Western Trip #2 Day1: to Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado-July 8, 2019

When I turned 60 in 2017, I wanted to spend my birthday at Glacier National Park, because I wanted to see it before the glaciers melted. (I blogged about the trip as "I Am 60" Tour.) My family agreed to go. I got everyone tickets for the red bus tour that went all the way across the park on the Going-to-the-Sun Road for June 26th, the day after my birthday. However, when we went to the Visitors Center that morning, we learned that the road was still closed, as they dealt with the final repairs and such after the winter snows. Absolutely incredible, especially after not being able to go all the way around Crater Lake for my birthday the previous year, because they'd had snow shortly before that. My older daughter J was particularly incensed at this ripoff by the universe. She declared that she and I would come back some year in July, when it had to be open. It really didn't help that the road opened the day we flew home.
So, in late 2018, when discussing future trips, a return to Glacier was brought up and I asked her when she wanted to go. She said  2019. I pointed out that I had a trip to Scotland in June and her father's ClarinetFest was in July, not to mention his birthday. She felt that there was time between his birthday and his conference. I wanted to fly into Denver to be able to easily get to Cheyenne, Wyoming to be able to visit that capital on the way up to Glacier. As our discussions progressed, we added more and more things one or the other of us wanted to see or do. I gave up on going to Boise, because it would take too much time, but my husband K said that we could do it when ClarinetFest 2020 is in Reno. Eventually, we worked out a trip that would start the day after K's birthday and last ten days, giving me three to get ready to go to ClarinetFest, when we got back. (!!) Both K and my younger daughter had to work, so it would definitely be J and me.
When exactly to leave on the 8th took some negotiating. There were several flights that would get us out to Denver, but not many would arrive early enough to give us a good chunk of the day to do things. Plus, we wanted to fly most of the way together, so that neither of us was waiting for the other. That had us looking at flights on American Airlines, because they flew from Charlotte, NC to Denver and we could both fly there. (There were no direct flights from Orlando to Denver. I don't remember if there were any from DC.) Unfortunately, to get the most of our day, we'd have to leave at an ungodly hour. J really hated that, but it was necessary.  We talked about sitting near each other on the way out, but while she is willing to pay extra for more legroom, I couldn't justify around $90 more for it. Weirdly, the return flight from Seattle offered those seats with just a $40 upcharge, which I figured was okay. So, on the way out, I sat a few rows behind her.
That brings us to today and my alarm going off at 2 am EDT.  This is the time I'm often going to bed, or, if I'm going to Europe, around when I'd get up to be on the European time zone when I got there. But, I've never gotten up this early for a flight. I'd really rather not do it again.
K  and I left at 2:36 and he had me to Orlando International at 3:10, where he dropped me at the curb.
I was vaguely surprised that the American counter was actually open. J had to wait in DC for it to open at Reagan International, when she arrived at a similar time. I paid $30 for my checked bag and was done at the desk at 3:16.
I've mentioned in previous posts, that we have TSA PreCheck and it is one of the best investments we've ever made for travel. No taking off shoes. No taking out liquids. No taking out electronics. Shorter line. Today, it was really short when I got there at 3:23- I was fourth in line. And it wasn't open yet! Still, it was not worth going to the regular line. They finally opened it at 3:29 and I was through in 1 minute- a new record!
Only one shuttle-now called an APM, but I know it as shuttle- was running at this hour. However, if I'm up and there at this insane time, everything should be open and running. Anyway, I got on at 3:34 and was seated at gate 57 about 6 minutes later.
There were other people gathering, so J and I aren't the only crazy ones. When I got on the plane, it was relatively full. I was seated in 19D by 4:36 on flight AA2090. J was not yet on her plane in DC, but it had a shorter distance to travel. My plane pushed back at 4:55. We took off at 5:07 and I tried to sleep. That was difficult, because a guy near me was snoring. Great, just great.
We landed at 6:18 and it took seven minutes to reach Gate C15 and I was off the plane eight minutes later. Now, I had to carry my heavy carry-on to Gate B11. My CPAP machine isn't that heavy, but with other stuff, it just added up.
Time between the two flights was rather limited, so I hustled as best as my knees and the bag would let me and I got to the gate at 6:46. There was J and after hugging me, she took my bag. We took a quick selfie to mark the beginning of our adventure together, before getting on the plane at 7:14.
She was in 8C and I was in 19C on flight AA2008 to Denver, when the plane pushed back at 7:42. We were in the air shortly thereafter.
Flying has changed over the years. For instance, there was no entertainment on this plane, in spite of the length of the flight. Even though it was breakfast time, we simply got drinks-water in my case- and pretzels. I tried to sleep, but got little.
At 8:42 am MDT, we landed in Denver after an uneventful flight. We were at Gate A51 ten minutes later. Denver is an attractive airport with info on the walls and cool sculptures like this one titled "Dual Meridian".

