Rewinding

Dear all

Backtracking to our travel between the Badlands and Bryce Canyon, we traversed miles and miles of  sparsely populated landscape.  On the map the distances look so deceivingly short.  In reality it is quite the opposite.  Living in a small state such as CT makes the contrast all the greater.

Wyoming landscape.

Sunday morning we attended a lovely local Baptist Church in Hot Springs, SD.  The people were welcoming and the preaching was edifying.  The pastor was raised in Hawaii but has lived and ministered in this area for about 25 years and loves it.  What a contrast, geographically!

Aptly named but forgettable cafe where we stopped somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

After church we headed for Wyoming.  Now and then one sees the quintessential windmill providing necessary water for stock.  One also sees oil pumps here and there.  Very few dwellings though.
We stopped in Cheyenne, Wyoming for the night at a seedy motel but the outdoor pool was a blessed relief.

Just another exaggerated story.  Sigh.

Eliot has been watching too many zombie movies.

The next day we drove to Denver, Colorado and spent the afternoon at an outdoor water park, an activity selected for the lads.  We walked around in our swimsuits with no need for a towel since the weather was so hot.  One ride was absolutely terrifying and i don't say that very readily.

Our next stop was Aspen, Colorado, the city that oozes opulence.  However, on the way we got waylaid in the cutest quaint town off the beaten path.  Driving through Glenwood Canyon is a town that was a sociological project back in 1900 by an entrepreneur with the name of John Cleveland Osgood.  He established Redstone (aptly named for the red stone everywhere) to mine coal and was convinced that workers who lived in an attractive environment were more productive.  He built appealing homes for his workers, many which remain today.  This town is one of the most unspoiled, picturesque towns we have ever seen.  The quaint homes are situated in a verdant valley beside a babbling brook.  We stayed overnight here in a rustic lodge and explored some of the history of the village which has about 130 residents today.

The redstone evident on the hillside.

The lodge parking place.  No one was on site when we arrived.  A sign in the open office building directed potential customers to phone the proprietor who lived down the road.  The keys were in the rooms of the unlocked cabins so you could have a look.  Talk about trusting.

Outside the back door.

The interior of the cabin.   The furniture looked hand made.

Another view of the river/brook.

Some of the homes in the village.

The Redstone Inn.

The Redstone Museum which unfortunately wasn't open.

The ovens which were used to bake the coal (into coke) which was mined from nearby.

Next time I will tell you about Aspen and Colorado.

judy and co.