DeBoer family picture 2014

 

Here is the newly expanded DeBoer family!!

One little person in the group just doesn't care what the fuss is all about!

Hiking and stuff

We went up near Leadville to hike this trail up to 11,888ft.  The trail worked its way up a mountain, switchbacking up and across a drainage several times before it opened up to this alpine meadow.  We picked it sorta randomly but I would highly recommend this one.  

Buena vista 2

We tried that drive to the top again today, weather much more cooperative.  Absolutely the top of the world.

  On the way up, we stopped off to hike for about 3 hours.  

We stopped to watch a bunch of pika on a rocky slope.  These little rabbit-like rodents live in high altitudes and actually hybernate for 8 months of the year, and spend the short summers fattening up so they can go back to sleep for the long winter.  They make the loudest noise, much bigger than they are.

We stopped at a goat farm and store on the way back to the RV just because I wanted to see what they had in thier shop.  We got there just as they were going to start a tour.  We got to watch them milking the goats (and participate in the milking) in the milking parlor and saw the cave where they age thier special cheeses.  Also fed some old billy goats and pet some little ones.  

They age cheese in thier caves for years and sell select cheeses of that to high end restaurants and outlets in the area.  Some chefs have thier own shelf where they store thier personal rounds of cheese and then they come and taste and decide when they think it is ready.  This cheese isn't sold to the public as most people wouldn't pay the $50 plus a pound for gourmet cheese.  Pretty interesting.

Buena Vista, Colorado

Woke up to a spectacular Colorado sunrise!  That got us going!!

We were anxious to get out and drive up into the mountains and were headed for the top of the pass at Cottonwood Pass when we ran into this amazing rainbow!  Was our first clue that we weren't going to see much at the top as the peaks were pretty much shrouded with clouds.  We had a nice drive, but then went back into town where the sun was shining and hiked a really nice trail that begins in town.  It meanders along the Arkansas River and then climbs out of the river canyon and up onto the level of an old railroad bed.  First time I really put my hiking boots on for a real hike and it worked really well.  I don't know how far we actually hiked, maybe 2 miles, but was good for first time on an actual trail gaining altitude.  Wonderful views of town and surrounding valley and mountains with rain clouds hovering over them.

In the evening we attended a tour put on by Buena Vista Heritage of the Turner Farm.  Something new they are just starting and tonight was first one they called a Lantern Tour.  The farm is now 2 acres of what use to be a 40 acre farm on the outskirts of town in 1912.  We were greated by guitar and dulcimer music while we waited for people to come.  Then a guide led the group through the house and around the farm and told about the family and the farm and the ongoing restoration.  As she stopped at various rooms there were people in period costume waiting to tell us something of historical significance about the place or the time.  It was really well done.

0n our way

Sadly, we said goodby to Stephanie and headed on our way.

It was a hot day driving across Indiana and Illinois.  Our coach was airconditioned and comfortable so we just kept driving.  Pretty soon we were in Missouri. . . still hot, infact it was 99 degrees outside.  Too hot to stop so we drove some more.  The next day was not much better across Kansas.  

until we drove into this approaching rain.  Looked worse than it was, by the time we got fully into the weather, it had miraculously gone by, just a few miles of moderate rain.  And temps began to be more comfortable all the way into Colorado.  

    Stopped in Colorado Springs at a Walmart for groceries and for me to get my nails done, and gassed up before we made for the mountains.  We called ahead and have an RV spot near Buena Vista waiting for us.  We plan to spend the rest of the week and through the Labor Day weekend here.  

  From Colorado Springs the road takes us over three 9000ft passes before we arrive.  Clear, beautiful day and gorgeous mountain vistas.

 

The view from Wilkerson Pass down into the San Luis Valley is breathtaking.  One more small range to get over to reach Buena Vista.  The town is nestled up against a collection of mountains refered to as Collegiate Peaks--several of which are "14ers" (over 14,000 ft high) and the Arkansas River on the other side and Arkansas River National Recreation Area.  

