That mile high state!

Historical Photo:
 Colorado hunters on Williams fork

The Centennial State, split by the Rockies has Denver as the capitol, located on the eastern side. Driving, it seems you will never reach the Rockies which you see about from the time you enter the state from the East. There is plenty of beautiful flat farm land on the eastern side of the state, but once you get to the foot hills of the Rockies you have so many beautiful mountain views.

 (The 13th step is engraved as One Mile High)

"Beulah red" is the name of the red marble that gives the Colorado State Capitol its distinctive splendor. Cutting, polishing, and installing the marble in the Capitol took six years, from 1894 to 1900. “All” of the "Beulah red" marble IN THE WORLD went into the Capitol. It cannot be replaced, at any price. That dome is real gold-leaf.

Jack and Mark at the Peak

Most of our stopping time was in the Denver and Colorado Springs area. Reaching Pike’s Peak was high on our list. At 14,110 feet above sea level over 400,000 people ascend Pikes Peak each year.
We have reached the peak driving and taking the cog train, I prefer the train.  The drive is beautiful, but the altitude change is pretty fast, and it did bother me a little. 

             (An accidental parade)

We love it when we accidentally drive into a town with a festival or parade. Once we drove down to Pueblo, and lo and behold the parade was just starting. I love a parade.

The USAF Academy is near Colorado Springs. We camped on base. The Chapel there has been a wonder since it was built. The appearance is deceptive. This building is huge. If I remember right there are 7 separate churches within the edifice.  I was once in this flying club, but was never in this area.
 
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***The world's largest flat-top mountain is in Grand Mesa.

***In Fruita, the town folk celebrate 'Mike the Headless Chicken Day'. Seems that a farmer named L.A. Olsen cut off Mike's head on September 10, 1945 in anticipation of a chicken dinner - and Mike lived for another 4 years without a head. 

(I report what I read or am told, LOL),

***Denver, lays claim to the invention of the cheeseburger. The trademark for the name Cheeseburger was awarded in 1935 to Louis Ballast.

***The highest paved road in North America is the Road to Mt. Evans off of I-70 from Idaho Springs. The Road climbs up to 14,258 Ft. above sea level.

***Colorado means “colored red” and is known as the “Centennial State.”

This  is a 1941 Mercury, sent to me by Rose, before she left Blogland.

 

Leaving California

Historical Photo:
 Glacier point and South Dome Yosemite in 1898

 San diego, early 1900

 

                     Early Warner Ranch

 

 
I don’t want to leave California without mentioning the Golden Gate and Alcatraz.  We took a boat tour around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate.

Then we drove over it.
 

Ah, Yosemite. What can you say?  Marvelous, beautiful, and nature at its best. We camped here for a couple days.

We walked thru a tree, the drive thru trees were still under snow.
 We did not get to drive thru one until a couple years later, Sherry drove thru this one in Northern California.

Leaving California on the high passes we did stop for a snow ball fight. It was sorta odd seeing skiers in Bermuda shorts. ;-)
 
California has many beautiful sights. WE did make it down to Fisherman’s Warf also. The veggie crops, fruits, grapes and pasture land all spectacular. Leaving CA, we drove into Utah that time.
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California Facts:

One out of every eight United States residents lives in California. 

California is the first state to ever reach a trillion dollar economy in gross state product. 

Simi Valley is the home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. 

It is estimated there are approximately 500,000 detectable seismic tremors in California annually. 

During his engagement at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, Otis Redding stayed on a houseboat in Sausalito. While there he wrote his last song and greatest hit: "The Dock of the Bay." 

The highest and lowest points in the continental United States are within 100 miles of one another. Mount Whitney measures 14,495 feet and Bad Water in Death Valley is 282 feet below sea level. 

Castroville is known as the Artichoke Capital of the World. In 1947 a young woman named Norma Jean was crowned Castroville's first Artichoke Queen. She went on to become actress Marilyn Monroe.

And then the Hearst Castle

Historical Picture
   San Jose, the Electric light tower, 237' high. From 1881 to 1915

California people can be fun. Once in San Francisco, I was map reading and Sherry was driving (thankfully in the car) “Honey turn left at the next light.”  She did, and was headed the wrong way on a six lane One way street. One driver, I could see, was smiling as we made a U-turn, another driver acted like he was going to ram her. He smiled big and gave a friendly wave, as we got out everyone’s way! 

 But Imma going to back up to before LA. I want to catch a tale about the coast line. Leaving Los Angeles we found State hwy #1, the scenic route. 
The name Hearst became a house hold word when the daughter Patty was kidnapped by the Symbonese Liberation Army and turned her into a bank robber.  Hwy #1 goes by the Hearst Castle.
 
  (Casa Grande, the center piece of the Castle)

When we were about 30 miles from the Castle, we heard on the radio that #1 was blocked by a huge mud slide. Very soon we were seeing warnings "Road Closed Ahead." But the girls wanted to keep going. I am saying, “We will have to turn around and back track.”

But Sherry, the map-reader says, “Huh-uh, there is a road that crosses the mountains over to 101 a few miles past the Castle.” At the Castle the tour was pricey and much longer than we had time for so we skipped it and headed for Sherry’s ‘escape route. 

(Have you ever considered how big those Road Closed signs are? We realized how big they were when we saw two California girls stealing one. It was about too big to fit in the back door, but they got it!)

But hey, we found the road. Experienced map reader was right. The road was paved, the mountain was steep. Everyone began to notice there were no guard rails and the drop-offs were 50-200 feet practically straight down. (Did I say both Sherry and her sister hate heights?)  Sherry did look some, but I know Colette was head-down praying! TRUE.

I enjoyed the ride, it wasn’t all that bad. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as we reached the summit. There were no houses and we met no cars. This state is full of people? BUT where are they? Going down there were less drop offs and very dense forests both sides.

At the bottom what did we see?  Many military tanks in formations and performing maneuvers. Then comes Mr Jeep.
An army Major approached and I asked, “How do we get out of here?”
“Sir, My question is how did you get in?”
I pointed to the road, “We came over the mountain!”
Shaking his head, “No one uses that road, it must be posted!”
“If it is we did not see it. How do we get off base?”
He laughingly gave us directions and we left. The MP’s waved us out smiling. The Major must have radioed them.


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1.    California Caverns claims the distinction of being the most extensive system of caverns and passageways in the Mother Lode region of the state.

2.    Totaling nearly three million acres, San Bernardino County is the largest county in the country.

3.    On Catalina Island in 1926, American author Zane Grey built a pueblo-style home on the hillside overlooking Avalon Bay. He spent much of his later life in Avalon. The home is now a hotel.

4.    Reputed to be the most corrupt politician in Fresno County history, Vice-leader Joseph Spinney was mayor for only ten minutes.

5.    The Hollywood Bowl is the world's largest outdoor amphitheater.

***     *******

 Listed as 'Beach Bums' (above) 
All Girls 1950s Car wash (below)