CC Trip - Colorado

Arrived in Colorado Springs altitude 6500 ', and soaked up the great weather - low 80's and dry. A welcome change from the humid upper 90's we've had for the last 2 weeks. The city is in a valley with the eastern Rockies bordering it. Here's Pike's Peak, at 14,110 feet above sea level.

It was made famous in the Gold Rush of 1849. It was "Pike's Peak or Bust" for the enterprising golddiggers.

Went to The Garden of The Gods, and drove by huge redrock and limestone peaks, with trails and horseback riding available.

We're staying in Buena Vista (alt +/- 8000') for about a week, visiting with friends Gail & Steve.

Buena Vista is a valley town southwest of Colorado Springs, surrounded by ten 14,000 peaks. Agenda includes gold panning, hot springs and a side trip to Cripple Creek for a little gaming.

Along the way are a couple of burros strolling along a city street:

A couple of log cabins, barely held together, and probably from the time of westward exploration in the 1800's:

Picture the covered wagons, the ladies cooking over a pit, children running and playing, the men riding in on their horses with their harvest, maybe a stage coach passing on the road. Life was tough but simple.

While driving, we started with beautiful weather, which deteriorated into a rainstorm, then a downpour with hail so bad we had to pull over, and then, the most beautiful double rainbow. We found the end of the rainbow, but no pot of gold was to be found. Maybe it's a good omen and a prelude to Tony's gold-panning next week.

It must have been mating season at the local Llama farm, because the boys were quite frisky:

That's actually 2 llamas on the right! I think he was whispering sweet nothings in her ear!

Cripple Creek is a small mountain town, with about a dozen casinos and lots of tourists.

Tony and Steve have been gold-panning in Cache Creek, Buena Vista.

They've got all the equipment, and have been digging out dirt in choice spots of bedrock, then filtering and "washing" it, in hopes of finding golden flakes or even the elusive nugget.

Click the arrow for a short video:

The mountain doesn't give up the good stuff easily, and it's hard work out in the sun, but the boys are quite determined.......i.e. Don't quit the day job.....yet!

UPDATE from the last day of gold-panning:

Found a new spot with the help of a new friend, Doug, and here is the result:

Here's Doug's harvest:

A gold embedded rock:

The same rock through a magnifier:

One day, we took a ride up to Mt. Cottonwood, elevation 12,000+, one of the ten super peaks surrounding Buena Vista.

We were past the Timberline, and at the snow line on the peak.

It was 16 miles to the top, along dirt roads, with sharp switchbacks. And NO guard rails!! The drop was over 50 feet at times. It was a white knuckle drive!

Click the arrow for a scary ride:

The scenery was breathtaking:

We had lunch at Mirror Lake, a beautiful setting, about 10,000 ' elevation.

The preferred mode of transportation is the ATV, followed by the dirt bikes.

We drove through the town of Tin Cup, which was one of the many Ghost Towns in Colorado, but people have begun to return and build again.

This house has solar heat for hot water:

We soaked in the Hot Springs until we were all shriveled (even more than usual).

It hit 80 degrees today, probably the hottest day yet here. We'll be off to New Mexico tomorrow, and back to hot weather once again.

CC Trip - The Long Haul

This was a stretch of about 1200 miles.  I do the driving because I like to drive.  Tony's day goes something like this:  Have breakfast, "break camp", program the GPS for the next stop, take his mid-morning nap, wake up, go potty, make a few phone calls, take his late morning nap, stop to pump fuel and clean the windshield, have lunch, take his afternoon nap, arrive at next campground and hook up, have a bourbon, take a nap, eat dinner, shower and go to sleep.  What a country!

We briefly passed through Arkansas, and stayed one night in Oklahoma, and Kansas on our way to the Colorado Springs area.  Passed the 2000 mile mark for the trip so far.  

This was the view from our campsite outside of Tulsa, in another Corps of Engineers Campground - this one was a whopping $7.50 for the night, thanks to Tony's Geezer Senior Pass.  It's the Keystone Lake dam.

Passed an area with hundreds of windmills, and acres of corn framing it;  It showed the juxtaposition of the past that we expect to see in Kansas, combined with new technology of today.

The night in Kansas brought a windstorm so bad, that the 15 ton motorhome was pitching and rolling.  Being in Kansas, all I could think of was the tornado in The Wizard of Oz, but instead, our motorhome being pulled up the tornado!  What an imagination!  Tony closed the "slide outs", but I was so scared that I said the rosary!

It's been over 2 weeks now, and we are living in about 400 square feet.  We can't escape!  Within 24 hours, Tony knocked over red wine all over the counter, and dropped his shampoo which leaked all over the floor!    What a klutz!

Today, he got me up at 5am so we could leave Kansas early, as we had an appointment for late am in Colorado Springs.  We left before dawn, and lo and behold, we pass a roadside sign that says:  Entering Mountain Time.  So now it's an hour earlier!  It was like getting up at 4am.  Not funny.

Here's Tony cooking dinner:

 

CC Trip - Memphis

Drove back through AL, MS, and into TN again, this time to check out Memphis.  Went to Graceland, Elvis Presley's home and now a museum.  About 500,000 people pass through Graceland each year, and at $ 28 - $ 59 per person, plus the gift shop and other vendors, well, you do the math.  

Elvis was born in a two room house in Tupelo, Mississippi.  He started singing in 1955 and the rest is history.  He sold over a billion records, more than any other artist. 150 of his albums or singles went golden, platinum or multi-platinum. He starred in 33 successful films and had 14 grammy nominations with 3 wins.  Like him or not, he was a phenom.

