Ladies Day

Why Ladies Day? Well it kinda has a woman’s slant I guess. Read on. We started the day in Garden City, Kansas. There is something unique in GS…The Big Pool. This pool was literally dug-by-hand by the people of GC back in 1921. That’s not all, it is larger than a football field and over 12 feet deep in the long deep end section. That’s a lot of water! It is big enough that people have water-skied on it. And, years ago, after the season closed, the elephants at the nearby zoo would enjoy a swim. Recent renovations included water slides and more. This has to be a fun place in the summer. 

Our first salute to women is the Madonna of the Trail statue to honor pioneer mothers. There are twelve statues spaced out across the country. Papa and I planned to see the one in Bethesda, Maryland but didn’t have time. This one in Lamar, Colorado was on our plan, too. I didn’t think to look for others. We could have found more in Wheeling, West Virginia and Richmond, Indiana. The statues are identical but the reason for each, which is engraved in the pedestal, is unique to the location. 

Onward to Pueblo, Colorado where we accomplished our daily hike. The Runyan Loop Trail was a nice stroll around a lake at the edge of Pueblo. The challenge wasn’t the terrain but the wind! We were under a red flag warning, so we reminisced how, as kids, we would “lean into the wind” during blizzards. We were very thankful it was reasonably warm today!

Time to move down the road to Walsenburg. This town is in the middle of coal mining country. The owner of the Crafty Canary Brewery told us there used to be around 300 coal mines in the area. Hence, the nod to the canary who scouted the mine for safe air. She said they wanted to acknowledge the hard working miners who fought for labor rights. It is an establishment owned and operated by women. There is a nice vibe at this little spot. We were there just after opening and already a couple locals had arrived. Based on the numerous games and postings of other town happenings scattered around, this appears to be a fun community gathering place. 

We started the trip in silver mine territory and are closing in coal mine territory. The landscape is also coming full circle with mountains in the distance. Western mountains are more rocky than the Eastern tree covered ones. The fall foliage here is more golden and not as prolific, but definitely making an appearance. Tonight the temperatures are plummeting to upper 20s, the lowest of our entire trip! Time to dig out the winter coats. 

On this ladies day, we finished another audio book. The Road Trip by Susanne O’Meary is a comical story about two female teachers from Ireland who go on a summer European road trip. They also document their adventures on a blog.😉 We have a couple days left on our road trip, and they are packed with more adventures and audio books.