Thirsty, Cowboy?

To pick up where I left off; here is a quick recap:

Sunday 21st - drive from Oklahoma City, through Kansas, to Lamar, CO for the night
Monday 22nd - drive from Lamar to Colorado Springs, check into hotel and hang out
Tuesday 23rd - visit Garden of the Gods

So now I'll fill you in on what happened next.

Garden of the Gods park was about halfway from our hotel to our next destination in the little neighboring town of Manitou Springs. We were off to see the Anasazi Cliff Dwellings. These are very old structures from the Anasazi culture that were relocated from Cortez, CO with the help of archaeologists and anthropologists in 1904 to Manitou Springs to be a preserve and museum. They kept everything exactly as they had found it and opened it up to the public in 1907. It was truly amazing to be able to walk through the site and touch everything!

Here we have Matt in the tallest doorway on site. This is the ONLY time he could walk into a building without having to crouch down and scramble through. 

I loved that they let you go into the homes and really explore. I was struck by the tiny size of everything. These people must have either been very short naturally, or they didn't expect to stand up inside ever.

There was a balcony on one of the buildings and while I couldn't get far enough away to really show it, I thought it was the funniest thing to see Matt standing up there taking in the view.

For some reason they also had a fake tipi set up. I find it kind of random/awesome that they put up a structure that wasn't used by any native populations for miles and miles (we were in the mountains, they were used on the plains) but just went for it anyway. They even had a sign up saying it wasn't used in Colorado?!?! Perhaps somebody just likes a good tipi??

By now we were hungry so we drove into downtown Manitou Springs and found a place called Adam's Mountain Cafe. It was lovely. They had a menu using mostly locally sourced foods and a wine list that was full of biodynamic (and tasty) options. It was also nice to sit down because we'd been walking around for a while and I'd been having trouble breathing normally at this altitude. What a baby I am. Stupid lungs; WORK!

So in an effort of sitting a little longer we went to a wine tasting after lunch. It was at a little shop called D'Vine Wines and it was kinda weird and interesting. Apparently there are people in the Lodi area of California who grow the grapes for them and pre-stomp it, then ship it to their stores where they finish the wine making process in small batches. I've got to say it really wasn't the best wine I've ever had but the guy working there was nice and entertaining. And Matt and I made the incredible discovery that he has a bigger fist than I do, so that's something.

Now that I had my man all happily lubricated I floated the brilliant idea of having our picture taken at the Olde Tyme Photography Studio. He said 'Yes'!!! Now came the vitally important decision: do we do Victorian, Wild West or '20s style?

Obviously the answer is Old West. We were in Colorado after all, not Savannah or Chicago and I like to firmly adhere to 'When in Rome' (unless I don't want to . . .)

This was such a fun thing to do. The girl who took our picture was great. She accessorized us both with costumes and props and took a bunch of shots so we could find one we liked. The whole time she was shooting she kept saying things like 'chin up, Cowboy' or 'head towards me, Saloon Girl'. She never asked us our names but called Matt Cowboy and me Saloon Girl the whole time. I loved this!!

What I found so amusing, besides the obvious fact that we were all dressed up was that Matt was having trouble keeping a straight face. He always looks like a convict in photos unless I ask him to smile (and I say that with love, of course, but its true). Yet, here we were in a situation where it would look more authentic to NOT smile and he kept smirking! What a funny guy. We took about 10 shots and narrowed it down to 2 that we liked. Matt looks eerily the same in them both, but I am smiling in one and not in the other. We had a difference of opinion in which one I looked better so we just had to buy them both. There is a possibility I am an ego maniac. Not having a scanner I couldn't put a perfect one on here for you all to see, but I took a picture of the picture so you can get the idea.

By now we both had to pee real bad (after lunch and wine tasting I'm sure you understand) so we really had no choice but to stop at a place called Swirl to sample a little more wine - for me - and beer - for Matt - and use the facilities. This bar and wine shop was recommended in our Lonely Planet guide and it didn't disappoint. The people were so kind, the wine and beer delicious and the atmosphere was fun and relaxing.

That was our Tuesday. After Swirl we headed back to the hotel, it had been a long day and we planned on doing the Cog Railway up to Pikes Peak on Wednesday (which I've already written about in the previous blog).

On Wednesday we went up to Pikes Peak which took a lot out of us because it was so high up and took all afternoon.

After our trip up and down the mountain we went back to the hotel for our last night, rented and watched The Avengers - I flipping' love super hero movies - and went to bed early.

Thursday morning we checked out of the hotel and drove for a LONG time to pass through Albuquerque New Mexico and stop at a random Days Inn along route 40. The scenery was so beautiful as it changed from the mountains to the desert. Matt and I both agreed that there was no way to take a picture of the world when it looks like this so if you want to see what we saw you'll have to Google it. Take my word for it, it is so lovely.

Today, Friday, we are heading to Sedona for a few nights. Matt keeps reminding me as I write this that we have to check out and get driving in about 40 minutes and I still haven't showered, so I'm going to go get cleaned up . . .