May 27th: ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, UTAH

When we woke up this morning and stepped out of the RV, I was right, the rock is huge and beautiful.  It is a reddish color with streaks of lighter and darker colors.  Beautiful!! Since it’s Sunday we had a wonderful devotion, prayer time, and worship as we sat outside looking at the beautiful surroundings.

We drove to Arches National Park just 3 miles down the road and the rocks became more vibrant and breathtaking.

After entering the gate, we parked in the visitor center parking lot and went inside to see the museum and the movie.  Of course, the national park system states that it was millions of years ago that the rocks were formed in everything that they write or spoke in the movie.    How in the world do they know that???  If they don’t have any written history or documentation from millions of years ago, how can they say with such confidence that it is millions of years ago??  And all of the millions of years are different.  In the visitor center it said 50 million years ago; in the movie it said 25 million years ago; and in the brochure it says 100 million years ago!!   For heavens sake, just get with God people!!

The Arches brochure explains that water and ice, extreme temperatures, and underground salt movement are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of Arches National Park.   We know from the Bible that there was the great flood and within 40 days the earth was covered in water.     The flood completely explains that the violent rushing of water mixed with underground salt movement, ice, and extreme temperature created this beautiful area with the world’s greatest densities of natural arches.   It seems so obvious to me and confirms Romans 1:20 where is says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”  When you see beauty and amazing land formations such as these arches, there is no excuse not to believe in a Creator. 

There are over 2,000 arches in the park ranging in size from a 3 feet opening to the longest, Landscape arch, measuring 306 feet from base to base.  In 1991, a rock slab 60 feet long, 11 feet wide, and four feet thick fell from the underside of Landscape Arch, leaving a thinner ribbon of rock.   Delicate Arch, is an isolated remnant of a bygone fin, and stand on the brink of a canyon.     Towering spires, pinnacles, and balanced rocks are perched on top of what seems like an inadequate base but are rare beautiful rock formations. 

We had a wonderful day driving through the entire National Park and hiking through some of the canyons to view the beautiful arches.  We watched the sunset from the Double  O Arch,  which was spectacular.   Amazing that in the middle of the dessert  of Utah beautiful, creative rock formations pop up out of nowhere.  Only God could do that!!

May 26th: DURANGO, MESA VERDE, FOUR CORNERS COLORADO & UTAH

Yummy, another KOA that makes a lovely pancake breakfast for the kids to eat!!  They absolutely love it because we don’t have time to make pancake and they had all you can eat this morning.    

Because we were too late getting in last night we wanted to stop in the town of Durango on our way to Mesa Verde National Park.     I had heard that it was very quaint town, and whoever told me that was right.  The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad organized the town in 1881 and it became an old mining town with the oldest working steam locomotive in the United States.  The train was used for mining silver out of the mountains and became known as the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.  The elevation is 6512 feet. 

We went to the adorable little train museum that had some of the original Rio Grande steam engines.  And it had the biggest model train town that I have ever seen.    It was a great little museum and even better, it was free.

Downtown Durango had many adorable little gift shops.  It reminded me of downtown Truckee but a little bigger.  The girls wanted to go into the silver jewelry shop where we all got “hooked in” and loved all of the beautiful silver jewelry.   I got 3 necklace pendants, Brooke got a ring, and Brittany got a necklace.  It was a fun way to remember the beautiful little town. 

Next we drove to Mesa Verde National Park which is Anasazi cliff dwellings.  To get to the actual cliff dwellings it is a 20 mile drive up the mountains and cliffs.  Unfortunately there has been some fires in New Mexico and Arizona, and because of the winds coming towards us, the views from the mountains were awful.  The visibility was poor, and the wind gusts were blowing at about 40 miles per hour.    Yuck, I hate this kind of weather. 

Mesa Verde National Park is the preservation of the ancient cliff dwelling of the Anasazi people which comes from a Navajo work meaning “the ancient foreigners”.  Now they are called the Ancestral Puebloans.    It was in the 1880’s that a local cowboy reported the cliff dwellings, and many archeologists since have sought to understand these people’s lives.    About 1400 years ago a group of people lived in the Mesa Verde area building homes that show amazing skills and traditions that were passed down from generation to generation.    Using the cliffs to their advantage, the Anasazi built their homes beneath overhanging cliffs.  Their basic construction material was sandstone that they shaped into rectangular blocks about the size of a loaf of bread.  The mortar between the blocks was a mix of dirt and water.  Living rooms averaged about 6 feet by eight feet, space enough for 2-3 persons.  Other rooms were used for storing crops and cooking.  Farming corn, beans, and squash was their main work, but they also gathered plants and hunted deer, rabbits, squirrels, and other game.  Their domestic animals were turkeys and dogs.

