(Cripple Creek, Colorado) 52 degrees, bright blue skies, few clouds
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| Entrance to Cripple Creek KOA |
Today we arrived safe and sound at our destination for the summer -Cripple Creek Colorado KOA. Here are a few interesting statistics of our journey -
- We have traveled 2947 miles (not counting sightseeing excursions)
- Started at sea level and are now at 9906 altitude
- Spent $1600 on diesel for RV and $200 on gas for jeep
- Traveled through eight states
- Left April 19th and arrived May 4th
We spent two days in Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy FAM camp ($20/night). We really liked this campground. The sites were beautiful and situated among lots of pine trees. Each site had a barbecue grill.
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| Air Force Academy FAM camp - site #64 |
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| View out our front door |
It was exciting to see the Air Force Academy. It is a beautiful area and looks over the Rocky Mountains. We stopped at the Visitors Center and watched a movie about cadet life. Approximately 1300 students enroll each year. About half go on later to become pilots for the Air Force.
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| Visitors Center |
We walked from the center down a trail to the Cadet Chapel. This is spectacular church open most of the time to the public. (due to bin Laden's recent death the area was restricted to military only)
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| Blackbilled Magpie |
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| Trail to chapel |
I put together this slideshow of the chapel after reading Rick's (Rick & Paulette's RV Travels) great tutorial. Be sure to check out his blog, if you haven't already. He gives such great tips.
We spent the rest of our time shopping for groceries and a few clothes. We plan on going back this summer and seeing more of the area. Here is a spectacular sunset we saw on our way back to the campground.
Today we left for Cripple Creek and started our ascent into the Rockies. This was John's first time driving in steep mountains. At times it was a little unnerving. There were sharp drop offs on my side! John did a great job maneuvering all the turns, rock walls, and my occasional shriek. He's my hero!
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| John driving through the Rockies |
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| Steep Cliff 'Walls |
We are in some high altitude now. Those clouds are just above us.
Our boss wants us to spend the next 10 days getting used to the altitude. We will start our workamping jobs on the 15th. The campground is even more beautiful than we imagined. I think we are really going to like it here. I'll post more pictures of our new home tomorrow.
Nice to be parked for a while..hope you enjoy your stay in Colorado!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the campground is as nice as you had hoped. The pictures are beautiful. I especially like the trail picture. What was that large bird?
ReplyDeleteHow are you feeling at the altitude? I remember being at almost 5000 feet and having a hard time breathing...I can imagine you're feeling it!
Colorado is so beautiful. Spent a lot of time thee when I was younger, skiing lots of different places and a few summer trips. It will be fun when we can take the RV and spend a summer there. Will be checking in on your work-camping experience here, we are always looking for places like that.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful area. Thanks for the mention and nice job on the slide show. The stained glass windows in one of the chapel shots is amazing!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures, we really love that area.
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