Friday 10/12

Rose early and finished drive to San Antonio. What a fun city!!!
Went straight to The Alamo. Took the audio tour, which was great. So much history, and so interesting!!!! The Alamo itself is sooooo small!!!! Actually, the original was 3 acres, so it was quite large at one time. Now, the surrounding city seems to dwarf it. It is dedicated to the 180 souls who died there, including Davie Crocket and James Bowie, fighting the thousands of Mexicans, under the direction of General Santa Anna. Lots of stories. Hard to determine which are true.
Came back to the hotel for some downtime. We are going for dinner to a restaurant called Gwendolyn. Price fixed menu, which changes daily. Zagat rated 27.
Had fabulous dinner. Shrimp ceviche to start, a salad with candied apricots and walnuts, citrus vinegrette, and an entree of blackened flounder over noodles with collard greens and capers in a butter sauce.  Truly delicious. Can't even describe the dessert. Apples and brown sugar, whipped cream and caramel sauce. Yummmm!!!!!
Now, to bed.

Thursday 10/11

Wow!!! What a day!!! First, we walked to the "Window", a whole in the mountains overlooking the desert. Such a view!!!
Then, we drove to St. Elena and walked along the bluff overlooking the St. Elena River, between the soaring mountains. Really awesome!!!
Along the way, we stopped at an overlook and saw a tarantula. Highlight of the day!!!! Also saw a snake cross the road.
Then, we drove to the Rio Grand River in the park. Saw the river, (very green) and proceeded to leave the park and head toward San Antonio. To dinner and to bed.

Wednesday 10/10

Woke up, had breakfast, and drove to the caverns. Descended 754 feet to the Big Room. 14 football fields in length, with amazing formations and about 1 1/2 hours walk around the cave. Of course, this is only a small portion of the cave. The rest is for more seasoned spelunkers!!!! We are amateurs!!!!
Afterwards, drove to Big Bend National Park in the southwest corner of Texas. We will explore tomorrow. Staying in the park tonight.
To dinner and bed.

Tuesday 10/9

Up early, had breakfast, and then played golf at a wonderful course called Paa Ko, which in Indian means "cottonwood tree". The Indians, or should I say the Apaches, used to inhabit this area of Albuquerque, hence the name.Wonderful round, beautiful and very well maintained course!!!!
Then, we left for Carlsbad, where the National Park and caverns are. A five hour drive along route 285, south and east.  Arrived, had dinner, and to bed.

Sunday 10/7

What a day!!!!
Left early for Santa Fe, which was awesome!!!! Drove straight for the Santa Fe Square and walked around looking at the shops, stopping by an info booth, and finally having lunch at one of the upstairs restaurants overlooking the square.
Saw the St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral, the Loretto Chapel with its "mysterious stairway", the Palace of the Governors, and the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. All super!!!
Later, we walked to Canyon Road and gazed at the numerous art galleries. Also drove by museum row.
Then left for Albuquerque, which is only an hour from Santa Fe. To a Best Western, dinner, and bed.

Saturday 10/6

Finished Denver. Drove by Molly Brown's House and Museum, in a lovely Victorian house, The Denver Art Museum, The Capital, The Mint, and Invescoe Field, the Sports Authority Stadium where the Broncos play.
We then headed south on Interstate 25 toward Santa Fe. We passed Castle Rock, and stopped in Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy.
We toured the Visitors Center, viewed a movie on the Academy, and saw the museum.
We passed Pikes Peak which we didn't bother to drive up as the top was in a cloud!!!!
Continued toward Santa Fe, and stopped for the night in the little town of Las Vegas, the other Las Vegas, in New Mexico.

