Just Hangin' Out The Last Week

I can't believe it has been a week since I last posted.  We haven't done a whole lot.  Our daughter and granddaughter are coming in tomorrow to spend 10 days with us. So, we have held off doing a lot of things since they would want to do those same things.

Of course, the fire here has been the big news.  Every morning there is a fire update on tv and it has been something else to watch the efforts made be these brave men and women.  Over 400 houses were burned which has been really sad.  Today, most of the attractions and parks that have been closed were open and tomorrow Cave of the Winds and the Manitou Cliff Dwellings will open.

We did drive over to Canon City one day to check out the Tunnel Drive Trail.  It is a two mile trail winding along the mountain.  It was originally used to service the redwood water main from the river to Canon City.

The hardest part of the hike was the beginning as it was about 1/4 mile up.

We then came to the tunnels, 2 short ones and a longer one.

As we hiked the trail, we followed the Arkansas River.

Rafters floated by on their journey down the river.

The Royal Gorge Train also ran along the tracks down below us.

It was a great hike, however, going around noon when the temperatures were approaching 100 was probably not a wise decision.  The trail was in full sun and we only made it a mile when we decided to go back.  That mile back seemed much longer in the hot sun.

Sunday, we went back to The Royal Gorge park, listened to music, walked across the bridge and took the aerial tram across.

Tonight, we went to Manitou Springs to have dinner at the Briarhurst Manor.

  I had purchased a GroupOn earlier for there.  We had a really delicious meal there.   Afterwards, we drove through Garden of the Gods and were pleasantly surprised that there were no signs of the fire there.

We returned home in time for a magnificent sunset over the mountains.