Month: September 2026

Colorado Springs. Garden of the Gods

It took us a couple of days to recover from the somewhat challenging journey to Colorado Springs before we felt ready to set out on the trails. Colorado Springs is a beautiful place…..nestled into the foothills of the Colorado Rockies with a truly spectacular skyline.

Garden of the Gods is a public park owned by the City of Colorado Springs since it was deeded to the city in 1909 to preserve the spectacular landscape and ensure full public access in perpetuity.

The temps were pretty high (it was July after all…!!) so we planned to hit the trailhead at sunrise and beat the heat….and hopefully the crowd. We arrived in that morning halflight to find the parking lot already half full

But it was still relatively cool…so time to get going….

It was much busier than most of the trails we travel……and the first section was beautifully paved and fenced (unlike our usual hikes…but it speaks to how busy this place is, and this section is all disabled accessible).

Different only in that we usually pick far less populated trails…..this one was busy….but spectacularly beautiful…and kinda strange. Easy to see how it attracts people of all ages and abilities to be out enjoying the landscapes.

The geological formations have a surreal, almost ‘fake’ look to them….

The carefully engineered pathway added to that ‘fake’ feel…..almost like being on a movie set. (not that I know what that feels like…LOL)

Then we reached the end of that manufactured path and onto a more rudimentary trail…..

The terrain underfoot became a little more interesting…..and the views added a touch more WOW….

We then had to follow the Scotsmans loop…!!!…Now we were far enough out for some creature encounters…

This trail does not really have much elevation gain….but still has a few short steep climbs….

Once we moved away from the more manicured area, the path was considerably less busy

…and there were even some shady patches……pleasant because the day was beginning to warm up..

…one of the featured viewpoints is called the Siamese twins…..a very impressive rock formation….

There is a fabulous photo point at this spot….so there was a constant flow of people…..we had to wait for quite some time for the next pix….the view through the portal is of Pikes Peak.

The portal is big enough for someone to sit in it and still see the view beyond…..we decided it was a picture that everyone else had…..so after we took the people free picture……we moved on…LOL…

We debated doing the Pikes Peak hike……but it’s 13 miles pretty much straight up with very little shade….and it was July…!!!

….back to the path…..

…there was a bit more shade on this side of the park….and more weird rock formations……and more creatures…..😊

….and now it felt like we were going down again….such a beautiful place….

The last part of the trail followed the road….the park has a paved road for vehicles in a single track one way loop around the park. You can drive or bike it, on your own bike or rent one. Also guided tours on extended safari style jeeps circumnavigate the park. There was a high hedge separating the trail from the road…so most of the time you could pretend it wasn’t there….

When we arrived back at the truck…the parking lot was mostly full….people just starting out on the trail….which by now (around 8am) was rapidly becoming much warmer than I would have liked……but it was easy to see why so many people come here.

Extra Pix

Quick…Call AAA …..we are not in Kansas anymore…!!!

The next destination on our journey is Colorado Springs…..our first time in Colorado…checking off our 28th of the 50 states in the US.

Colorado Springs, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain range is at an elevation of just over 6,000 feet above sea level…..so the road represented a significant climb pulling the trailer. We thought it sensible to have an oil change done on the truck before heading out the next day (yes we had one done before we started our journey…and yes we had put on significant mileage to date)

I totally believe the online forums telling us that the I-70 west across Colorado is a terrible road…..so we planned on taking the 40 across. Less busy and reportedly a better road surface.

Campsite in Colorado Springs was booked…..oil change on Saturday…tank full of gas, hooked up and ready to go on Sunday morning, 231 miles…google time 3hr 45 min drive…..

Uneventful drive …..’til about halfway. My ever vigilant driver asked me to look in the mirrors and see if I think there is smoke coming off the truck wheels…or is it just dust….(it was hot, 36degrees C…97F….a dry and windy day so it could have been dust…!!!)

There’s no point in taking risks…we decided to pull over and double check…..

Nope…it was indeed smoke…….the truck proceeded to vomit most of its oil onto the tarmac…….not a good look.

So now we were at the end of a double lane/overtaking section of a mostly single lane highway with lots and lots of truck traffic (you know the bit where everyone jostles for pole position before dropping back to one lane…!!!)……and not only stationary….but not going anywhere under our own power……fun….!!!

