Family Vacation Day Ten: Buena Vista and Cripple Creek

We drove through Colorado and saw some incredibly sites.  We went past a ski resort and Tony took a couple pictures from the window.  These shots really don't do Colorado justice as the mountains were fantastic and we saw deer and lots of places to camp.  We drove beside the Arkansas River where many people were rafting.  This river flows through Browns Canyon National Monument.  We also ventured to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.  We drove through but the visitor center had just closed so we didn't stop.

Sheri wanted to go through Buena Vista, Colorado where Jeremy had served on his mission.  This is a touristy town with lots of wild West history.  I noted on a sign that Bat Masterson had served as sheriff for a time.  There was a nice river going through town around which there was a park for kayakers.



Cripple Creek was an even more interesting town.  In this case the town had been a gold mining area on the foothills on the West side of Pikes Peak.  Now it is a tourist town based on gambling.  There are many casinos in town.  There are also many murals and other interesting items including a small gauge railroad, $15 adults and $10 children.  The picture with the tall tower is the fire station with a bell tower.  There is even a theater in town.  We ate in Cripple Creek at Maggie's Restaurant.  Next morning our sleep was cut short when the fire alarm went off.  Rather than hurry out of our room we grabbed all of our stuff and checked ourselves out.

Vacation Day Seven: Cedar Breaks National Monument

Cedar Breaks still had snow on the upper rim, which blocked many of the hikes around the rim and consequently the trails were closed.  However we were able to take a small hike under the direction of a botanist from Southern Utah University.  He was able to educate us on looking for similarities among plants.  Amazingly Bryce Canyon is another place where they have Bristle Cone Pine.  I couldn’t get close because of the blocked trails but I did get a distance picture.  We had a nice picnic in the wind and the girls also found some snow in which to play.  We had a pretty good time at the Monument.  We were told it was similar to Bryce canyon but less crowded, and higher in elevation. 

First day traveling past park to campground

Tony and Elliott

Elk's Ear

Bristle Cone Pine

Girls in the snow

Window