"Bonjour" from Colorado!

[Host Bonjour]

Hi everyone,

I'm not in Kansas anymore, friends......but I was!! I left NYC sometime Wednesday morning on a 3 day planned drive to visit my family in Colorado Springs. It's my first time in Colorado, a state that I've always wanted to visit (among others) and see the Rockies, enjoy the immense differences of life in the Northeast and a HUGE city. My sister took a job out here as a physicist two years ago, got married and had a baby so I have a 3 month old niece I had to meet!! Skype is great but not the same as holding her.

I'll write about the drive in another post - I don't want to think about it right now as it was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my "travel life" or in general in terms of endurance.....I drove here solo! Nor do I wish to even contemplate the fact that I will have to drive back - unthinkable at the moment. But in short I drove from NYC to NJ, Penn, WV (short pass thru) Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and finally reached CO except I never knew I was in Colorado until quite awhile after I'd crossed the state line. By then, I was essentially on the big push to just get to my destination so those were the only signs I was looking at!

Yesterday - Saturday - we went into charming Manitou Springs for awhile; it's very pretty - someone there described it as "bohemian" but it's historical, charming, friendly, has great shops and food and it's at the base of Pikes Peak. Amazing scenery. (Actually my sister's place has a view of Pikes Peak) However, as many of you might have heard, fires have been burning in the west and until yesterday, only in the Northern part of Colorado but that changed......Manitou Springs was evacuated (they were able to return home 8pm local time Sunday) today because a wildfire broke out while we were in Manitou Springs and has been blazing out of control since then. We had driven into the Garden of the Gods for a "preview" to me, and it is breathtakingly beautiful but as we were driving through, they were beginning to close the park so we did not get to stay long. Our day was cut short but things were getting serious. The fire grew overnight and today, the air is thick with smoke, mountains barely visible. We stayed in today obviously, pushing aside any "outings" they wanted to take me on but well, things happen and we must cope We just made it out tonight for a quick trip for this cool yogurt shop; good enough.

I do hope to make it up to Denver this week but obviously the fire is controlling everything for now. Nor am I that eager yet to drive! However, the vibe out here is great - the city is wonderful and I am happy to be here. I've not set a return date and so I am sure there will be plenty to do/see as the fire gets under control. So that gives me time to enjoy the family portion of this visit.

Various things can and do happen very often when we travel and all we can do is cope and make the best of it...in a way one actually becomes very immersed in where one is when something happens - I'm an instant local! Homestays also are always nice and one does NOT need to have family in order to do that. As I've posted here many times before, there is an organization called Servas.org that consists of hosts/travelers (you can be one or both) worldwide. This organization's purpose is to get people together, share culture, ideas, make friends and...feel at home! What's better than a free homestay? We *Independent Travelers* like options, finding new opportunities, meeting people and experiencing travel in many different ways; these days, just about anything is possible. In this big world, with all that is great or not, we mostly all have one thing in common in that we want to see the world, meet people and enjoy new experiences, revisit faves....almost anything is possible; you can find a way or we can help each other out by sharing what we know.

Anyway, for now that's all but I'll be back updating on my Rocky Mountain Adventure! As Pikes Peak is right here, I am hoping to get up there via the cog wheel rail but that will depend upon getting the fire out and the smoke clearing though I have time. Just hoping everyone will be alright and get through this - folks have been evacuated from their mountain homes and some homes (not many) have been lost. They are working hard to get the fire out and keep people safe. What complicates things is the unusual heat wave here and the dryness with no rain in the forecast. Being from NYC, I'm no stranger to tough times, albeit not of this type. Plus, I still VIVID memories of a horrific train trip from Bologna to Rome that was unexpectedly disastrous due to a weekend strike we'd known nothing about and so my Monday morning planned pleasant rail trip was indeed a nightmare.

Anyway, one thing was obvious from the start and that is that this is a very family friendly city/state with countless options and things to do. Camping is big out here, but there is so much more. As I'm here, I will update and pump my sister for things they do as well as their friends with kids!! But just being in Manitou Springs yesterday I saw families a-plenty - well we were, stroller and all!! My niece was quite the fashionista with her flower petal hat....toooooo cute but I saw lots of happy little faces yesterday

But I have a secret....even though I am thrilled to be in Colorado, I have serious Europe on the brain and a friend with possible plans to visit Catania, Sicily that were emailed to me sooooo..............we'll see! Even on a trip, I think of other trips

[jocap]

A wonderful family break for you, and so well described.....I'm glad you finally met the baby.
I've always longed to go to Colorado, since reading James Michener's Centennial- I feel I've known the area from pre-historic days....an amazing book.
Have a wonderful time, and a calm journey home-
Jo.

[Host Bonjour]

Thanks so much Jo....the baby is amazing, such a delight even though the wee one is trying to fight a cough. We were at the doctors and getting tests Monday. The smoke from the fire makes the mountains hazy but they're still visible. If it looks this awesome now, I can't imagine how it will be when it clears but they've got a ways to go in controlling the fires.

It seems Michener hasn't gone wrong with any of his books - I'll be wanting to read it when I get home - something I often do after I've visited a place. Even before my sister moved here, I've always wanted to come here too. There is an area in Denver called Centennial and a big boulevard named Centennial here in Colorado Springs.

My sister is a little unwell now, so we have to get her looked after but hopefully I'll get to drive up to Denver soon but indeed part of this trip is very much for family and so it seems I was needed here for a reason. They're worried about me and my "vacation" but it's just pretty here, I'm out of NYC and I'm sure it will all be fine and fun...we have a girls night out scheduled later this week - hopefully that will work out and I can meet some of my sister's friends.