We walked down to the Spruce Tree House which is exactly what it would have looked like when it was discovered.   This is one of the largest villages in Mesa Verde with 129 rooms and eight kivas (or gathering rooms).  About 60-90 natives lived there at one time.  Several  families probably lived in rooms together and maybe each clan would have it’s own kiva and rights to their own agricultural plots.   Archeology has given some information about their lives but without written records their social, political, or religious ideas are really unknown, but some information has been gathered from the modern Pueblo people of New Mexico and Arizona.   It was fascinating to see, but honestly not one of my favorite stops. 

After leaving Mesa Verde we drove through the “Valley of Death and Nothingness” along the south west end of Colorado to the four corners of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.   It was out in the middle of NO WHERE LAND!    And I thought Kansas was in the middle of nowhere . . . this area is actually worse.  The land is dry as a bone with only rocks and dirt, no bushes or trees anywhere.  Finally, there was a sign for the 4 Corners and we turned onto a long dirt road ending with a booth with an Indian lady collecting $3 a person cash.  Ha, of course the Indian reservation would collect money to see a plaque on the ground AND only cash.   But then again, I would too if I was given land like this – isn’t our government nice to Indians giving the ugliest land in America?   Well, unfortunately, we didn’t have quite enough cash . . . the kids started grabbing change from wherever they could and thankfully we mustered up enough change for $18  and she let us in (good thing we didn’t come all the way out here for nothing).    The parking lot was dirt and the monument was a cement slab square where the borders of the states are marked on the ground with plaques and dividers.  Around the outside of the monument were outside rooms for all the Indian venders trying to sell something to the “white man”.   Most of them were gone by the time we got there, but there were a couple of Indians selling jewelry.

We got down on the plaque and played “Twister” to try and touch all four states all together.  We all had a great time falling over and laughing in the process, so it made it all worth it to come see the 4 Corners.

We left after taking about 100 pictures of different positions and drove again into “Nowhere Land” for about 2 hours.  Although, I have to say that the sunsets are amazing out in this open range because there is nothing to block the view.  And we also saw some wild horses . . . yes, wild horses.  There was no fenced in area and no ranch around so they had to be wild.  We passed them and then I realized that they were wild.  We turned around to try and take some pictures but they were too fast and ran off.  They were beautiful and we were all amazed!!

When we arrived at the campground  tonight I noticed how bright the stars were outside . . . beautiful.  And all I could see in front of me, behind the camper, was a big black wall.  I wondered if  that was part of the large rocks that we might see at Arches!!

May 25th: COLORADO ROCKIES

Wow . . . .  Pueblo, Colorado is just how it sounds . . . .Pueblo . .. . Indians . . . usually means DESERT!   It is not the prettiest place in Colorado and that stands the reason why there isn’t much out here!    We got up early to drive to Durango, Colorado.  Thankfully it wasn’t as hot today so my foot didn’t hurt while I was driving. 

After driving about 4 hours into nowhere, we came to another really small town.   As we were driving out of the town we saw a Cowboy Trading Post.  The sign said live buffalo so we were curious and stopped.  It turned out that they actually had a recreation of a little cowboy village with live animals including a buffalo, horses, a Shetland pony, and a miniature pony.

The owners showed us around and had fun with us after they found out about our trip and  that the kids are homeschooled.  She told us that their buffalo was the biggest in the United States and Guiness Book of World Records was going to record him soon.  There was a young man who was totally dressed like a cowboy, who probably was a real cowboy, but either way he played the part well.  In the back of the store was a parrot and he explained to all of us that in the 1800’s the Indians loved parrots because they talked to you.  They would do anything to trade for a parrot and when a trading post would get the Indian Chief a parrot, then the tribe remained friendly and never attacked the post.   Parrots came from Europe and were worth a lot of money so it was a very special item to get for the Indians, and when they received it, we were told the whole tribe would come.  An interesting piece of trivia!! 

When we came to the jail in the little village, the cowboy actually put the little kids in jail and gave them his gun so they could look like they were doing a jail break.  The big girls refused to do it . . . Ha . . . not even for a cute cowboy!!