Friday 10/5

Went outside and discovered that it had SNOWED overnight!!!! Our car was covered, but fortunately, the temp on the ground was warm enough that the roads were not icy. Left Estes Park, having forgotton to go to the Stanley Hotel, which we were going to drive by. This is the hotel where The Shining was filmed. Anyone who has seen that scary, disturbing movie will remember the hotel, and Jack Nickeleson's famous line "Here's Johnny".
Anyway, drove first to Golden, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. There, saw the Red Rocks with it's amphitheater, and Bufallo Bill Cody's museum and grave which sit atop Lookout Mountain.
We then drove to Denver. Saw Coors Field, and walked Larimar Square. Enjoyed a NON salted caramel something at Starbucks (remember it's freezing in Denver and windy), and then rode the free bus up and down the 16th street mall. Got off at Tremont Place to see the Brown Palace Hotel. So beautiful, with a central courtyard surrounded by chi-chi shops.
We were then back on the bus toward LODO where we met Julie Stonis for dinner.
Donald's father's sister Marion's daughter Diane Stonis' daughter Julie lives here in Denver.
Wow! That was wordy!!!!!
Anyway, met Julie at a great restaurant, 1515, on Market Street,  and exchanged lots of laughs and caught up with family news.
Left, said our goodbyes, took a final pic of the Daniels and Fisher Tower, went to our hotel and to bed.

Thursday 10/4

Left Vail after a wonderful visit. Traveled along route 70 and then 40 west. Passed Copper Mountain, and Brenkinridge Ski areas, the Johnson Tunnel and finally, the Berthoud Pass. We drove by Winter Park Ski area and arrived at Rocky Mountain National Park, the west entrance, Grand Lake.
As we travelled toward the east side of the park, we passed Lake Irene, and the Kawuneeche Tundra where the Ute and Arapaho Indians used to live and flourish. We went to the highest point of the drive, the Rock Cut and ended up at Bear Lake where we walked around the rim of the lake. Along the way, we saw many elk as this is their rutting season. Donald even claims that he heard a bull elk "bugling".
We checked into our hotel, and went to the Dunraven Inn for dinner. Super!!!!! The owner, Andy Morgan, gave the usual bartender off as it was her birthday. He played bartender in her absence.
To bed.

Wednesday 10/3

After a yummy breakfast at our hotel in Aspen, we walked around the town. To our surprise, we saw a sleeping bear up a tree right in the middle of town! Asked a couple of police whether this was a common occurrence. They both said yes, that the bears are just trying to put on weight now, and that they pose no threat. Meanwhile, THERE ARE TWO POLICE OFFICERS WITH GUNS right there!!!! They said he would probably come down the tree about 4-5 pm. Soooo cool!!!!
We loaded the car and started toward Vail along Independance Pass. Really beautiful!!!!
Passed the ghost town of Independance, and Twin Lakes. Continued along scenic route 24 toward Interstate 70.
Arrived at Vail, checked into our hotel, and walked around the village and Lionshead.
Donald finished the white wine and again went into the hotel's hot tub!!!!
Going to an early dinner and then back to the hotel to watch the debate.

Tuesday 10/2

Left Moab, Utah and drove scenic route 128 along the Colorado River. Such a beautiful drive!!!!! Passed Dewey Historic Bridge, which had no bottom!
Continued driving along Interstate 70 towards Aspen.
Arrived, and checked into our fabulous hotel, The Limelighter Inn.
We then took a drive to The Maroon Bells Mountains and Maroon Lake. The mountains were covered with snow, the Aspen trees were changing colors and the lake was soooo lovely!!! Clear and we imagined cold!
Drove another scenic drive, then returned to our hotel and did laundry.
Donald enjoyed a glass of white wine while he took a dip in the hotel's hot tub.
Then we went to a cafe for dinner, and enjoyed ice cream at a local bakery.
To bed.

Monday 10/1

What a day. Went to Arches National Park and viewed many arches, the most famous, the Delicate Arch which is pictured on the Utah license plate. Saw a wonderful group of huge rocks called Park Avenue. Indescribable!
Then drove to numerous other arches or rock formations including The 3 Gossips, Sheep Rock, The Organ, Balanced Rock, the Garden of Eden, The Fiery Furnace, Sand Dune Arch, Broken Arch, and Skyline Arch. All terrific!!!
Then we left Arches and drove up the road to Canyonlands National Park. It is said that Butch Cassidy and his gang would take refuge within the canyons because the lawmen would not follow Cassidy and his group into the maze of canyons.
Saw five overlooks or places of interest on the Island In The Sky portion of Canyonlands. After a quick stop at the Visitors Center, we saw The Gooseneck, The Schafer Canyon, The Mesa Arch, The Green River Overlook, and Grandview Point. The final stop was to the The Upheaval Dome which Donald hiked by himself. We had heard that a prehistoric meteor had probably hit this particular spot some 60 million years ago!!!! Again, all totally awesome!!!!!
To dinner and to bed.