Happy Birthday Buddy!! I’m 3.
Thank you for your emails (buddy@wthrvdoing.com) regarding my whereabouts and general health. I know that my parents have not published any pictures of me since Louisiana. Let me assure you that I am in good health and am enjoying my traveling lifestyle. So much to smell, too short is my leash.
So what do I do while my people are out and about? My parents close all the shades and turn on the radio so I am not distracted by people walking by or other noises that may put me in a defensive posture to bark. The music I listen to varies by what’s available. I really like 80’s music, classic rock, or old school hip-hop, but country is OK too. While I have two beds in the house of my very own, I prefer my “parents’ bed”.
During travel days I lay between the captains chairs and help navigate. My mom wraps me in a blanket when its cold outside.
I meet a lot of other doggies at the RV parks we stay in. If they are cool, we run around and chase each other. Below are some really big dogs I met. Mom said I couldn’t play with them though ‘cause they were a special dog breed called horse. Whatever!!
My absolute favorite thing to do is play outside with my orange woobie.
…then my dad calls me and calls me to go back home, but I want to rest first. So I pretend I don’t hear him.
Well that’s it, a day in my life. I will tell my people that you want more pictures of me included in the blog. After all, I am the real reason you read these posts.
Cowboys and Indians
Mesa Verde is a mystical National Park of the Ancient Pueblo people. Long before Europeans explored North America, the Ancient Pueblos built elaborate dwellings in the cliff walls. No one knows for sure why, but after two generations, these people left their homes for other areas.
Prior to the cliff dwellings, these ancient people lived in pit houses that were dug into the ground and featured four corner timbers that supported the roof. Kivas can be found in both the pit houses and the cliff dwellings. A kiva is round structure, usually built underground and were used for a combination of religious, social, and utilitarian purposes.
Recent studies reveal that Cliff Palace contained 150 rooms and 23 kivas and had a population of approximately 100 people.
Balcony House has about 40 rooms. The tunnel, passageways, and modern 32-foot entrance ladder are what make it the most adventurous cliff dwelling tour in the park. You can see how small the passages and rooms were and may ask about the size of the people who once lived here. The average man would have been about 5’4” – 5’5”.
At the suggestion of our friend Sue, we experienced a chuck wagon style dinner and show at the Bar-D-Ranch. We were well fed…
…and entertained by the Bar-D-Wranglers.
It was a great way to spend an evening. Thank you Sue.
Straddling the Continental Divide
Chimney Rock National Monument is an off-the-beaten-path archaeological site located at the southern edge of the San Juan Mountains. While we didn’t get to explore the park inside, we did get to take some pictures of the larger rock formations.
A continental divide is the boundary separating precipitation that flows into two oceans. The Lobo Overlook is on the Divide and at almost 11,000 feet in elevation, still has snow.
Elevation sickness is no joke, I really began to feel the lower oxygen levels as we climbed.
Treasure Falls is a highway pull out and a steep .8 mile hike to the top.
After all this activity we stopped in Pagosa Springs, home of the world’s deepest geothermal hot spring, for a long soak.
(We didn’t take any pictures while there…use your imagination if you must)
No Planes, but Trains and Automobiles
One of the most scenic drives in the US is the Million Dollar Highway in the San Juan Mountains. The Million Dollar Highway is a 25 mile stretch from Silverton, CO to Ouray, CO (Yoo-ray) along US 550. While beautiful, it is a dangerous road full of twists and turns and steep drop offs sometimes with no shoulder or guardrail. The weather was sunny, so the top went down on the Beetle.
I wish we were better photographers so you could see the true beauty of this wonderful place.
Different minerals and rates of erosion cause the different colors of this mountain.
Doesn’t Ouray look like Switzerland?
Melting snow at the top of the mountains causes waterfalls lower down in elevation.