After getting our luggage from carousel 17, we set off in search of food. That was quite a search. They are doing construction in that part of the terminal and it took some getting around. Plus, there wasn't a lot in the way of food there. J went up the escalator and around the next level, while I waited with the luggage. Eventually, she came back saying the nearby Red Rocks Bar was our best bet.
No one was drinking at 9:36 am and they did have a breakfast menu. We both ordered water, being a bit dehydrated from the flight. With memories of the porridge I'd had most mornings in Scotland last month fresh in my mind, I opted for oatmeal with cranberries and honey. J chose the same. As you can see from the photo, those are not cranberries with it. But, it was good, nonetheless. It was not cheap,however, with the bill coming to $12.85 and then a tip.

Denver is one of those airports with the car rentals offsite. So, we went to the restrooms at 10:13, not being sure how long we'd be. Then, we made our way to the outside waiting area, which we reached at 10:26. When we got on the shuttle for Hertz at 10:30, it was absolutely packed. It took three minutes to just get everybody and their luggage on board. My heart sank as I thought about how much later this would make us in getting going. However, when we arrived at Hertz after just 9 minutes, the shuttle made a stop for all the Gold level people. Most of the people got out! Hurrah!
That doesn't mean we were out of there that fast, but faster than I'd thought. Paperwork is always long and we were both going to be rated as drivers for this trip. I planned to be doing most of the driving, but I needed a backup. Then, I found out that instead of the smaller sedan I'd booked, I was getting a Kia Sportage hatchback. I drive a Jetta and I really don't like driving vehicles bigger than that, including my husband's Accord. However, I just had to hope that I'd cope.
When we finally found the car, which wasn't easy or logically placed, I was disappointed to see it had Texas plates. I really would like to have a rental car have the plates of where I'm picking it up or where I'm going, but that just never happens. This car was a blue grey, with tinted windows. So,when we put our luggage in the back, you didn't really see it, which was a relief. I took pictures of the car from all angles and we searched for any dings or scratches to report. We set up our water, the World Wildlife bag of travel books and maps that goes on every road trip, and the bag of Teddy Grahams I'd brought as snacks. We pulled out "Sarah", our GPS, (named for the house in Eureka) and got her plugged in so that she could figure out where she was. Meanwhile, we'd use Google on J's phone to get us to our first destination. The car had 41532 miles on it.
We finally left at 11:24. The car was higher than I am used to, but it seemed to drive pretty well. On the way out of the airport area and into town, I pointed out the snow fencing that my husband and I had noted on our trip to Colorado in 2012. The drive wasn't too bad and traffic wasn't very heavy, thank goodness.
Our first destination was one of J's choosing, Mile High Comics, which is in a giant warehouse in an area with a lot of warehouses. It bills itself as the largest comic book store. She has a store that she frequents in DC, but she was in search of variants. We arrived at 12:01, having driven 26 miles. I wandered around the store, which had a lot more than comics, while she went off in search of the ones she wanted. I looked at the Funkos, pins, figurines, etc. It was good to stretch my legs after the flight and the drive.  She found a few items that she planned to get signed by their illustrators at the NYComicCon in October.

J programmed the GPS for the next destination, which was again her choice, and we left the parking lot at Mile High, which we'd crossed disused train tracks to reach, at 12:40. Twenty-two minutes and seven miles later, we scored a parking space near Voodoo Donuts. Now, we're going to Portland and plan to visit the original Voodoo there, but J felt that since we were this close, we had to go to this one. It was 84 degrees and sprinkling a little when we went in. It is colorfully painted inside and a queue rope is set up, but the line was short. We opted to get a mixture totaling a half dozen donuts, most of which were $1.25 each, if bought separately, She paid the $8.37 bill and I asked for the code to the restroom. We'd noticed several homeless people outside and suspected this was why it had a code.