Lots of roads to explore--like this one that follows an old rail line through some old tunnels--and hopefully trails to hike.  I am anxious to give that a try.

Right out my RV window is a choke cherry bush with ripe berries that the Evening Grossbeaks are really enjoying.  They about have it stripped clean of fruit.

At Steph's

Arrived in Bloomington for the weekend.  Classes begin next week at IU so we can notice a distinct increase in traffic.  Nice and quiet in Stephanie's little neighborhood, however.  We parked our RV in her back yard so we are nice and close.  We are sleeping inside the house as we picked a hot and steamy, midwest weekend to be here and without air conditioning we would not enjoy the RV.  Still nice to have our own closet right outside the back door, however.

   This morning was a trip to Bloomington's Farmers Market.  Always a favorite when we come.  Its within comfortable walking distance from her house so we walked down, had breakfast from one of the many vendors and then did our vegetable shopping.

This mushroom was growing in Steph's yard.  I don't know what it is, but it is kinda pretty.

Bourbon tour

One last thing to do before we left Kentucky.  We had to go see how Bourbon is made.  Jim Beam is one of the several Distilleries around Louisville that brew up the liquor.  Found out that Bourbon is only made in the US--to be labled Bourbon it must be made in the US, from at least 51% corn, be no more than 120 proof and one other thing that I can't remember.  Kentucky makes most of it.  In fact there is a tourist, "Bourbon Trail" here like wine trails in other places.  We only did one, Jim Beam, because it was very close to where we were staying.

Former brewmaster bronze on the grounds.  Behind him is a warehouse where the bourbon is aged for up to 12 years.  Each warehouse is 9 stories high and holds something like 120,000 barrels of the whiskey just waiting for the right time to break open and bottle.  Now there are lots of these warehouses on the property--hard to imagine how much whiskey there is!

One was opened for us on the tour.  I don't even like whiskey but it was a fun tour.  Oh yes, the fourth criteria is that it be aged in new oak barrels. All those barrels are not reused when they are holding bourbon.

Louisville

We decided we liked Louisville a lot.  Lots of interesting things and if it wouldn't be for the construction, it would be an easy city to get around.  I think Lousville is reinventing itself because there is construction   everywhere--new  bridge, absolutely redoing I65 that goes through the city, tunnel under the Ohio River, so many buildings under renovation or being built, redoing the whole Riverfront.  Come back in about 5 years and it will be a new city.

  We did a tour of Churchhill Downs and learned all about the history of the Kentucky Derby which kind of puts Louisville on the map every May.  Watched them work some of the thoroughbreds before we walked thru the Derby museum.

Then downtownn to the museum district.  The Louisville Slugger Baseball Bats are made here and it was a fun tour through the factory.

One of Babe Ruth's bats. They make bats for professional baseball as well as ordinary bats of all kinds.  Did you know a professional player will get as many as 80 to 120 bats each year depending on the indiviidual.  Each players particular specifications are kept and reproduced when they need them.  By the way, a bat is considered equipment so the Major League team pays for them, not the players.

  We had fun ducking in and out of a few galleries, lunch at a sidewalk cafe (ok, it was Subway,) and inspite of the steamy heat we enjoyed the day.

    

This one is hotel, restaurant and art space.  Could have spent a lot more time here, interesting contemporary collection but our parking meter was running out and we had already fed it three times.

One particular installation took up a whole huge wall and was a beautiful pattern that spilled over onto the side walls.  Look closely and maybe you can see what it is made up of. . .

All insects--large insects. . .

Louisville has another one of those wonderful Victorian cemeteries we like to seek out.  

Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame is buried in this cemetery.  It is also a National Cemetery with large section of Civil War internments along with other wars.  A maze of roads lead one thru the cemetery so we could enjoy it from our air conditioned car.