Interesting facts about Silverton
There is one paved road in town
There are a little over 500 permanent residence
Only fourteen days of the year does the temperature NOT fall below freezing
Elevation 9,308 ft
Name comes from a miner commenting that there is no gold here, but silver by the ton
The Sow’s Ear is a wonderful restaurant we stopped at in Durango. We went there due to the reviews about the food and the view. As you can see the view was spectacular. I had the Elk Tenderloin which was a new dish for both us, and so YUMMY!
Scott and I find that the best information comes from locals. We met a couple at the falls outside of Ouray during our drive and they told us we need to get tickets for the railroad for Saturday and not wait until next week which was our original plan. Saturday is the Iron Horse Annual Bicycle Race from Durango to Silverton. A more than 50 miles and almost 5,300 feet in elevation race between bicycles and the train. The race originated when two brothers raced each other, one on a 10 speed bike and the other from the train.
We immediately rushed to the train station and were lucky enough to get tickets for Saturday morning.
We decided to ride the gondola car which is open with no windows which is great for picture taking but bad for warmth. Remember that elevation change I told you about. Yea, it got cold.
The racers gather…
One of the brothers who invented the race.
The train whistle blows as the starting gun and they’re off….
Let’s enjoy the scenery from the train
The train we didn’t take.
Riders on the road
The guy who shovels the coal. It takes 4 tons.
The finish line.
The train ride one-way is 3.5 hours. We opted to take the bus back.
Back in Durango. Although we sat most of the day it still felt like a long one.
Hiking Bandelier and Tent Rocks
We met a couple while in Albuquerque who told us about the “tent rocks” at Kasha-Katuwe just outside of Santa Fe. We decided to check it out and man were we glad. The views were spectacular and it’s amazing that nature is responsible for these formations. Some were pretty cool, but others reminded us of something we just couldn’t place…what do you think?
The hikes at Bandelier National Monument were already on our list of things to do and we enjoyed them as well. We first hiked a trail called Tsankawi which involved climbing a couple ladders…
We later hiked the Fry Trail and the Main Loop which led us to the Alcove House.
You must climb 140 ft above the canyon floor using a series of ladders to reach the Alcove House where approx 25 Ancestral Pueblo people once lived.
On to Durango, CO.
Exploring Santa Fe and Los Alamos
Santa Fe is the best smelling city I have ever experienced. We smelled different but pleasant smells in the city and while hiking. We asked locals what the great scent was we were smelling and got several different possibilities: Sage, Russian Olive, Pinon, Juniper, Lilac, and Lavender. Whatever the scent or scents they were wonderful!!
The Loretto Chapel is a former Roman Catholic church that is now used as a museum and wedding chapel. It is known for its unusual helix-shaped spiral staircase (the “Miraculous Stair”). As you can see from the picture the stairway appears to be floating. The handrails where added later at the request of nuns. In addition to the staircase, the museum is a beautiful representation of churches from the 1800’s.
Another beautiful church in the area is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi originally built in 1610, but was destroyed and re-built in 1886.
The Palace of the Governors is an adobe structure located on Palace Avenue on the Plaza of Santa Fe, New Mexico within the Santa Fe Historic District and it served as the seat of government for the state of New Mexico for centuries. The Palace of the Governors is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States. Daily Native Americans sell their beautiful jewelry and pottery along the walls.
Sightseeing is hungry work. We opted for The Shed restaurant. It was awesome. Green Chilies are the best!!
Another great restaurant is Cowgirl. It has received accolades from many national newspapers and the Food Network. Get there for some great BBQ.
Los Alamos, meaning The Cottonwoods, is the birthplace of the first atomic bomb––the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II. In 1942, during World War II, the Department of War began looking for a remote location for the Manhattan Project. The War Department declared imminent domain of the existing Ranch School, a boys school for very elite families. Below is the old school which became a meeting place and dorm for members of the Manhattan Project. The pictures don’t capture the beautiful architecture of the school building. Notice unlike most log structures, these logs stand upright.
The Main Gate to Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project as well as the guard tower as you come to the main road into the city.
Our Nobel Prize