We got back in the RV for another 3 hour drive to Durango, or so we thought.    Although we were facing the Rocky Mountains and knew that we had to drive over drove over the Continental Divide at any moment, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.   We started gradually going up the mountain and eventually it got steeper and steeper where poor “old Bessy” could only go 15 miles per hour.  I have no idea how long we were going up but all of a sudden we went past the Wolfe Creek Ski Resort at 10,300 feet.  Holy Mollie. . . . we were up high and we realized how high when we got to the other side of the mountain and looked down.  My heart started pounding and I immediately started praying that sweet “old Bessy” would make it down the mountain without losing its brakes.     I have NEVER been on as steep of a grade as this and as we were driving down runaway truck ramps started appearing on the right after about every mile . . . . does that tell you how steep it was?  I had it in first gear and still pumping the brakes.  About half way down we smelled those brakes and all of a sudden I see 3 little faces right behind me asking , “What’s that smell?”  I was trying not to panic and responded calmly, “the brakes, so let’s pray right now that they don’t fail us,”  as my heart started pounding harder.   I kept looking at the runaway ramps thinking how I would use it if I had too.  Later on I was told that when a runaway truck has to use those ramps, they have to be towed out because gravel gets everywhere.  I’m so thankful that our brakes survived.  Although by the time I got to the bottom of the mountain I was pumping the brakes and pushing to the floor and the RV was not slowing down quickly.   Immediately I pulled over to let the brakes cool down and as I went to stop the brakes were all the way to the floor and not stopping the RV.  I had to use the emergency brake to completely stop.  I think after another few minutes the brakes may have given in . . . we all were so thankful for God’s protection . . . Thank  you Lord!!

We stopped at the bottom of the mountain to rest the RV’s engine and the breaks that were burning from riding them all the way down the mountain.

Because of the steep mountains our little RV took forever getting to the Durango KOA.  We finally pulled into our camp site at 8:30 just in time for Brooke and Grace to catch the last 15 minutes of the outdoor movie, playing the “Adventures of Tin Tin.”   They loved it but wished they could have watched the whole movie.  There have been so many activities at the KOA’s that we have missed because of getting in late.  Too bad the driving takes forever in good “Ole Bessy.”  J

May 24th: COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

Colorado is so beautiful, at least the northern Rocky Mountain region.  We’ve seen Fort Collins, Boulder, Golden, Denver, and Littleton, and today we are going to Colorado Springs.  There is so much to see in Colorado Springs . . . . Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Focus on the Family, the United Stated Air Force Base, Olympic Center, and our new favorite restaurant, Cracker Barrel.   I got to drive today for the first time in a week, and my foot was feeling much better.  We started out at Focus on the Family which is about an hour south of Littleton.  Barb and the girls came with us for the day since they were out of school.

We came to Focus on the Family in 2004, 8 years ago, and as I drove into the parking lot it brought back all kinds of memories.  My kids were little and they loved going to Odyssey which is on the bottom floor of the main building.  It seems like yesterday that we were here and here we are again.  We started our visit in the Bookstore . . . not sure if that was a great idea, but they sure did have many wonderful items in their store.    

I have been listening to Focus on the Family since I’ve been married.  And I still remember going to a conference at my church in the late 70’s where my parents watched Dr. James Dobson’s videos on parenting.       Focus on the Family is a global Christian ministry dedicated to helping families and parents to raise their children according to morals and values grounded in biblical principles through education and resources.   They help couples to build healthy marriages that reflect God’s design through books and radio talk shows.  They support families as they seek to teach their children about God and His design for the family, protecting themselves from the harmful influences of culture and equipping themselves to make a greater difference in the lives of those around them.    Adventures in Odyssey is a radio series which began as an experiment.  In 1986 Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family wanted to produce a high-quality drama series for the radio. He hoped that it would appeal to Christians looking for alternatives to Saturday morning cartoons or simply families in search of wholesome entertainment. Steve Harris and Phil Lollar, the show’s creators, brainstormed what the series could be and decided that it should be set in a small town, called Odyssey, somewhere in the Midwest and refer to the golden age of radio without sounding out dated.  In 1987, a 13-week test series was aired on the Focus on the Family broadcast. It was called Family Portraits and followed the lives and adventures of Odyssey residents including John Whittaker, Connie, and Eugene in a special "soda shop and discovery emporium" called Whit's End.   The audience response was so amazing that Focus on the Family went one step further and created the weekly radio program that eventually changed its name to Adventures in Odyssey. We probably have at least 50 of the CD sets which have 12 adventures each and my kids have been listening to them since they were very young.  They have a gracious Gramps who buys them each 2-3 per year so we have collected almost all of them now and we listen to them over and over.  We brought some on this trip and we used them as a bribe to get school work done, saying, “If you finish . . . . then we’ll put on an odyssey tape, and Oh, how it worked!!!

The Focus on the Family facilities are beautiful and look out right at Colorado Springs famous Pikes Peak.  We didn’t need to climb to the top of it, we could see the whole mountain right from the back door of the building.   Pikes Peak is a mountain in the front range of the Rocky Mountains, 10 miles west of Colorado Springs.    Originally called "El Capitán" by Spanish settlers, the mountain was renamed Pike's Peak after Zebulan Pike Jr., an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806. At 14,115 feet  it is one of Colorado's 54 mountains that rise more than 14,000 feet above sea level, and rises over 8,000 feet above the city of Colorado Springs.

