Courageous Joy

FRIDAY - 11 AUGUST - DAY NINE

Oh goodness! This is going to begin with a major whine. I think I've been plunked back in red neck land....or worse. I won't type the word I was thinking. Our Quality Inn looks to be a very old, old Holiday Inn with a peeling layer of pink and purple paint. Our hotel room has a moth-eaten curtain - it glows PINK! Hot PINK! Somehow our hotel reservation got mixed up; and here we are. I'm praying that our hotel in Santa Fe is NOT like this. The same chain had a fabulous hotel in both Glenwood Springs, CO and Spokane, WA. You don't believe me about red-neck heaven? Well.....o.k. The hotel is hosting a huge pool tournament....I thought it was a punker convention - but maybe not. The music that BLARES through all the hallways is honky tonk country. To my right I can hear rowdy music and I'm right outside of the two giant pool lounges - as in pool tables.... Groups (more like mobs) of punkers loiter in the parking lot.....and it all reeks of smoke...... Our rooms are second floor and right above the pool - which means we get to hear all sorts of shenanigans and I decided there was no sleeping so I may as well update. Oh yes...there are little plastic - woodburned looking "welcome" signs on each door....and some doors are graced with actual wood burnings that fill you in on who occupied the room before you "Patty Duke, John Wayne, James Arness, Slim Pickens, Goldie Hawn, Charles Bronson, Tom Selleck".....I can assure you it was not any time lately that the likes of these slept anywhere near here. LOL

OK vent over. We'll be here two nights...then on to Santa Fe where we booked another Quality Inn.....a tip for military travelers they give wonderful military discounts at all the Choice Inn hotels....and this is the only bad one we've run into. :::snort:::

Now t0 back up...we ended the night last night by watching *Fat Albert* in our spacious, clean, modern, smoke free room. Jared DID cut himself on the glass on the pool deck. They gave us $40 off our bill - not sure why but they did. {G}

We left this a.m. and began to wander through the off roads of Colorado. I think I mentioned that we are deliberately avoiding the Interstate on our way home. We are making progress each day but are loving all the new scenery. Today was a combo over very lush, gorgeous scenery and some stark but still awe-inspiring scenery.

We stopped at Leadville and ST Elmo. Saint Elmo is a ghost town but it seems that many are buying the property up and moving in. We ran into a lot of ATV's today. . . and jeeps. We hiked to a mine...then sent Josiah and Krista back to get the van because it looked like the van could handle the terrain. Anything an ATV can do our 15 passanger can do better. :::snort::: We found the exact mine where Mike had camped with his family over 35 years ago. THEN we got in the van and continued up the path - to land that even the jeeps turned back from. We continued....laughing all the time at the obvoius choice Mike was having to make...adventure or well....anyway he chose adventure. We finally reached a spot where even Mike thought it wouldn't be wise to push the van any further. He set the brake and we hiked to another mine. We heard a loud sliding sound and Josiah dead panned, "I coulda sworn I'd set the brake!"

We left St Elmo and headed on to Canon City (where we currently reside in smoke filled hot pink surroundings). We decided on a lark to drive over the Royal Gorge bridge. The signs pointed the way. We figured it may cost as much as Yellowstone. ...$25 a car...and I was proud of Mike for being willing to put out $50 for this. We got to the pay station and found that they wanted $29 per person and a bit of a break for younger kids. It was going to be $250 for us to drive across the bridge. They have an "amusement park" here and so your fee buys you "all this"....but Sea World is cheaper, Yellowstone National Park is cheaper....we headed back to the hwy.

We are in Canon City because we could find NOTHING in Westcliffe or Saldia. Mike and the older ones are going to go on a giant hike tomorrow.....it will be cool. I did 3/4 of it with Mike over 20 years ago. He told the kids today that I did great but that I've always lived at sea level so hiking 2 miles past timberline....to see a cave....well I did the 4 mile hike to the bottom of the Mountain and then I hiked a good mike straight up to timberline...and then I sat down and quit. I thought I'd just quit and was thinking I'd try again...with Zander and Stacia in tow. Mike remidnded me that last time I quit because I couldn't feel my legs.....and I found lots of bear prints. I'm going to keep the younger ones down HERE in Canon City.....I thought we'd swim and such at the hotel but after seeing the hotel...I think we'll explore the town. One can only take so much raucos pool tournament fun.

Ok - I'm feeling better. It really is quite funny. It always feels safe to pick a reputable chain but you never know until you open that door what you'll find. Mike began seriously talking about selling our pop-up camper and buying a trailer. He checked us in and realized that what we pay EACH night for two rooms is about the same as a month's payment. If we had a trailer we'd know where we were sleeping and we could eat what we wanted to eat too........that's a whole different story. Thank God we had a few home cooked meals along the way ...but restaurant food is getting old. LOL