Ring of Fire

When planning this trip months ago, we decided to leave the last week open, unscheduled. That way, if things were going well, we would extend our trip. Shortly before we left, we read about the solar eclipse on October 14. That became our new goal. Neither of us have traveled to see an eclipse, so we thought the coincidence of our trip and the eclipse must be a sign. We were not able to get a hotel room in the 125 mile wide path since we waited too long. The closest we found was just west of the full eclipse in northeast Arizona. It was still pretty close, so we crossed our fingers and hoped. As you can see, we were too far west. After a long day driving to get here yesterday, neither of us were in the mood to drive east this morning to be within the zone. This location worked.

To get to our hotel room Friday night, we drove all day Friday through southern Colorado. Oh the aspens were ablaze in bright yellow. It was stunning to see large groups of aspens on evergreen-covered mountainsides. Occasionally there would be reds and oranges mixed with the bright yellow. 

We took a nice break in Durango, Colorado. Starting with a late breakfast and coffee at Taste Coffee. Loved the vibe of the place, and it looked like there was rooftop seating too. The barista was very helpful and suggested a croissant stuffed with eggs, cheese, and more. Crafty!

We enjoyed a nice walk through historic downtown Durango. So many shops, restaurants and bakeries. Good thing we had a large, delicious breakfast and weren't tempted by the bakeries! There are several historic buildings. I vividly remember the red building from my very first visit decades ago. The stately Strater Hotel sits on a street corner with the mountains in the background. So grand. I love Durango. 

It is fascinating the number of things that are coming full-circle, or repeating near the end of this trip. The Strater was built in the Gilded Age (1887), like the mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. 

The drive west between Durango and Mancos was beautiful. We passed many old barns and brightly colored trees on this trip, but I couldn’t stop driving to snap a photo. Finally got one in Colorado. The horses were spotted in a field about a mile away from the farm. What a bonus. 

Monument Valley has been a frequent stop but it always seems to be windy. That means blowing dust, making it difficult to get a good photo. This time we decided to give it another try IF the weather looked favorable. It was late afternoon, clear skies and a light breeze. It also makes it another full-circle moment after seeing the Forest Gump curve on Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina and the lighthouse in Maine. I really want a good photo of the valley from Forest Gump Hill. What I discovered this time is I need to photograph this angle in the early morning light. Too much shadowing on the Utah side in the late afternoon. But, on the opposite Arizona side, the setting sun illuminated the rocks beautifully. Another future trip.

Traffic was heavier than any other time we have driven here. Ah ha, eclipse traffic! It was late afternoon and we still had nearly 80 miles to drive in northeast Arizona to reach our eclipse spot. Few roads. Lots of curves. It was after dark when we arrived. A long driving day. 

So it has been five weeks, and we arrived home late on Saturday after the eclipse. Saturday, October 14th was our "finale" day, or so I told Papa. We started with the eclipse but there was more. Tomorrow (Monday) will be the last daily post as I document our "finale" day. Then we return to the routine of weekly Saturday posts. Thanks for reading.

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.