Gold was discovered in the area of Denver in 1858, and newspapers referred to the gold-mining area as "Pike's Peak." Pike's Peak or Bust became the slogan of the Colorado Gold Rush.    This was more due to Pikes Peak's visibility to gold seekers traveling west across the plains than any actual significant gold found anywhere near Pikes Peak.   It was breathe taking looking out at the beautiful mountain range which still had snow on it.  I would love to drive up the mountain because I’ve heard that the view is spectacular, but we figured that “Old Bessy” (the RV) wouldn’t make it up the grade.  Next time we come to Colorado Springs we definitely have to take the Cog Railway up the mountain.  I’ve heard that it is amazing but we had too many things we wanted to do and we were a little short on money because it’s the end of the trip!

We ate lunch at the picnic tables outside of the Odyssey area with the beautiful view of Pike’s Peak. 

Barb bought these heavenly cupcakes from a local bakery and we indulged as the kids were anxiously waiting for the huge slide in Odyssey to open after lunch.

.  It’s a 3 story slide that winds outside the building and then back inside, ending at the entrance to Odyssey.  All the kids, even the big girls, had a blast sliding down the slide!!   We explored all the other areas of Odyssey such as the stage with dress up clothes, the radio station, the Narnia area, and our favorite . . . Whit’s End soda shop.   It was adorably decorated and they served yummy fountain treats . . . we  ordered yummy smoothies and ice cream. 

It was hard to leave Focus on the Family because we were having so much fun, in all the creative rooms of different adventures.  But we needed to move on to the Olympic Training Center. 

It was hard to leave Focus on the Family because we were having so much fun, but we needed to move on to the Olympic Training Center. 

Next we drove to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, just 15 minutes away from Focus on the Family.  We just made it for the last tour of the day which walked us around the whole training facility.   This is the biggest facility out of 3 in the United States.  The other 2 are located in Lake Placid, NY and Chula Vista, California.  Athletes that reside here are in the top 10-15% of their sport in the US.  Each athlete’s respective success in their sport  identifies them as a Olympic caliber or Olympic development and they are selected to live and train at the Olympic Training Center. There are a certain number of resident beds allocated each year for resident spots.  Although there are many athletes also training here, this roster only contains resident athletes living at the Training Center.  The resident athlete programs include triathlon, fencing, men’s gymnastics, swimming, weight lifting, boxing, track & field, wrestling, shooting, judo, cycling, and several Paralympic sports.

The aquatic center is primarily used for training and testing of the USA's finest swimmers (Olympic & Paralympic), pentathletes, triathletes, and water polo players, but is also utilized by other athletes for cross-training.   An overhead catwalk and underwater cameras allow for filming athletes both above and below water for testing purposes.  The Olympic Sports Center which is the first multi-sport gymnasium built on the Colorado Springs complex, is a 59,000 square-foot facility containing six gymnasiums.  It is used for the training of 14 Olympic and Pan American sports including volleyball and basketball, and smaller, more internationally-renowned sports like team handball and archery.  This facility is also used to train Paralympics sports such as goalball, wheelchair basketball, and sitting volleyball.  The Olympic Shooting Center is the largest indoor shooting facility in the Western Hemisphere and the third largest in the world.   All residents eat at the training centers cafeteria and we were told that they will eat anywhere from 5000-10,000 calories a day depending on how much they are working out.  Can you imaging preparing that much food for every athelete?  Unbelievable!! 

We had fun posing at many of the statue, displays,  and plaques around the center and then we shopped in the gift store.  When we were leaving the center, Barb talked us into going to Cracker Barrel for dinner . . . yum!   Cracker Barrel is famous across the US for its good ol’ fashion southern country food!  They brought us biscuits and corn bread while we waited for our food.  I had been craving meat so I ordered beef stew with side dishes of sweet potatoes, cold slaw, and corn . . . . it was the next best meal to the amazing barbeque that we have had.  Cracker Barrel is now our new favorite restaurant . . . too bad they are not in California!   The waitress was telling us that they are trying to open them in California so hopefully someday one might come to Santa Rosa since we are somewhat in the country! 

We finally said goodbye to Barb, with tears in our eyes, after we closed down the Cracker Barrel.  The kids all had fun being silly in the rocking chairs outside as they waited for us.

We drove to the middle of nowhere, south Colorado, to the Pueblo KOA.  Who are these people who stay at these remote KOA’s and what are they doing there is my question??  This particular one was full of older folks I guess because they like the desert??  I have no idea why all of the RV’s and folks are out this way.