We planned to spend a week in Creede, Colorado. It was rainy when we drove in, and that was the pattern for the week. Almost every day, usually around 1 pm, the storm clouds came over the mountains and it rained. That didn’t put too much of a crimp in our plans though.
Lannas fished each day and I read. We went to four performances of the Creede Repertory Theater . The productions were professional and we really enjoyed going. It is a charming little mountain town, with a number of excellent restaurants.
We found out that the Chamber of Commerce was sponsoring a small Hot Air Balloon event on the weekend, so we extended our stay one day. We got to see nine balloons inflated and floating around the valley on both Friday and Saturday mornings. We didn’t get to ride in one, but maybe another time.
Saturday morning after the hot air balloon launch, we took off for Santa Fe. We attempted to go to the capitol on Sunday, but it is only open Monday – Friday. We took a few pictures from the outside and later took a tour of the city. The tour guide was from London (?!?) and told us that the capitol, built in the late sixties, was very expensive ($8M) and it could not have a dome on it (by law there can be no building in the city that is taller than the Saint Francis Cathedral - seen at the right). The citizens hated it, so they planted lots of trees around it and now you can hardly see it!
Monday morning we took off for Amarillo. We ate at the Big Texan, but didn’t try for the free 72 oz steak with trimmings! Spent the night there and drove home on Tuesday.
We have been gone for two months and had a really good time. This trip has shown us some of the amazing beauty of our country and the unbelievable power of nature. We are also amazed and so grateful for the many people over the years that have worked so hard to make this beauty accessible to travelers.