No pictures were allowed inside the mansion, and visitors are only allowed on the first floor and basement,  but let me tell you, it was over the top. This was decorated during the 60's and 70's, so you can imagine....... Picture shag rugs all over.....including the ceiling!  Rooms of trophies and framed golden and platinum albums, his horse stables, his car collection, and two jets on the grounds!

He died in August, 1977 and is buried on the grounds of Graceland next to his parents.

 

 

Couldn't miss the famous Duck March at the Peabody Hotel.  This is a twice daily tradition which started many years ago as a prank on some friends.......There are 5 resident mallards who live in a caged area with a "pool" on the roof, and who spend most of the daytime in a lounge in the Peabody's lobby, swimming in a fountain.  

At 11 am and 5 pm every day, The Duckmaster rolls out the red carpet, and on cue, and to their music, the ducks exit the fountain, waddle down a few steps onto the red carpet, 

where they shake off the water, and march to the elevator, 

which has been reserved for their trip upstairs!!!!

I had all I could do to keep Tony from getting his shotgun!

Here's one of the Memphis trolleys:

 

Took a Mississippi Riverboat cruise and got a history lesson while aboard. 

The Mississippi originates in the hills of Minnesota, and flows 2300 miles south to the Gulf of Mexico.  Only 1900 miles of it can be navigated.  Here's a view of Memphis from the Riverboat:

Memphis, called the Bluff City because it sits up on the bluffs, is across the river from Arkansas.  The world record catfish was caught off Memphis and weighed in at 116 lbs !!!  The bait??   SPAM!!   A 10 foot alligator and 12 babies were seen in the river in recent years, thought to have migrated upriver after Katrina.   Fed Ex, Piggly Wiggly and the St. Jude Foundation are some of the businesses that originated in Memphis.  

Captains on the riverboats earn $1000 per day;  It takes 2 miles to stop a southbound ship.  If you were stationary on the water, in one minute, 20 million gallons would speed by.  Tenders bring pre-ordered supplies along side the ship while it's moving, so that the ship does not have to stop, saving $1000 per hour.  Since the crew are at sea at least one month at a time, the female cooks have to be over 55 years old.  ( I resent that).

We visited the Gibson Guitar Factory, one of 3 in the country.  

Fine woods used in construction are imported from around the world.  Due to the time it takes for glue, paint and lacquer to dry, it takes 3 weeks to produce the finished product.  35-60 pieces are shipped per day.  The most famous Gibson is the Les Paul model, named for the famous blues musician - these guitars start at $2500 today.  Tony has a Les Paul, Jr. bought in 1960 - After seeing the prices on these models, his short list now includes restoration of the guitar.

Couldn't leave Memphis without a stop on Beale Street, where you can hear the blues playing as you walk by the bars and cafes.  We stopped by Coyote Ugly Saloon ( no I didn't dance on the bar ), and had a cold one at BB Kings Blues Cafe.

CC Trip - Alabama

Drove the Natchez Trace Parkway from Nashville to Alabama.  

The "Trace" is 444 miles long, through Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, and supposedly had been forged by early settlers, hunting for any of the many wildlife which abound.  

 

We drove through the woods and rolling hills, passing deer, turkeys, even turtles along the way. I don't think the family of turkeys appreciated our air horns, but they have to understand that it takes a lot to stop a 15 ton vehicle.  

We are having a short stopover at Tiffin Motorhomes for a few minor repairs, and also a factory tour of the motorhome assembly line. The service area is on the property of an old airport. There were rows and rows of Tiffins on the "runway" for repairs or special modifications.

Front and End Caps:

Working on the Chassis:

Tile floor pre-fab and ready to be lifted into place:

Kitchen Wall:

Painted and Finished!

At its busiest, Tiffin employed 1200 people, which is one-third of the population of Red Bay, producing 12 motorhomes a day.  Today production is at 4 per day.  Its a family-run company, in a real "Main Street USA" town, where everyone is friendly and helpful, and definitely not in a rush to do anything!

We were able to get into a service bay after 3 days, since we had no appointment.  We had 3 windows replaced due to condensation between the dual panes......Under warranty, but cost for this was $1800 with parts & labor !!  Also had a few minor repairs done, and we were on our way to Memphis for a few days.

CC Trip - Nashville

On the way to Tennessee, we hit 1000 miles so far on this trip.  We're staying just outside of Nashville, in a Corps of Engineers Campground, our newest find.  These campgrounds around the country are all in wooded areas, and include a lake or reservoir with beaches and activities, for a ridiculous nightly cost of under $10 using Tony's Senior Pass (ie: Geezer Discount).

Our itinerary included the Artisan Festival in Centennial Park.  When we got there, we noticed that Nashville has a lot of freaks who hang out at the park.  Well, it only took a NY minute,and it was plain to see that we were in the wrong park, and were at the annual Gay Pride Festival!! After a good laugh, Tony said "let's get  *%$@?#  outa here!!"  

Today it was 98 degrees.......at 11am !!!   We visited The Grand Opryland Hotel - what a magnificent treasure!  With almost 2900 guest rooms and 3 different hotel wings, it includes 9 acres of indoor gardens.  There are cascading waterfalls and an indoor river with its own Delta floatboat.  Guest rooms have indoor balconies overlooking the gardens.

We found Arrington Vineyards, co-owned by Kick Brooks of Brooks & Dunn.  Enjoyed a live jazz trio and some wine and cheese with our Syrah, as we sat on an open air deck overlooking the vineyards.

Had dinner at the Wild Horses Saloon and had the BEST ribs and pulled pork.  Bought straw cowboy hats, and walked past musicians playing in the street.