AAA…thankfully we have premium service that covers both the truck and the trailer in both US and Canada. The problem is…trying to explain to the person on the phone (remember we are now in the middle of absolutely nowhere in Colorado….to describe the cell service as spotty would be highly optomistic)….find the highest point of ground….turn in circles ’til you have a bar….and hold the phone as high as you can while still being able to hear (as giant transport trucks rip past…buffeting you as they pass)

It took the first two hours (while we were standing outside the trailer for fear of being crushed by the transport trucks jockeying for their positions as the road narrowed….in 36 degrees C…no shade) for the AAA peeps to actually figure out where we were (yes we sent a pin…yes we were EXACTLY one mile from a T-junction).

This good samaritan stopped to chat….he said he already knew he couldn’t help…but just stopped to make sure we were OK……

Many thanks to him….we really appreciated him stopping…..

Strangely just after we stopped….within 10 minutes we had two phone calls from good friends who rarely call….but just wanted to check in……sometimes people are just tuned in, no rhyme or reason. It helped, we were not alone.

Eventually the tow truck arrived…….no long train like the last time with Matt from Hoooked-on-u in Montana.…..but this time the truck on the flatbed …the trailer hooked on the back.

On a day full of ironies…our AAA coverage covers 100 miles of towing for the trailer……the KOA in Colorado Springs….our destination…..98 miles…!!!!

Brandon…our saviour and tow truck driver was beyond awesome…….he quickly spotted the oil plug hanging by its last thread..

……and he reseated it so we would not lose it……

Then loaded us up, and hooked up the train…

We are hoping that being towed by AAA is NOT becoming an annual event….LOL….but here we go…

And by the way….I dread to think just how bad the I-70 road surface is….b’cos the 40 was……….well it was rough…..!!!!

Brandon also went above and beyond by stopping along the route at an Autozone store…so we could pick up replacement oil….in the hopes that we had been quick enough stopping to not incur engine damage…..

We arrived at the Colorado Springs KOA campground on the back of a tow truck….must’ve been a sight for the people there….mind you I’m sure they have seen the likes before.

Brandon drove the trailer through the campsite and got us set up (AC on and fluffball in the trailer to cool down) and helped us pour the replacement oil into the poor truck before taking it off the flatbed. Of the 8 litre capacity…only five were needed to fill….so all indications were that the engine was safe. The truck started no problem before we took it off…..and having gone above and beyond, Brandon went on his way.

If you have ever been to a KOA..(Kampgrounds of America) when you check in they have a guy in a golf cart that leads you to your site to get you set up. On this day it was Percy…..Percy was marvelous….and very sympathetic to the bedraggled state we arrived in…….he left us by instructing us to , once we had everything sorted out, come over to the food concession…and our supper was on him.

I’m sorry I did not get a picture of him, he was a ray of welcome sunshine……it had been a day….!!!!

Next day was a trip to a AAA auto shop in the city to have the truck checked over to be absolutely sure it was OK. We have, you will not be surprised to hear, been towed to a AAA shop before and been reassured by the goodness of humanity.

I cant say enough good things about Academy Car Care ..a AAA certified auto shop. They checked the truck over thoroughly….and also washed/degreased the whole underside where the oil had been dripping on the exhaust and burning…..!!!.

They also took the oil out, put a new washer in the oil plug and put our oil back in. They were sympathetic, friendly and courteous, took us in straight away…..and did not charge us a dime for their service.

Bullet dodged…..

Faith in humanity fully reaffirmed….!!

Further adventures in Kansas…Little Jerusalem and Monument Rocks.

In my research for interesting things in Kansas, I identified Little Jerusalem State Park as a place we should stop and visit. It’s the top rated Kansas State Park and the guides also recommend visiting Monument Rocks which is a hop and a jump from there.

The pin in the map took us to Oakley in the northwestern corner of Kansas. Of the two RV parks close by one had pretty awful reviews for their washrooms and showers….so we went to the other one. High Plains RV campground…..

I actually had to check to see how much elevation we had gained as I had not really considered that we would actually be in the High Plains….3050 ft above sea level…..so we had begun the climb towards Colorado.

High Plains RV was an old and somewhat run down campground…but had new owners and is slowly being rejuvenated…..the showers were dated but immaculately clean……and that’s important…!!!

It was pretty warm as the summer was advancing…so the hiking strategy was to start early on the trail….and be home by lunch….

Little Jerusalem State Park……it’s a drive across an increasingly remote landscape…up some dirt roads…and then voila…this lovely little park appears.

