Today, I am settled in for five days at Chatfield State Park in Littleton, CO with the CO Chapter of LOWS.  Yesterday, we spent the day getting acquainted and sharing RV stories.  Today, some of us took a hike to the marina to see how high the water was.  This park has some serious flooding but it doesn't affect the campsites other than we can get to the stables to ride horses like we had planned.  And there is only one entrance into the park.  The other is completely under water.  Regardless, it is a beautiful park and the weather is perfect.

This is the view outside my window.

This gives you an idea of how high the lake has risen.  Notice the stop sign to the right.

 

This is supposed to be dry land.

 

 

 

The kids at the campground were enjoying it.

 

Yesterday was busy, busy.  My former Houston neighbor, Bill, was a great host and gave me a grand tour of Colorado Springs where he now lives in a beautiful home with unbelievable views. 

Unfortunately, my phone was dead so Bill took some pictures but couldn't take a lot of the scenery because he had to drive us safely around the mountainous curves. 

I had forgotten how large the Broadmoor Hotel was.  We had lunch here and then just wandered around the beautifully landscaped grounds and the lavishly furnished interior. 

 

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I was unaware that Bill purposely lined me up so I would be in front of this real bouquet of yellow roses.  The picture turned out to reflect an image of me looking like the "saint" that I am.

 

 

 

 

 And of course....there's the magnificent Pike's Peak.

 

 

 

 

Today, I reluctantly left Taos, NM to go to CO.  The drive was winding roads through the mountains most of the way but a beautiful drive.  I stopped at Angel Fire, NM for lunch and snapped the ski slopes.

 

I stopped to rest by this stream where there was a family from Amarillo, Texas fishing for trout.  The little girl in the photo knew how to throw her line. 

They have a second home here in the mountains. 

 

 

 

Finally, I reached Colorado Springs and decided to spend the night as I will meet up with a former neighbor tomorrow who lives here.

 

 

It's nice to be back in Colorado.  Now I remember why I loved it here so much when we lived here. 

 

 

Taos Pueblo

This huge adobe is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in the USA.  The natives here like to refer to themselves as the "Red Willow" tribe even though they are considered to be one of the 19 Pueblo Nations and are specifically called the Taos Pueblo Nation.. There is no running water or electricity in this compound which dates back to 1847.  The people who live here drink and use the water from the Red Willow Creek.  There are two main structures and they are believed to be over 1000 years old.  The structures are actually many individual homes built side by side and in layers with common walls and no connecting doorways. They are made entirely of adobe, which is composed of earth they get from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, mixed with straw and water and formed into bricks. 

There are also individual adobe homes located on this reservation and most all of the residents are craftsmen of some sort selling jewelry, bakery goods, paintings, pottery, sculptures and other various Indian goods.  Behind almost every doorway is a little shop with a vendor inside working on his crafts.  

This is the San Geronimo Church which was built in 1850 and where the natives who live here still worship today.  We were not allowed to take photos of the inside nor were we allowed to take photos of any of the tribe without their permission.  The reservation is considered sacred and we were continually reminded of this.  Although most of the residents practice Catholicism that was forced on them by the government, they still practice their ancient feast days and celebrations. 

This is what is left of the original San Geronimo Church after it was destroyed by the US Army during the US War with Mexico in 1847.  The Spanish killed Governor Bent who represented the territory that is known today as Arizona and New Mexico.   The US blamed the Pueblos for this crime and retaliated by destroying the church and other buildings on the reservation. Women and children hid in the church and most did not survive.  A graveyard exists on the premises. 

Yesterday,  I drove over the Rio Grande Gorge.  I parked and walked over the bridge where I got a good look at this amazing sight.  This is not for anyone scared of heights!

 

There is amazingly a lot of snow on Wheeler Peak, elevation 13,161' for as hot as it is in the desert surrounding it.  The mountain range here in Taos is called the Sangre de Cristos which translates to "blood of Christ" in English.  The range starts in CO and ends in Santa Fe in the southern-most subrange of the Rocky Mountains.

 

The weather could not be better than it is here in Taos, NM.  Lots of sunshine during the day but no humidity which makes it great weather to be in the outdoors.  The nights are cool so I can sleep without AC.   The sunsets in NM are unique.  They really do look like paintings.  The sky looked like it was on fire the night before I left Santa Fe.

 

My drive from Santa Fe to Taos was totally desert. 

 

 

New Mexico has a lot of casinos on Indian Reservations and this one, Buffalo Thunder, was calling my name so of course I had to stop and give them my donation.  Besides, the drive through the desert was very boring and I needed a little excitement.

I'm surrounded by mountains in the park where I am staying.  I can see why there are so many artists living here.  There is so much to paint.... mountains, desert, streams and southwestern architecture.

I caught this rainbow above the mountains last night while walking.

 

I thought this was interesting how this cloud looked like a ghostly apparition stretched out over the mountain.

 

 

And still...another interesting sunset.  It really looked like a painting.  Unfortunately, my phone camera doesn't do it justice but if you look closely, you can see what appears to be the artist's brush strokes.

I Love Santa Fe!

Okay....I know I seem to love everywhere I go but Santa Fe has a very unique charm.  Yesterday, I went into the downtown area and walked  for about 3 hours in order to take in all the wonderful culture.  The downtown area is built around a square where there are so many wonderful shops selling Southwestern Art in the way of paintings, jewelry, sculptures, clothing, etc.  The square is built around a park where there are several musicians playing guitars and singing.  There is a lot of energy in Santa Fe.

I strolled over to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and I was in awe of her paintings.  She saw the beauty in Santa Fe, New Mexico that she needed to inspire her to paint with both oils and pastels that would bring out a uniqueness in her artwork.  It was a wonderful experience to see all of her works and to learn about this woman who was a pioneer in modern art for the times. 

 

 

Here are a few of my favorite Georgia O'Keeffe pieces of art. 

 

                                     
                                              Black Hollyhock and Blue Larkspur  1930

                                                   Yellow Hickory Leaves With Daisy 1928

Oriental Poppies 1928 

 

I also visited 3 beautiful churches in the Square,