...And I Chickened Out...

This part of our trip was supposed to be, in this order: (1) Cave of the Winds; (2) Garden of the Gods; and (3) Cliff dwellings. 

Looks like a camel coming over the mountain!

Well. Remember how I said that I wasn't feeling well? That morning, I got up and my heart rate was near 100. That's not good, considering that I'm on enough medication to lower my heart rate that, in the words of my doctor, he's "surprised" that I'm still upright.

Started out right: we headed to Cave of the Winds. I got there; got to the first blind turn, where all I saw was "air" -- and I couldn't do it. I seriously wanted to vomit, I started shaking, and I was (thankfully) able to back out and sit there, shaking so hard that Kid #2 got really worried, which I didn't want him to be. Anyway, he was initially a little disappointed, but I explained what was going on, and then he got a bit upset that I didn't tell him in the first place that I wasn't feeling well. We talked about it, and he said that he was disappointed because he knew I was looking forward to it. One of these days, on one of our trips, we'll find some caverns. It was just a really odd day - I don't think it was altitude sickness. I don't think I was drinking too much water (would be hard in that dry area!). But it was definitely a day that I was wobbly and not feeling great. 

Instead, we went to Garden of the Gods. Here's the thing: I thought "caves" = "underground" -- I didn't realize that we'd be taking hairpin turns on a narrow, 2-lane road up a mountain, with no guardrails. Ummm. I wanted to drive in the mountains. I really did. Till I didn't. 

It ended up that we had a really great visit to Garden of the Gods. We went through the Visitor's Center and got a map, then drove through, stopping at various pull-offs to hike. 

Kissing Camels

Had to laugh, because later that day, The Kid told me that he deliberately stood in front of me on all the hikes, "in case you keeled over so that I could catch you before you fell off the path." 

We saw the Kissing Camels. We saw a sky where the cloud formation looked like another camel coming over the mountain. We saw Balance Rock; we hiked and saw scrub oaks with cactus at their feet. 

I was amazed, as I had been the entire trip, at the sky. It was big. Vast. Blue. The clouds accented the blue. 

Where???

At our second pull off, I had to laugh. It was Pull-Off #13, and there was a sign: "In case of flash flood, climb to safety." Really? How? Where? And the number 13? Yikes, all signs that this could be interesting. It wasn't anywhere near a flash flood, of course, what with the drought, but we looked at all the trees around, and figured we'd be screwed: nothing was legitimately tall enough to escape a decent flood. 

There were a ton of magpies. I understand that they leave their nests for other birds, but boy, are they mean! This one was teasing us and just daring me to have a good shot at a decent photo. It wasn't easy. I also saw a Stellar's Jay that didn't do me any favors, but that was on another trip... (more on that later). 

I was surprised that we didn't see more wildlife. 

Sorry about the oddball picture of Balance Rock. Unfortunately, it was packed with people, and I really wanted just a shot of it by itself. But that wasn't working out for me. I had to get in the road, in between traffic flow, to take something that at least gives you an idea of the formation. 

Magpie

When you drive the park, it's one way, and this is the spot where it splits off and turns around. You can go from here to the Trading Post and out. Which is what we did. There was a gift store in the Visitor's Center (of course) and the Trading Post also houses a restaurant, a place where you can buy fudge (I don't like fudge...just sayin'), and all kinds of trinkets, shirts, and a very pricey art center. 

Manitou Springs was great; the lady at the Visitor's Center there gave us a map showing me the exact drive at Cave of the Winds. I think that if I'd had a mental picture, I could've done the drive... 

Balance Rock (at the left)

The cliff dwellings were interesting; of course, they wouldn't all have been lined up that way, because they were different time periods and tribes. But what they did was move them from another location to this mountain. Other than some rude people, we enjoyed walking through everything. Kid #2 bought me a Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic) so that my stomach would settle down. It didn't. 

We went into the town of Manitou Springs and found a Polish deli (used to be a BBQ place, apparently), and I was still feeling like crap, so all I ended up with was a plate of latkes. I ate one (that's not a good sign, ever...) and took the others to go home. Except that, about 3 blocks from the restaurant, a young panhandler rushed up to me and asked, "Are you emotionally attached to your leftovers?" 

What could I say? I gave them to him. He needed them more than I did. 

Cliff Dwellings

I wish I had had a water bottle. We stopped at one of the many mineral springs and I was able to taste the water. And yeah, it was VERY "minerally" - but I would have liked to have had a decent drink of it. It was also a bit fizzy. That was interesting. We had a young girl standing there, and she says, "Oh, you can drink that?" Ummmmmmm. Yes. You can. 

There was a bit more, but I'll save that. Suffice to say that this was the day that I took the bulk of the pictures I ended up taking. 

Other Stuff...

Yes, other stuff has been going on! Today, I toured "The Atrium" which is a building our church owns and where the office will be moving. I'm in charge of moving the office. Let's just say that a bunch of empty rooms eventually fill with crap. For grins, Hubby and I tugged at the carpet in what will be the new reception space. 

Huzzah!!! Hardwood floors. I'm talking pristine hardwood floors. So after dinner, up came the carpet and padding and about a zillion nails and staples. I mean, look at this... It's beautiful! We have the contractor who's working on the hall and he's lined up to buff it up for us. The curtains have to go, and eventually, that window has to be replaced (it's a very old jalousie type, and it's just not in good shape), but after a coat of paint, it's ready for move-in. 

We also tore up carpet in the one back room that will be used as a file/storage room. There's a lot of clean-up to be done, as well as a bit of a job for our exterminator - ants. But it'll be ready when we get a new priest (by the end of the month) and the office will be moved over in about 3 weeks. 

Today was supposed to be my half-day at the church and I was going to come home and knit. Not a stitch. After pulling up about a zillion and five nails/staples, my hands are killing me. I earned myself a "concrete mixer" -- what the local ice cream store calls a "blizzard." 

I talked to our Warden (head of our church council) and we agreed that I could paint the room any color I liked. I'm leaning toward blue. The lady who did the decor for the remodeled hall wants green. But I don't like green. I prefer blue - a gentle blue that isn't "chilly" but is "calming." We'll put down an area rug, preferably something that looks vaguely "oriental" and it will be nice. She also said that she'd let everyone know that I was in charge of the move-over and to (basically) "get out of my way" so that I didn't have fifteen people telling me what to do and nobody helping when I really needed to get things done. 

Now to find me a desk. 

Random Picture...

This is what I mean by my love affair with the sky. It's just great to look up. You never know what you're going to see. It could be a bird. It could be an interesting cloud formation. It could be --- nothing but blue skies. And that's ok. 

It was a bit of heaven to be in a place where you could smell clean air. We were surrounded by scents. Some we could identify (like horse droppings!), and some we couldn't. But the point is - it wasn't pollution, and nor was it wild-fire smell (which wouldn't have been odd - there were fires in the state). 

We tried to figure out which trees were providing some of the smells. There were conifers, and junipers and oaks. There was yucca and there were cacti (I know, those don't smell). But we could never put our finger on it. 

Next time, I conclude this particular day. Honestly, I don't want this to be all "What I Did on My Summer Vacation," but given what else is going on in the world? I figured you all wouldn't mind a bit of distraction.