We crashed at Karen’s brother Seth’s apartment in Colorado Springs. Not surprisingly, heading out and crack of dawn were involved. Sense a theme.
Anyway, we visited the Garden of
the Gods. We parked and walked around taking pictures of the towering red
rock formations. We saw tons of different birds, a bunny and even a rock
climber. The rocks were stunning, silhouetted against the bright blue sky.
It’s a Wonderful Life
Rockin - for the Rockies
Sun Splashin’ - for the sun
Gershwin - Rhapsody
Lorrena McKennit
Baguette Quartte
Metallica
Then
we went to the Manitou Anasazi cliff dwellings (also Colorado Springs).
Very cool. They were built about the time that the Mandan abandoned
their village out on the plains (1100). Brilliant use of space. Small
doors, t-shaped to allow carrying packages. In their kiva (a round meditation
room), they had a stone in front of the air vent to keep air off the fire.
There was even an old wall painting.
From there we headed out into Rockies and across the great divide.
See odd things sometimes. We stopped for gas at the little gas mart below. And as soon as we got back on the road we saw the 10 commandment truck. Cause you know, lots of people are converted to religion by reading the 10 commandments while driving. Cause you know, after they almost drive off the road, they get religion.
Ahem, yeah, well anyway, as we dropped like a bomb from Tennessee pass (1024 ft) on the down side of the Rockies (thought I was going to get the bends.), the cliffs were all cubist. All the rocks were square and rectangular. Then through a tunnel and normal rock again.
Just
before the Utah border, we stopped at the Colorado National Monument instead.
The monument is full of canyons and
rock formations of hundreds of shades of red stone. Some of the ridges
have worn away into mushroom shapes and knife edge points. We got a few
sprinkles of rain and that great desert rain smell surrounded us. Full
of sage and dust and that brief promise that desert rain brings.
Then off to Utah. I wished for some
clouds to obscure the sun setting sun from eyes. Look clouds. I said that
it wouldn’t be so bad to miss the stars that night if we could get a thunderstorm.
It lighteninged. It thundered. The sky lit white and oddly enough pink. The landscape was a fay shade of pale. The sun hadn’t set and the clouds were thick, but everything was lit in a diffuse light. The sand wasn’t wet, but you could smell the storm all around. Cracks of lightening in the mirror, out the corner of your eye, right ahead of you. Streaks. Lasso shapes. Branches lighting the sky.
Cool.