Many thanks for the wishes re: the journey home - it was a major challenge that I want to write about too - not so much about what challenged me per se, but just things I saw along the way...I wished I could have been writing things down as I drove, there's so much to tell but I've tried to remember as much as I could, especially the "homeless cow" I think I saw as I came into Colorado. He's probably quite fine, but was there all alone at the edge of the pasture and near the highway - I guess he left an impression on me standing there so solitary or maybe because I was driving alone, I connected with him!

Oddly enough, Monday evening my sister and I got to talking about some English history and I just lit up because it's fascinating, the country is beautiful and so are the people. I think we were watching the US Swim Team's Olympic time trials so London came up and we got going from there! As each swimmer was qualifying for the team, they were signing what I think is a replica London phone box - I doubt they could have taken one and brought it here...it just looks too new. I wonder what they'll do with it?

I hope all is well and things are lovely up there in the north country.

[jocap]

Oh, yes, you must read Michener....I have several of his books, and they all speak to me. Have you read Edward Rutherford's New York?- similar style.....I'd no idea why Wall Street was so named.
Sadly, the red phone boxes are now up for sale to communities- for £1 a time. My sister's council has bought theirs, and is looking for something to do with it........we've kept some of ours in the Lakes, where they're still needed, as mobile signals don't always get picked up. Not many people ring from boxes nowadays.
Have a good holiday, and I hope all the health problems are sorted....And have a brilliant drive home. I think you need some kind of Dictaphone on the dashboard!
Jo.

[soliteyah]

Hope your family in CO Springs is doing okay, Colleen! All those fire photos have been scary to see.

[Host Bonjour]

Gosh, I don't know how I missed these posts! So sorry, Jo & So!

@soliteyah, thanks for the good wishes; we got through it but it was very stressful - I think we all collectively "lost it" by day 3 or 4! I have a pic from the day and tiny location from where it started...we were walking around in the Historic town of Manitou Springs when she saw a white plume of smoke start rising, then we saw the flames; Manitou is at the base of the mountains and Waldo Canyon where the fire was. I have no idea how to post the pic or I'd show you just how small it was, versus what it became, i.e. unhealthy air quality, stay indoors and 18,500 acres burning! It started on a Saturday but by the following Saturday, we did get out to do things Belated, yet sincere thanks for your concerns...I thought I'd have been checking in frequently while there, but the fire changed all that. Then there was the "recovery" from the drive back and culture shock being back! Of course right after I left, it was the shooting.........that was more north of where we were but my sister & brother in law have friends all over so it was calling to check if everyone was alright (sadly of course, too many were not...the victims) Colorado needs a break!

@ Jo, I love the idea of a dashboard dictaphone! Probably I could have made voice recordings on my phone, but it might not have been safe enough to do that and the phone was so new, I didn't know enough about it yet! Now are you speaking of the big red phone cabins? No one here really uses public phones much anymore either, there are fewer of them but we when we did have phone booths, they weren't really attractive anyway and usually smelled bad. The Red public phone cabins in England are beautiful, and going for 1quid? Gosh I would love to have one of them! Nevermind at present I'd have nowhere to put it but I could store it! Definitely in the Lakes and where it is higher elevations, they would still be quite necessary, just in case signals were not present. In many locations outside NY, I've learned about and seen how they make cell towers look like or blend in with trees so as not to ruin the views or natural beauty of an area. Perhaps the mobile companies will set about doing that in due time. If there are pines around, then it should work; only until one looks up close is it possible to tell the cell tower is camouflaged to look like a pine.

Since being back, I've been thinking about moving to CO, or, throwing out everything I don't need, putting the rest in storage and going to Europe for six months or so........just have to renew my EU Passport. Either way, getting out of the city. It's time!

[jocap]

And we'd love to see you!
We live in the shade of England's highest mountain (not very high by US standards!), and of course, it's all protected round here, building wise etc.
We actually saw a coach driver throw his mobile phone on to the road, once, and told him that we were all waiting for the new mast to be built on top of the mountain.......I think he believed us, but the outcry would be VAST if ever that was suggested....not a chance, as this is a National Park. If you drive a mile up the hill behind our new home, all the missed calls start to ding in!
Jo.

[soliteyah]

Glad your family was okay! I agree, Colorado definitely needs a break for a while.

[Host Bonjour]

@ Jo, sorry to be so delayed....so much going on! It sounds heavenly there and as I have more than enough reasons to get there now, meet new friends, visit old ones. I'd be thrilled to be without cell service, but understandably, not as much as if I lived there and needed it! Perhaps as it is all protected, they may find a way to camoflauge cell towers to look like trees as they do here, though National Park rules are rightfully rigid. I'd have gotten along well with the gent who tossed his cell phone from the carriage as that is how I've been (indefensibly!) been known to act out when frustrated, though sometimes it does feel really great to throw something! And, a mountain is a mountain, no matter the height. I loved the film, "The English Man Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain" as the pride, purpose and characters were so wonderfully charming. When I was in CO, I missed the end of the replay of season 2 of "Downton Abbey" and need to get caught up before season three starts! But maybe more important is just getting there!

@soliteyah, Thanks yes, all are well and indeed, I hope things settle down in CO too, especially if I move there. Right now, my home city is making it easy to leave. Uninhabitable, but GREAT fun to visit