden Eagle RV Ranch. It’s out in the boondocks, but it has full hookups.

We decided to visit the Garden of the gods today. I can’t describe how beautiful it is. Where we entered, the road goes between two big red rocks, one of which is balanced rather precariously on another rock. 

Further inside the park there more than a dozen huge, almost vertical, slabs of red rock. They look like ancient castle walls, or city ruins, and their silhouettes form fantastical shapes. 

Other places giant stones are stacked on top of each other. And in the background is the cloud–covered shape of Pike’s Peak. It is really, really beautiful.

Eventually we left there, and there was still a lot of daylight left so we drove to Manito. It’s a touristic little town build up around mineral springs. There are several small fountains or taps set up that dispense mineral water, each one from a different source. Some are inside a store and some are outside, but all are free, and each one tastes different. The first one we tasted was very strong and bitter, so the storekeeper gave us a free sample of fudge to clear the taste out – that was worth drinking the water! We tried a few more - some weren’t too bad, and a couple were pretty good. While we were looking for springs, we were also checking out some of the shops. One kitchen store was having an end-of-season sale, and Randy bought a set of 5 copper pans for a good price. 

We had heard from one storekeeper back in Red Rocks that tonight would be the last night that the 7 Falls would be lit this season, so we drove out there. But 7 Falls is privately owned so you have to pay to see it, and it was closed for the night anyway. So we just called it a day and headed back home.