Glorious Colorado In The Fall Brings Out School Field Trips
October 18, 2015 by admin
This blog entry was written a few weeks ago in September, just as school started up, so it’s a report of some field trips with my daughter, Jennifer’s, job. By this time, I’m in Mexico, launched on my new world explorations after my month-long visit with my family. Soon, these blogs will feature this fantastic country just to the south of the U.S. Stay tuned for my adventures in San Miguel de Allende…..just as soon as I recover from my jetlag!
During my wonderful visit with my family in Golden, Colorado, near Denver, I’m doing a lot of sightseeing. I haven’t seen the first yellow leaf yet, as it still feels like summer, but September is everybody’s favorite month for so many reasons. This morning, my daughter and two grandchildren, Riley, 17, and Molly, 15, will take off for Glenwood Springs, several hours west of here. Kevin took off at 4 a.m. on his mountain bike to ride the distance and we will join him there for a long soak in the famous hot springs. After spending the night there, we hope to get to my old favorite town of Aspen to see if/how that has changed and then return to Denver over Independence Pass. If there is any color in the Aspens, it will be there! Big weekend!
My daughter, Jen’s (navy blue shirt) virtual school class’s field trip to Anasazi Ruins
But, for the past two Fridays, my daughter, Jennifer, who works for an online, virtual school called ColoradoEd, has coordinated field trips in Colorado Springs and I’ve gone along as group photographer. One week, we poked around cliffdwellings of the Anasazi, and learned about their interesting lives.
Peeking into a Cliff Dwelling Room – Can you see the Spirit Orbs?
Many Spirit Orbs inside of an ancient Anasazi Cliff Dwelling Home
Did you know that most of these cliffdwellers died toothless at the maximum age of thirty-five, due to a starchy diet made up almost exclusively of corn? Those carbs turn to sugars in the mouth and toothbrushes and toothpaste had yet to be invented….though dried yucca was attempted. We saw their skeletons to prove the ratty-teeth reality.
Ancient Anasazi skulls. They lost their teeth early because their diet was only corn.
Then, yesterday, she and I led another Colorado Springs field trip to Castle Ayrie, built by a railroad baron, more than a century ago. A man named Colonel Palmer, with a fascination for trains, realized that American trains didn’t run as fast as British trains. A bit of investigation proved it was because English trains burned coal and ours used simple firewood. He educated himself in coal mining and initiated the necessary changes in locomotives and made lots of money. So, he built his family a castle in a beautiful, park-like, red rock strewn glen, but they actually didn’t live there very long. Now, the castle and grounds provide a glimpse of a wealthy life in the last century.
Castle Ayrie in Colorado Springs, Colorado
All of that took place a few weeks ago, while I was still in the United States. On October 14, I flew all night to Mexico and am now launched on my newest great adventure…. a trip around-the-world, to last a minimum of four years. So, stay tuned as I report on a traveling and an expating life in many, many countries of the world. Meanwhile, Molly and Soda wish you a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Granddaughter, Molly & Soda
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