Manitou Springs, Colorado.
As of yesterday, I’ve traveled a little over 9,000 miles on this journey. Today, instead of heading to Boulder as I planned, I’m instead going to Manitou Falls, Colorado, where I’ll spend the night. This is the lovely town that Kaye and I passed through weeks ago as we headed to Pikes Peak, but where we didn’t have time to stop, plus the heavy traffic sort of swept us through town and traffic congestion made it difficult to turn around and go back in. But, I’m remedying that today. It’s a little further than Boulder, a little over 6 hours from here, but from there it’s hop, skip, and jump north to Denver and Boulder tomorrow.
Well, here I am in Manitou Springs, Colorado. It was a particularly long day of driving, about 380 miles. I drove for over 8 hours, but that was partly because I stopped along the way a couple of times, got caught up in an approximately one hour traffic jam due to construction on interstate 70, and got slowed down by rain and some rain-snow (that’s right!), and then slower local roads for the last 100 miles. The scenery was again spectacular all the way, changing considerably from Utah and Colorado bluffs and mountains to Colorado alpine mountain ranges covered in fir trees for as far as the eye could see as I neared and entered Colorado ski country, heading further east along interstate 70.
Great scenery aside, I was glad to get here. I’d rather avoid super long driving days like this again (which I always intended to avoid; my original intention was no more than 5 hours of driving a day, and preferably 3-4). At any rate, it was a beautiful ride, as interstate 70 runs though the foothills or sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains, and also runs alongside the Colorado River or its subsidiaries much of the way. What other interstate has such beautiful scenery for so many miles?
I stopped along the way a couple of times, partly for a break, partly to get gas, and partly to take photos. In stopping at a rest area in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, to take photos of the mountains that engulf and surround it and through which I-70 runs, as well as the highway running alongside the Colorado River, I discovered a fantastic paved walking and bike trail that runs for miles alongside the river and next to the elevated interstate highway. Wow!
I took a three mile walk along the trail in Glenwood Canyon, walking along the Colorado River, with spectacular views of the river. As I said, what other interstate runs through such incredible surroundings, and for so far?
I saw many rafters heading down the river, as well as people fishing, and it put me in mind of when Alan, many years ago, took a 12-day rafting trip on the Colorado, in Arizona, camping out under the stars every night. However, for all the things on this trip Bev would have liked to have seen or done, rafting on the Colorado was definitely not one of them. 😊
I traveled about 270 miles along Interstate 70, before turning south to get to Manitou Springs. Along the way, the way the scenery changed from the rocky cliffs of the west to alpine mountains as I-70 east neared Denver, rising to 10,666 feet at Vail Pass, now well into ski country. By now, I was passing alpine style lodges and homes embedded in the surrounding foothills and mountains, with temperatures dropping from the high 80s when I left Green River this morning, to the high 40s and low 50s, passing through several rain storms.
After a very long and tiresome construction-caused traffic jam, I finally turned off I-70 and headed south on route 9 and then 24, heading through Frisco and Breckenridge to get to Manitou Springs. These were local roads, and often moved slowly as I passed through these two wonderful looking, and high end, ski resort towns. I would loved to have stopped and walked around, but it was getting late in the afternoon, and I still had 100 miles to go on these slower moving local roads and highways. I didn’t even stop for photos, although there many beautiful sights along the way.
The light was also starting to get dimmer, and it was raining on and off, not to mention temperatures squarely in the high 40s here, and it occured to me that my endless summer might actually be drawing to an end. By now, I was definitely not driving with the windows down, and instead had the heat on, still wearing shorts and tank top. Brrrr.
I passed the continental divide again, which basically is the point at which waters on one side flow toward the Pacific, and toward the Atlantic on the other side. This is the third or fourth time I’ve crossed the Great Divide on this trip, this time in Hoosier Pass, just south of Breckenridge, at 11,539 feet. At this point, the rain was hitting the windshield and car roof hard, and I realized it was actually a slushy mix of rain and snow. Ay! Not now, not on my endless summer!
I actually was still enjoying the scenery, despite looking forward to arriving in Manitou Springs, and was happy to finally arrive around 7 pm. My little hotel, the Park Row Lodge, was quaint, and even had a small back porch I could sait out on, with a nice little view of a stream and woodlands.
But, by now, it was definitely chilly, and I’m sad to say I switched, for the first time, to long pants, shoes, socks, and a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt, as I prepared to go into town and take a look around – which was really the point of coming to Manitou Falls. But not only is the weather getting cooler around these parts, night is descending earlier, and by the time I got into the downtown area, just a few minutes away by car, it was dusk and by 7:30 getting dark.
I walked around the town, took some back streets, and got a sense of the town so I have a better sense of where to go when I hit the town in the morning, when I can actually see things. It is a lovely town, and clearly a mix of upscale and chic, thanks to the fact that it is only a couple of hours away from major skiing country, and hip and cool because this is also a town for those seeking nature and outdoor recreation, drawing lots of young people. By the time I got back to Park Row Lodge, night had fully descended.
Tomorrow, after checking out the town, I’ll be heading back to Denver where I’ll stay for at least three days, in order to visit Shikha again, each day I hope, as well as spending some more time in Boulder and maybe taking a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, above Boulder. I was intending to stay in Boulder, but hotel prices were a little higher than I wanted, and where I’m staying is only about 30 minutes away. I’ll also visit with Tom again, as well as another friend, Kevin, and we’ll be meeting for lunch tomorrow.