Kentucky

It turned out to be a hot and steamy Kentucky day--perfect day to spend the afternoon in a cool cave. We arrived at Mammoth Cave National Park in time to check out the Visitor's Center display and museum and get our tickets for the 12:15 tour.  It was cool--literally--50 degrees down there.

Not the best picture but it does give you an idea of how mammoth this Mammoth Cave is.  This is the entrance and we are all climbing back up the steps after the tour was over into the bright sunlight.  Our tour accomodated 100 people, that is also a clue how big it is.  We walked two miles underground through cavernous rooms, looked down into what appeared to be bottomless pits, and squeezed through tiny areas where we had to turn sideways.  And then climbed 150 steps to get to a higher level.  Great fun.  And we just saw a tiny fraction, there are apparently 365 miles of surveyed passageways, and who knows how many more yet to be discovered.  

    Tonight we are in a KOA campgrond in Louisville, KY.  Had time after dinner to drive downtown to the river front and hike up onto the newly opened pedestrian bridge over the Ohio River.  They converted an old railroad bridge that was taken out of service in the 70's into a walking/biking bridge spanning the river from Louisville to Jefferson, Indiana.  

Lots of people out enjoying the bridge tonight, turned out to be a lovely evening for a stroll.  From the bridge you get a view of Interstate 65 with its bumper to bumper trucks on one side and barges on the river on the other.  Nice view of downtown also.  When they redid the bridge, they also turned a huge scrapyard into a lovely riverfront park and public area.  They built a 5% grade ramp to access the bridge so that it is handicapped accessible.

    

Nashville

Of course we had to see the Grand Ole Opry.  We did a self tour of the old Ryman Auditorium where it took place from 1943 to 1974 when they built a new theater away from downtown Nashville.  Popular tourist spot for our generation and anyone interested in country music.  It was actually built as a church  in 1892.  Later we went out to see the "new" Grand Ole Opry and it is a huge entertainment complex in a suburb. 

We also visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and walked the streets of downtown Nashville to poke our heads into various music venues, bars, restaurants and shops.  Did a little drive around town by following a Greyline Bus location map and found a few interesting sights.  We found the Nashville version of the "Pickers" from the TV show.  Lots of old interesting antiques but really decided it was more an expensive T-shirt shop to promote the show.

  Most interesting was a visit to "the Hermitage,"  the estate of Andrew Jackson restored back to 1836, the year he returned from serving two terms as President to retire on his 1,050 acre cotton farm.  We had a great history lesson here.

It rained a lot while we were in Nashville but we stayed in a Corp of Engineers Campground south of town that was one of the nicest we had seen with full hook ups.  One of those great campgrounds we can use our senior park pass to get half price camping.  Had the weather been more cooperative we could have really enjoyed this park and adjoining lake and dam.

Tennessee Valley Railroad

We have enjoyed several historic train rides other places so when we read about one here in Chattanooga, we were excited to give it a go.  It turned out to be just a tad dissapointing.  We ended up with a nice day, but certainly not what we expected.  First hitch was that the train was suppose to leave the station at 10 am but ended up 45 minutes late because of some mechanical problem.  Once we got underway we were thinking it was going to be a scenic ride but instead it passed through a very industrial part of town and stayed really urban for most of the trip.  

We did go past the Chattanooga National Cemetary, second only in size to Arlington.

It went as far as the little town of Chickamauga where we had maybe an hour and a half to ourselves, to eat lunch or shop or whatever.  We did, however, stumble upon a really good Mexican restaurant.

The best part of the whole experience was a stop that the train made at the Chickamauga Military Monument and Battlefield where a costumed interpreter gave a talk about the Civil War battle that took place here over two days Sept 19th and 20th of 1863 in which there were 40,000 casualties. 

Then everyone got back on the train and finished the day riding back to the station.

No visit to Chattanooga is complete without a stop to see the Chattanooga Choo Choo--which we learned is a luxury hotel!! It is a train also, (and a song) but mostly the Choo Choo is a restored train depot from the golden age of railroading that was turned into a hotel complex.