Camping Snowblinds (part 3)

Here are some more pictures around the Snowblinds campground, mostly taken in the late afternoon.

 

Camping at Snowblinds (part 2)

During our camping at the Snowblinds campground, we drove through the forest service roads around the campground. It was one of the most beautiful drives I had taken in my life. No wonder Colorado mountains and the blue skies make great pictures.

Signboards on Forest Service Road 887

Cemetery at White Pine

This grave goes back to 1899

Ranches on the way

Mountains and creeks

 Bridge made by beavers ?

Camping at snow blinds (part 1)

Here in Colorado we get short but beautiful summer. Most people like me, make good use of those months camping, biking and hiking etc.

Last summer we camped at Snowblinds campground near Monarch pass off of forest road 888. The campground has around 20 sites near an awesome creek. It’s a walk-in campground without reservations. On regular weekends you will get a spot since not many people know about this place. The hosts Karl & Ruby were great and you will never forget them.

This campground is close to a ghost town named White Pine. A beautiful area, I am sure we will camp there again next year.

ATV tracks

Town of Whitepine

Slow down... People breathing - A sign board

The deserted gold mine

Our Campground

Hiking Thomas trail

A few weeks ago, I and Al Spinks hiked the Thomas trail in the small town of Green Mountain Falls, about 15 miles west of Colorado Springs. The trail goes through Pikes national forest (North of Pikes Peak) and is around 3 miles round-trip. One will see a lot of waterfalls and extremely narrow passages in some places above the steep canyon. It was a beautiful hike. Here are some pictures from that hike and finally my hiking buddy. He is a six year old, 14 lbs Yorkie Poo named "Manu".

Glen Eyrie Castle (Part 2)

In my last post you saw some pictures of the castle. The estate has great rock formations too.

Rock formations

 

 

 A rock resembling Garden of the Gods kissing camels

Around the castle

 

Glen Eyrie Castle (Part 1)

Glen Eyrie is a 67-room, 24-fireplace, English Tudor-style castle, in a 800-acre (3.2 square KM) estate, built by General William Jackson Palmer (founder of Colorado Springs) and his wife Mary (Queen) Mellen. This 1881 remodeled house was his dream home and is hidden on the north-west foothills of the Garden of the Gods park.

The castle was well advanced for its time, featuring a primitive telephone and intercom system, electric elevators, fire sprinkler system, a pasteurization plant, and a chimney system that would hold the smoke until the wind was blowing in the right direction to take the smoke out of the valley.

The castle is now owned by The Navigators (http://www.navigators.org/us/). The general public is allowed on its grounds Monday through Thursday (9-4) to visit its bookstore, located at the Carriage House, or to hike its many trails. Tours of Glen Eyrie Castle are available to the public and require an advance reservation. Here are some pictures of the Glen Eyrie castle.

A window in the horse carriage house, now converted to a library.

A long tunnel from the horse cart house to the castle, used to transport luggage when the guests arrive.

A stream and bridge in front of the castle.

Pictures of the castle from outside.

The Chimney.

One of the 24 fireplaces inside. This is believed to have built in Europe back in the 1500s.

A view from one of the bedrooms.

After the tour my family decided to play :-).

A Trip to Pikes Peak

If you visited Colorado Springs, two land marks would come to your mind. The Garden of the Gods Park and the Pikes Peak. The Air Force Academy and NORAD would be next.

Pikes Peak (named after Zebulon Pike, an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806) is one of the 54 fourteeners in Rocky mountain range with a height of 14110 ft (4300 meters) above the sea level. To reach the top, you can leisurely take the cog railway from Manitou Springs or drive the Pikes Peak highway(19 miles one way) or hike (like my wife) to enjoy the sheer pleasure of unending physical torture.

The hike to Pikes Peak is by Barr trail, approximately 13 miles long with a 7300ft (2225 meters) elevation gain. The last three miles above the tree line are treacherous with rocks, frequent thunderstorms and lightning.

Last weekend, I drove to the top to pick up my wife after her hike. Here are some pictures.

Cog rail and the train

Crystal Lake from top

Garden of the Gods park from top of the peak

A brave hiker, my wife

On our way back, a lone fox stayed staring at its shadow, blocking the traffic

And later, it got bored and decided to leave