Refreshed and with our box of donuts protected from any sun that might show up, we left at 1:19. We resisted the temptation to eat the donuts, but rather set our sights on eating lunch south of Denver. I recognized some of the scenery on I-25 southbound from that trip seven years ago. As I realized that we were nearing Castle Rock, I knew we'd find someplace to eat there. We wanted it to be fast, though, because we had things to do. We pulled into McDonald's there at 1:52 (odometer 41590). I checked my app for deals and discovered a discount on the specialty sandwiches they were doing in honor of the World Cup. We both chose the Canada sandwich meal, which was tomato, mozzarella, and chicken sandwich, but I wanted grilled and she wanted crispy. They were both $9.49. We also ordered the special Stroopwafel McFlurry (in honor of Holland) for $3.19 to share. With my $2 discount it came to $21.76. We sat near the window and enjoyed our delicious, but not cheap, meal. The mountains looked cool, but there was rain up there.
We headed off again at 2:45 and by 2:59, it was raining and the car's dash said the temperature had dropped to 75 degrees. We still enjoyed the views of the mountains off in the distance, but parallel to the road. It was not raining, when I decided to take advantage of the Scenic Overlook at the edge of the Air Force Academy grounds at 3:25 (41623). It was 76 degrees and incredibly windy. It was hard to see for the hair blowing in your face. I did get some cool shots like this one, though.

After ten minutes, and not knowing whether or not that rain was coming our way, we headed south again. Our next destination was one I'd chosen after reading about it in a miniatures magazine. We reached Old Colorado City and managed to find a free lot off the main drag at 3:54 (41634). We took our umbrellas with us as we heard thunder. Rounding the corner, we saw a charming street of shops and bars, obviously trying to lure tourists. I particularly liked the trompe l'oeill across the street.

We crossed the street and walked down the block to The Michael Garman Museum and Gallery. Garman has created a whole town in 1/6 scale, including people. The shop and a few of the buildings in it were free to browse. We noted the music, talking, and even holographic images he'd added to bring them to life. J agreed that it was worth paying to see the rest and participate in the scavenger hunt. It cost her $5, but I got the senior $4 rate.
The scavenger hunt is really a great idea, because it forces you to look more carefully at the buildings. J and I had different things to look for, so we helped each other. I was totally stuck on one item on my list and had to go out and ask for a hint! There are shops, apartments, artists, cops, and so much more in the scenes. (While we were there, I realized that the old man we saw roaming around was Garman himself!) I received a postcard as my prize, as did J. I bought a small Santa figure made in China, but from a mold of his model, for $14.95 + tax.
Here's a small taste of what you see. The final photo is of the figure he made of himself.

When we left at 4:50, we went back up the street, stopping in some shops along the way. I got some stickers for the outside of the photo album that I intend to make from this trip.
As we went to cross back over the street, I was pretty sure I could see Pikes Peak in the distance.

We got back into the car at 5:21. It took 13 minutes to go the two miles to reach the hotel that J had found for tonight, the Magnuson Grand Pikes Peak in Manitou Springs. It was a bit complicated getting around road construction, but we did it. There was a very old fashioned motel across the street with a stream behind it. It was the kind of place you'd expect around here, not the modern hotel in front of us. In fact, this place seemed to want to be a Hampton or Fairfield, just without using those names.
We took all our stuff to room 109, which turned out to be pretty spacious, with more storage than you usually find. I got the bed nearest the door, which would let my CPAP be on the side I am used to.

 

After settling in a bit, we decided we'd better try those donuts before heading out again. We split two of them and they were as good as reputed.
On a whim, I'd bought a purple backpack made from recycled bottles, covered with thistles, the flower of Scotland, while in the Orkney last month. It was folded up in what seemed to be a pouch, but was actually its own pocket. I'd brought it along and we decided to turn it into our day bag. It would carry water, hats, rain gear, purchases, etc. and J's backpack could retain its carry-on luggage status. Having this in hand, we headed out on the road again at 6:18.
The odometer read 41639, when we got to Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center at 6:26. We knew from the AAA book, that the center would close at 7, so we didn't have much time. We skipped the informational film and most of the exhibits. We took photos from the terrace, which also had great informational plaques. We rushed through the shop to get postcards, pins, and a sticker for the album, so that we'd have time for the restroom. We knew we had to get the car out, too, because there were gates on the lot. We were back in the car at 6:50.The park and the center are free and the roads don't close. That lets people go out there and experience the beauty in all kinds of light and, I suppose, even star gaze.

