Colorado is windy!

We have encountered lots of wind since we arrived in Colorado. While still on the road it was bad enough to pummel our motor home and unfurl our slide out cover. It then snapped back with a load noise making us think we'd hit something. It was bad enough we expected to lose our awning so we stopped and tried to restrain the awning with cable ties. Fortunately, it worked. We need to get a proper tie down installed for this awning! We have continued to have windy days since but we're still enjoying and loving our time here in Colorado.

We arrived in Colorado Springs yesterday and are staying at the Elks Lodge where they have accommodations for up to 12 motor homes with power, water and a dump station. We have been the consummate tourists since we arrived. Yesterday we visited Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings, Wind Cave and Garden of the Gods. Today we went to Cripple Creek where we rode a narrow gage train and then to the Florissant Fossil Beds. They all were great. Tomorrow we hope to take the cog train to the top of Pike's Peak. Did you know that Colorado has over 50 peaks above 14000 feet? They really get up there. We're rather partial to Washington's 14,410 foot peak, Mt. Rainier. Pike's Peak is only about 300 feet lower in elevation.

Cripple Creek was an interesting drive. It is in the heart of mining country and we saw much evidence of gold mines, both new and old. Cripple Creek, the town, is at an elevation of 9494 feet. Our GPS showed us around 10,300 feet on our drive there. Our little Jeep did a great job so we think we'll be able to handle the elevation here and later when we go four wheeling into the heart of the Rockies. We expect to be here in Colorado Springs for three more days before we head towards Denver and then Estes Park. We will continue to add photos to our Picassa album as we have time. Double click on our little slide show to see larger captioned images of our photos.