We left Santa Fe, New Mexico this morning just before 9:00 and arrived in Pueblo, Colorado at 1:30 in the afternoon. The drive was very nice with unlimited visibility and some relatively high winds. We saw several antelope on the prairie. The winds are projected to increase this evening to as much as 50 mph in our area with a passing cold front.

This is a great day since our leveling system actually worked the way it is supposed to work. I had to give Lisa a resounding "high-five" when the trailer leveled successfully. Maybe I am finally figuring out the system. We will see; it takes at least two occurrences to indicate a trend. We have a great spot at the Pueblo South KOA although our view was just "somewhat" blocked by a Class A RV that parked next to us. Ah, life in the RV park.

The day we arrived in Pueblo, Colorado, we decided to take a drive up into the nearby mountains. We saw a small lake and several herds of deer (must not be hunting season). As we were driving along, we came across this "odd" building next to the road. It turned out to be the famous Bishop's Mansion. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest structure in the world built by just one person. This guy, Bishop, spent 67 years of his life working on this structure. He now has Parkinson's and his son is continuing the work. It is a weird castle with tons of nooks and crannies. It would take me too long to describe it in words, so take a look at the photos on the blog. Bishop was quite eccentric and a firm believer in his political views. He would argue with you in a minute if you talked politics. He posted signs to this effect at the entrance to the site. You are also told that you are on your own if you walk around the castle. There are some dangerous areas and you are to assume your own responsibility when walking the grounds. I don't know if it would hold up in court though. An amazing place.

We drove up to the top of Pike's Peak. What a fun trip on a beautiful day. The peak is 14,120 feet high and you can drive to the very top. The road is awesome, but there are very few guard rails and the drop-offs are quite significantly. If you are afraid of heights, this is likely not your trip. Lisa held up very well since she does not like heights. Breathing at the top is noticeably harder as we walked around. Not much oxygen in the air. The temperature at the top was 28 degrees, but the winds were fairly light; thank goodness. Lots of workers at the summit rebuilding the visitor center at the top. The roads were pretty steep with 12 to 14% grades common. You can climb Pike's Peak on a bike, but it is not an easy endeavor. I don't think I could make it (unless I would loose about 20 pounds!!) There are 58 peaks in Colorado that are over 14,000 feet tall. There was also a suspected "Big Foot" sighting in the area by a ranger. No photographic proof though. There are signs along the road warning you to stay away from "Big Foot" if you run across it. Be sure to check out the photos on this trip up the mountain. Hard to describe what we saw and a picture is worth a thousand words.

NOTE; Our drive up Pike's Peak was so beautiful, that we decided to take a side trip to see more of Colorado. We have extended our stay in Pueblo (actually 20 miles south of Pueblo) at the KOA for four more days while we leave the RV and take a driving trip. We will be leaving for the "Four Corners" area on Tuesday to see the location where Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado share a border point. We will also see some cliff dwellings there too. We will stay in the town of Cortez, Colorado on the first night. We will then travel to Durango, Colorado and drive to Ouray (pronounced, "ooh-ray"), Colorado. This is supposed to be a beautiful drive through the area of Telluride. This is also the route of the Durango and Silverton Railroad. The "narrow-gauge" railroad follows the canyon as does the road on which we will be driving. We though about taking the train ride, but it would be about ten hours out and back. We did not have that much time, so we chose to just drive the route. We will stay in Montrose on the second night. On Thursday morning, we will return to the RV and prepare to leave for Fort Collins on Friday. We are really looking forward to this side trip.

We drove to Colorado Springs and arrive at the Garden of the Gods park. This is a unique set of geologic structures just on the outskirts of town. This land was donated to the city by the owner on the premise that the land would be open to the public free-of-charge and maintained as a park. The city has done a great job of maintaining this area with hiking/biking trails and a road all the way around the park. Lots of rugged red rock protruding vertically out of the ground. There are areas for picnics and hiking trails. There were many rock climbers there too. Be sure to see the photos of the Garden of the Gods. It is a real plus for the Colorado Springs area.

My bicycle riding friend, Elmer Feick, in El Paso recommended that I get together with his friend, Marc Cattapan, in Colorado Springs for a bike ride. I contacted Marc and we scheduled a ride for Sunday morning. What a beautiful day although a little cool with temps in the low 40s at the start. It did not take too long to warm up though. Marc took me through some beautiful country to the northeast of Colorado Springs. We went through the Black Forest and then out to rolling hills with beautiful green grass and nice homes. We ended up with 58 miles and 3770 feet of climbing. Marc has a degree in psychology and works with military physical therapists to help military members returning from combat zones with PTSD and physical injuries. He works with the Wounded Warriors Program too. He takes military members on rides and organizes several-day rides throughout the country. Marc is doing a great job to help these wounded warriors get back into the mainstream. What a neat guy. He was well ahead of me on the climbs, but, since I am so "chubby," I could often catch him on the descents. Marc also showed me how to ride my road bike on dirt roads. We did about five miles on well packed dirt roads. You have to watch out for your braking or you could easily skid a tire. Marc was extremely gracious in waiting for me to catch up with him at many places along the road. We stopped for coffee and carrot cake in a town call Palmer Lake north of Colorado Springs. I thoroughly enjoyed Marc's company and guidance and we had a very nice day. We went out for a sandwich after the ride.