The Rockies and all that.

Whoopie...the sun is finally here and hopefully, winter, snow and the rains will stay away until I leave Colorado. It is not at all insignificant that the sunniest day I have enjoyed was on May 26th, my grandson Sharach's birthday.

Such a lovely day it was that I was ready to start exploring the Rockies, starting with Pikes Peak. Luckily for me, my son in law Devin is more conscious than I am and he had the presence of mind to call the park centre to enquire about the weather. Well it was not snowing we heard, but wind speed was 80 miles per hour. Brr, can you imagine me surviving that type of wind chill factor? 

Horrors.

Clear Creek Canyon

So off we went instead to explore the casinos at Black Hawk and Central City. I had been in the area before but it was still a pleasant drive through the huge gorge called Clear Creek Canyon. It makes poor little Bog Walk gorge appear insignificant. There can be no doubt why that area is part of the Rocky Mountain range for rocks there were of ever shape and size, jutting our of the beautiful hills. It is significant how they prevent disasters in the area for the rocks look like they could come rolling down at any time and smash the insignificant vehicles below. However the practice is to use steel mesh in vulnerable areas so when the rocks roll downwards they are caught in the mesh at the bottom and do not endanger road users. Those areas are popular with hikers, white river rafters and mountain climbers. The gorge has an elevation of over 8000 feet above sea level.

The Central City/Black Hawk area is quite a historical area having been from the 1800's rich mining areas. Central City became quite a prosperous town but when  mining died out, it became a casino town. Casinos sprung up left right and centre in the exotic and interesting buildings left behind by the miners. Then the newer and larger commercial casinos and hotels moved into Black Hawk, just a mile below and that effectively killed the economy of Central city.

As we strolled through the shops at Central city I couldn't help noticing that they were mostly manned by weary looking golden agers and every one had one thing in common, there were no customers..... as was the the casinos.

At Black Hawk below there was definitely more activity. After a short tour of the area, we decided to visit the casinos and lose a few dollars. I say lose a few dollars as this is something I do quite consciously...I never go to win. What I do is put a $10 or $20 in my pocket and leave only when it is finished. I love black jack and sometimes It takes me half an hour to contribute to the casinos' wealth, at other times it takes me hours.

Oh no I have not always been this conscious about gambling and learning how to save myself from bankruptcy was an expensive lesson. This happened many decades ago as we set out to explore North, Central and South America and unfortunately ended up in Las Vegas. Seeing the bright lights and hearing the jingle of money for the first time was just too much for us so into the casinos we went and as our money evaporated, we headed to our stash at our camp and emptied our entire savings in slot machines there. It  took us about six weeks of working at menial jobs and living hand to mouth in California before we earned enough to continue touring. So now I never put money in slot machines and never take to to the black jack table more than I plan to lose.

Unfortunately in Black Hawk, their 'no children under 21 ' policy was so severe that we were not even enter the casino with my one month old granddaughter. We were  even accompanied by security to and from the restaurant as we had to walk through the casino to get there. When I enquired why such a stringent policy, seeing she was only a baby, I learnt that the problem was not the baby but bad parents. For experience had shown that parents leave their babies in elevators, bathrooms, parking garages to fulfill their lust to gamble so now Colorado has a policy whereby security must see that the babies are not separated from their parents in casino areas.

So not being able to gamble after lunch we headed for a pleasant drive through Golden Gate National Park which ascends to 15,000 feet. You could actually see snow still unmelted on the ground in some areas but that did not stop some adventurous persons who were camping, fishing, riding and hiking there quite happily. We just drove through with windows tightly shut. It is an extraordinarily beautiful area and this has attracted some obvious billionaires who have constructed fabulous country homes with hundreds of acres of billowing ranges where cattle and horses roamed and where the barns could be mistaken for beautiful suburban homes.

Oh how I hated the rain, snow and cold as spring sprung its way though Colorado. Now (I am crossing my fingers) that summer is here, I am in my element as I prepare to explore the great outdoors.

For more photographs, see; http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150258447701823.368373.763366822