My husband and I had wanted to come here in 2012. Unfortunately, as we approached our exit that night it was blocked. We were coming up from the south and when I turned left to look at the ridge, it glowed with fire. That June, there were fires in so many places in the state- Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, etc. We'd been assured that the hotel was still open and that the fire was in a canyon on the other side of the ridge. But, by the time we arrived, the fire had blown up. When we did get to our hotel, it was full of people who lived in that canyon. My husband arranged for us to go to Aspen one day early after we learned that our planned ride on the train up Pikes Peak had been canceled and Garden of the Gods was closed. Now, I was finally getting to explore the park.
J handled the map as we drove along Gateway Road to Juniper Way Loop. We turned right onto that road and after five minutes and one mile reached the North Main Parking Lot, where we managed to find a space. Some construction materials were blocking some spaces, but there were a lot of cars for that time in the evening. We got out to walk some of the way along the Gateway/Perkins Central Garden Trail.
The trail had quite a drop off near the parking lot and we were amazed to see people getting folks down it in wheelchairs. The path was paved and led right between two giant rock formations. The evening light made the colors just wonderful. The formation to our left had a really cool looking hole near the top, which set our minds to wondering how it got there. My little point and shoot camera has such a good zoom, that I could get a photo with the crescent moon high above that hole.

There are times when I wish I had a gift for words. This is one of those. I just can't explain how awesome it was to see these beautiful formations.
We didn't want to lose the light, so we really did rather little of the trail. In fact, 7:20 found us in the car a mile away at the next parking lot taking photos. Here there were formations named things like "Tower of Babel".  There were thrusting slabs and spires all catching the ever-lowering sun.

After 4 minutes, we hopped back into the car and pushed on to parking lot 5 (4 is handicapped only). I took no photos there and it took only a minute to reach the next lot, P11, which was officially on Garden Drive, after Juniper Way Loop branched off. Here, we saw "Giant Footprints", which was a thrusting rock formation. We spent longer here, not leaving until 7:35.
At 7:40 (41642), we were in P14, getting ready for the hike we'd chosen from the map. It was the Siamese Twins Trail, described as an "easy 0.5 mile roundtrip with less than a 150 ft. rise". Well, as far as I'm concerned, if you gain elevation, you are hiking, no matter how "easy" the trail.
Also, they lied. Oh, the trail started out easy enough. It was a pleasant walk. But, soon enough, there were rock stairs to climb. Some guy passed us running, which I soon decided was nuts. We were climbing over way too much stuff. When we reached the Siamese Twins there were rocks to climb!
However, the view! The twins are a pair of rock formations that are linked at the base and the middle, with a key hole between the base and middle. Above the middle connection, they are apart and between them there in the distance is Pikes Peak. What a sight! We'd timed it well, knowing the setting sun would be hitting the peak.

Since we'd climbed up to the table these were on, I felt committed and had to negotiate the rocks to be able to see the Twins from both sides. Of course, going around and over rocks was the only way to get that shot of Pikes Peak. I was proud of myself for ignoring my knees and doing it.
However, to continue on the trail meant climbing down a height about equal to the distance from my feet to my hips. My daughter negotiated the drop, but I just didn't think I could. But, going back had its own difficulties. I finally figured out places to put my feet and, with her help, I got down. Hurrah!
The trail felt easier after all that. There were plants and rocks to observe on our way back to the car. We took plenty of pictures, especially since that moon was still visible.

We made it back to the car at 8:25. Our next stop was P15 to be able to get photos of "Balanced Rock", which is pretty cool. We read about the people who had owned Garden of the Gods before it became a park and learned it was they who cut through some formations to put in the roads. We managed to get our photos in the little remaining twilight.

When we got back in the car, we took a little time to figure out dinner. J found a place on Google that sounded promising and at 8:46 (41642), we headed out of the park. The GPS took us a weird way, but we got to Colorado Mountain Brewery at 8:52 (41646). It seemed strange that a brew pub would be part of a complex that seemed to be mostly medical. But, the place looked attractive with plenty of stone. When someone finally greeted us at the door, we made sure that they were still serving food, before allowing him to lead us to a high table near the attractive bar and the lit fireplace. We could see the brew kettles behind glass, as well as the open kitchen. Great ambience!
Drinking that late, when my body thought it was two hours later and I'd had such little sleep the night before, kept me from tasting the brews. J doesn't drink at all. So, we ordered water to stay hydrated at this higher elevation that either of us were used to. As we often do, we decided to split our food to be able to taste more of the menu. We ordered the huge Brewery Pretzel, which came with two dipping sauces. It was soft and warm and the sauces were interesting. We also had the Alpine Chicken Sandwich, which came on a pretzel roll, which tasted very different from the pretzel. The sandwich came with a very nice side salad that made us feel healthy. The food took a while to prepare, but that gave us the chance to relax after our incredibly busy day.

We left the restaurant at 9:52. Our hotel was much closer than we thought and we reached it at 10 pm. The odometer read 41648, so I'd driven 116 miles today. Oh, and it was a cool 67 degrees. I really like that temperature display on the dashboard!
We couldn't stay up late, as we're getting up relatively early to head out for the day's activities.
The trip is off to a great start!