Springs And Things
Today was our only full day in Colorado Springs and our first day without the rest of the family. It sure did feel quiet with everyone else gone!
We had a bit of a lazy morning, catching up on some much needed sleep and by the time we eventually got ourselves organised and down to breakfast, it was all done and dusted. The breakfast room shuts up shop at 9am! In our little motel (“America’s Best Value”) there is a cute little breakfast room with only about four tables and chairs! We were given a very stern talking to by the young girl on duty who was clearly not happy with our lack of punctuality. She reluctantly let us in but alas, there was no milk and no butter and worst of all, NO COFFEE!! We weren’t the only tardy ones and another woman wandered in after us and…. she wasn’t alone. She had her beloved, large, hairy dog in tow! In the tiny little breakfast room! The young girl on duty became more than a bit flustered and inquired whether this pooch “was by any chance a service dog?” This question was met with a stony stare and the dog-owner was not budging (and that was before she found out there was no coffee!) Tension in that little room was rising and Sam and I felt decidedly awkward! After scrounging around the scraps to find something to eat, we made a bee-line for the door!
The hotel/motel is such a classic place. The funny thing about America is that often the clichéd portrayals of American life you see on tv and in the movies are totally true. Here in the hotel it’s just like that. There’s a janitor that walks around with sandals and socks and is quite a character. He could’ve popped out of any number of sitcoms on the small screen.
Colorado Springs reminds us so much of Radiator Springs from the movie ‘Cars’. It’s only just up the road from the famous “Garden Of The Gods” nature park and we had wanted to check that out. We met Marilyn, the lovely volunteer Park Guide who had moved to Colorado Springs 6 years ago from the mid-west. She was a golfing grandmother as well as a geological zealot and she oozed enthusiasm (and knowledge) as she pointed out all the incredible rock formations in the park. The ‘Garden’ boasts numerous, massive red rocks that are the product of millions of years of erosion, tectonic plate movement, sedimentation and other geological phenomena! These rocks, with sheer and steep faces around 100 metres high just pop straight up from the ground and are striking with their dark red colour, contrasted against the deep blue of the sky and the bright green of the miniature oak trees that are scattered between them. They were actually awesome. Sam and I were a bit snap happy and there were just so many great photo opportunities! Experienced climbers are allowed to get a permit and scale these vertical wonders of nature. We saw some brave souls (or souls with a death wish) at dizzying heights, ropes and harnesses secured. I can’t even manage the indoor rock wall at the Rock House and can’t imagine how dangerous and terrifying these climbs would be!
The Garden of the Gods visitor centre had a movie to watch about the formation of the rocks and their rich history, first as the lands of the Ute Indians and then later privately owned by a family that were generous enough to donate it back to the state of Colorado, to be enjoyed for free – especially stipulated – by the public forever more. There was a woman working in the theatre who took a shine to us “Ossss-eeeez” because she’d watched all eight seasons of Macleod’s Daughters (were there that many?) and loved it down under!
There are a number of mountains in Colorado known as “The Fourteeners” due to their heights being over 14,000 feet. One of the fourteeners is Pike’s Peak, which is truly impressive and is visible from almost anywhere in Colorado Springs. The great thing about Pike’s Peak is that you can drive (or take a train) up to the very top without actually having to exert a single muscle. The Clayton’s mountain climb – the climb you have when you’re not having a climb. We had intended on doing the big drive this afternoon but the weather changed dramatically and the top of the mountain was closed due to severe thunder storms.
In our time here in the Rockies, we’ve been struck by just how changeable the weather is. One minute it can be bright and hot, as it was when we were touring around the Garden, and the next thing it can be pouring. As we were driving along today, Sam’s American mobile phone buzzed with an alarm sounding loudly. We weren’t sure what was happening. There was a message on the screen saying “Flash Flood Warning until 3:15pm!! Evacuate low levels and move to higher ground!” It was just like the message yesterday on the radio but it was pretty clever to have the message sent to everyone’s phone. We were so busy pondering the logistics of getting that message out, we didn’t see the BIG, black, ominous bank of swirling clouds we were about to drive right into, until we looked up. Oh my goodness! It looked like we were driving into the eye of a hurricane! I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sky so black! It was crazy. The highest peaks of all the mountains were totally shrouded in cloud and barely visible through the swirling storm ahead. We thought our best plan of attack was to return to the hotel and ride it out there until the worst of the storm was over. We made the most of the time and had a swim and spa.
Once we could see daylight again we took ourselves on a drive “Downtown”. We wandered into a menswear shop, just for a browse and were surprised to see the staff were all dressed to the nines and were sipping on champagne and red wine. There was apparently a hot shot sales rep from New York showing them a prestigious range of new boots and footwear. They asked us if we liked the shoes and before I knew it, I was being fitted out for a brand-spanking new pair of sandals for the runaway price of $650! What a steal. This was one time I was truly grateful I have a small foot and they didn’t have my size.
Colorado Springs isn’t exactly a happening place. Admittedly it was Monday afternoon but there was hardly a soul around, right in the middle of the CBD. It’s a fairly decent sized city but it’s like a ghost town! We dodged the tumbleweeds and avoided a few scary looking locals that I thought were going to rob us and drove to the Mall. Once inside the Mall we could’ve been anywhere in the world. It was nice to see a few fellow human beings though and we just did a bit of window shopping (just to put Ross’ mind at ease!) We were served in one shop – a trendy girls’ boutique – by a very curvaceous, glamorously dressed (in a dress, with pristine manicured nails and immaculately curled long dark hair) MAN!! Yes, there was a fair dinkum transvestite, with a giveaway very masculine, deep voice, working in the boutique, passing dresses to girls in the changerooms and nobody batted an eyelid. Sam and I were gobsmacked. We lead a sheltered life.
We were over the moon to hear from Ross and the kids this morning and to know that they flew safely to Australia and were on their way back home in a taxi! Talk about putting our minds at ease.
We dined in style tonight at the fine establishment that is Taco Bell and were amazed anew at how dirt cheap it is to eat here. We mentioned again to the cashier how much you can get for your money in the USA and for the second time in as many days, we heard: “Well maybe that’s why we are all so fat?” Maybe she’s onto something?
Thinking we had a full day here tomorrow we were looking through brochures and making plans; putting things on our agenda, when Sam had a quick check of the itinerary and discovered we actually check out tomorrow. Wow. A quick confirmation from the front desk to our flirtatious friend (who remembered Sam and asked after him) confirmed this! Just as well we checked…
