Manitou Springs, into Pikes National Forest , CO

June 22, 2022

On my way to Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings  and Museum. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I didn’t read the reviews, but apparently it is a real cliff dwelling that has been renovated and restored. Little did I know that you could walk through this Pueblo and also take dogs! Jo Jo is mine!  I’m finding that Colorado is pretty dog friendly, so I was rather surprised. However there were so many people, I had to pick up Jo Jo and hold him as I never want to risk him getting hurt. There was one really interested pit-bull, but he was harmless, and in the end the owners asked if I’d like to take a photo, so I excepted.

I walked through the museum and gift shop. The museum had a nice collection of pottery and photographs depicting the heights of tourism where people were drawn into this area. It was a series of up and down stairs following bear tracks. In the end it seemed like a rather commercialized enterprise,  but informative of history in this area. 

I headed up north from Woodland Park, and I finally in the Pike National Forest. I opted to not take the highway north towards Denver, but rather the secondary roads which was a single lane winding through these forests. I’m not sure what the name of the fire was but I went through miles of burned forest. New growth was evident. 

I found Kelsey Campground and eventually met Ruth who was the Camp post. She’s 82 years old and has done this position for 30+ years, formally working for the IRS. She told me that she went to Alaska in 2008 at 68, originally planning to go with her cousin, but one thing led to another, and she wound up going alone. She left her home in Aurora, Colorado, and headed up to Alaska for three months. With a huge budget for gasoline. She said it was very doable going alone, and the only challenge was making sure there was gasoline along the way. She invited me to her RV and showed me several photos she had taken from grizzly bear to caribou, fox, and jack rabbit. I suddenly felt that I could do this on my own, even though I talked myself into going to Alaska with a second person, either Jim, or a caravan of women. I think this is going to be my bucket list 2023 and I’m already excited about the prospect.











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