MEANDERING MOOSE

Bryce's photo taken on her hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.      Yay!  We got Bryce for 10 days in Colorado.  During her visit we were kept very busy touring the Pike's Peak area and Rocky Mountain National Park.      On Bryce's first day we decided to take the 19 mile drive to the summit of Pike's Peak.  This turned out to be quite an adventure as the road is 2 lanes with no guardrails and shear drop-offs of thousands of feet.  Pike's Peak is 14,110' and, at the top, every physical effort is accompanied with lightheadedness and shortness of breath.  Since Bryce is a little acrophobic and was coming from 0' above sea-level to one of the highest peaks in the "lower 48," she spent a good part of the trip laying down in the car with her eyes closed. On the road to Pike's Peak. Pike's Peak It was the view from the summit of Pike's Peak that inspired Katharine Lee Bates to compose "America the Beautiful." ...

    On our drive out of Oklahoma I noticed a bird running swiftly across the front of our vehicle.  It was a Roadrunner-my 1st sighting!  Lucky thing I heard the "beep-beep" and slammed on the brakes or that thing would have been as flat as if it were struck by an ACME safe falling from the sky. Whew! Capulin Volcano National Monument. This beautiful volcano was a pleasant side trip on our journey from Oklahoma to Colorado.      We made it to Trinidad, Colorado and were able to find a nice campsite in a nearby state park. Since we were near civilization, we decided to sample the local cuisine to celebrate our 40th anniversary.  We went to Rino's Restaurant and what a treat.  After ordering our drinks and relaxing, we heard instrumental music start playing over the sound system and all of a sudden the wait staff broke out in song.  Not only does this place have great food, but they pride themselves on having singing waiters. ...