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| San Francis de Asis in Taos, NM |
We got rained on hard overnight and it looked pretty bleak
in the morning. I wanted to do so much in Santa Fe/Taos areas because they are
so rich in crafts, culture, and history. The things we wanted to do in the
morning didn't open until 10-11am and I had to leave before that to get Grace
home. She was very anxious to see her family again after being gone almost 3
months. I took some pictures of a famous church that was one of the things
painted by Georgia O'Keefe and photographed by Ansel Adams. Then, we hit the
road north towards Colorado taking the scenic route on Hwy 159/522. I think I
shed some tears as we said goodbye to Taos, but it will still be there the next
time I stop by and I will make it up, then.
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| You can still see straw in the adobe after all these years. |
The weather actually cleared up and we had sunny skies. The
scenery was beautiful. The more north we went, the more trees we saw, the
greener it became and the more snow-capped mountains came into view. When we
crossed the state line, Grace cheered.
We came to a crossroads just west of Alamosa, CO, and just a
little south of the Great Sand Dunes National Park. We had both been to the
park, but didn't have our stamps, so, naturally, we decided to detour there. A
hop and a skip and we were there. Took a few pictures, got our stamps, pins,
and patches and were on our way again. We decided to continue north through
Fairplay and over the mountains on I-70 rather than go on I-25. Who wants to go
on a big freeway through big cities on the front range when you can go through
smaller towns on smaller highways and see all the beautiful mountains and high
valleys up close and personal?
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| The Great Sand Dunes up against the mountains. |
We had beautiful weather and great scenery through the
San Luis Valley and South Park (yes, CO has a high
mountain valley called South Park), but we hit rain as soon as we crossed to
the east side of the mountains, the Front Range. It rained off and on, but not
hard, and we made it to my daughter's workplace by 3:30pm. I have to admit it
was good to be off the road for a few days. Grace was so happy to be home and I
was so happy to see my daughter and other grandkids, too.
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| The '50 shades of green' in the Rocky Mountains. |
There's a piece of me that will
always reside in CO (I've lived here twice for a total of 12 years) and I have
so much family here, now, and old friends, that I never tire of the place. My
favorite mountain still overlooks my old home and as much as my old town
changes, things still remain the same.
So, you can see my trip getting here had high points and low
points with some great times in between. Road trips can be fun and adventurous,
but are not without stress, mishaps, and surprises, both good and bad. As long
as you get where you're going safe and sound, it's all good. Not counting Joshua Tree National Park, since it was closed, I saw nine national parks and monuments and two state capitols, and THAT is definitely all good.