When we arrived the sky was cloudless, the photo of the truck above is when we arrived. The photo of the sign is when we were leaving with clouds beginning to appear giving the sky more depth and interest……a lovely day for a short hike…

It turned out to be two short hikes…but a quite spectacular landscape….

There is something quite mesmerising about badlands landscapes……even tho we have seen many examples now…they never fail to impress…...from Badlands National Park, to our own little version just along the road at Writing on Stone...and a few others along the way. (New Mexico, Dinosaur Park, Horsethief Canyon, Arizona, Theodore Roosevelt NP)

The second trail…..

It was early enough that there were still blooming wildflowers…

…..and some funny looking waspy things……

This park was donated by the family who ranch the greater area all around…..it’s a relatively small park but preserved now for everyone to enjoy.

….and, as with most badlands……you have to walk right up to it to really see the formation of the land…..

…and then those thousands of years of deposits, followed by thousands of years of erosion demonstrate one of mother natures great art projects…..

I disturbed this little bunny who had been sheltering in a shady spot….

The park has strategically placed benches….and information boards as you mosey along the trail

It was very quiet that day….probably because it was pretty warm out……but it’s also quite a remote spot………..very peaceful….

From Little Jerusalem…we headed down a few more dirt roads towards an even more remote area to find monument rocks…….

These rocks, still on private land but with full public access, are just out in the middle of nowhere……..incredible structures gradually wearing away….

You might notice …as the day progressed…the sky increasingly formed these fluffy cartoon like clouds….quite beautiful on that blue blue sky…..

Incredibly….as far inland as Kansas is….this is another area that is part of an ancient sea bed……there were large areas of these fossilized seashells…..

We spent quite a bit of time watching these swallows (swifts..?) as they feasted on the local bug population……when you looked up into the rocks….there were lines and lines of their mud nests……

Fascinating……

The journey home took us past Oakley…and the Buffalo Bill Centre…..great little visitor centre (with very clean flush washrooms…!!!) and a twice life size bronze sculpture of the man himself….

Here is me in the frame for scale……

Extra Pix

More Kansas Craziness :-The Garden of Eden

As we were driving up to Wilson Lake for an afternoon swim….we passed a road sign (regular green road sign..!!) that said Garden of Eden:-16. It was an odd enough thing to see that I utilised the wonders of the internet and google to find out what it might be.

A brief search told me enough to know we definitely needed to go there. It was one of the most utterly unique and distinctly strange roadside attractions we have tripped over on our travels so far.

It’s actually hard to describe……and very hard to represent with photographs…but I will do my best to do it justice.

The whole phenomenon that is the Garden of Eden was created by one SP Dinsmore. Dinsmore was a nurse in the American Civil War…..and though he must have been quite a character even before that…the experience brought out a creative expressive artist.

He built a ‘log cabin’ with the local limestone ‘logs’ that are so unique to this area. He built the house himself.

Dinsmore created sculptures and functional buildings on his property from concrete with his bare hands…using his own secret recipe for the concrete. This next picture…he made the ‘spokes’ from beer bottles filled with concrete, then broke the glass mold away leaving the concrete bottles.

The inside of the house is an interesting journey in itself….Dinsmore built much of the furniture….his woodworking skills were not lacking…..and his artistic and quirky sense shows in everything. The eyes of the of the taxidermied animal rather followed one around the room.

His political beliefs were most certainly on full display….as the sculptures mostly depict all that he believed was wrong with the politics of the time….right from Adam and Eve at the front gate…

The journey through the (not very large) garden is incredible…

The museum has a printed guide to take you through the journey…

…and the work is extraordinary…..

In one corner is the mausoleum he built for himself and his wife.

Apparently…when his wife died he was not allowed to bury her there according to local bylaws. So after the funeral…he and a couple of buddies dug her up in the middle of the night and he put her in the mausoleum and covered her casket in concrete so they could not take her away again…!!!

She is there under his open casket where he lies on display as per his specific wishes. No photography allowed inside for obvious reasons….but you can go in and visit with him…!!!

On the property there is also a birdhouse, a petting zoo, a wash house and a covered gathering place Dinsmore built …all out of concrete….

He must truly have been an extraordinary man……in his eighties he remarried a twenty something second wife and had two more children with her…!!!

It’s an out of the way place…..but if you ever find yourself in this area……go visit The Garden of Eden and see it for yourself, we’ve seen a lot of things on our travels but nothing like this.

The town of Lucas (which is the town where this house is located) has a whole personality for folk art and whimsical sculpture. The town has multiple artisan stores with some really interesting wares…..

Extra Pix