Westcliff and Bishop's Castle

 

It's one of our days off and we decided to take a short trip to visit one of the many historic small communities in this area.  We chose Westcliff which is in the Wet River Valley.  The Wet River Valley is nestled between the Wet River Mountains and the soaring peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (which are the snow-topped peaks you can see in some of our campground photographs).  Gary talked to one of the other Workampers here at Mountain View and he told Gary that the town of Westcliff practically empties out in the winter because the temperatures can get well below zero.  The low last winter was -17, but it's been reported to get even colder than that sometimes!  During our visit (thankfully) it was a beautiful day in the low 80s.

The drive to Westcliff had amazing, beautiful scenery.  We had gorgeous views of the Sangre de Cristos from the road.  Look how lush and verdant the area is from recent rains.  You definitely know it's springtime in the Rockies!

Westcliff is just one of many small communities in southern Colorado.  This is a picture of the main drag in town.

 Just off to the right at the end of the block above, the restaurant has this great fence skirting the outdoor patio.  We're talking western (yeehaw) towns here!

 The main street also has a few beautiful bronze sculptures scattered about.  Here's just two of them.  The first one is the cowboy reading with his boots off and we featured Sadie as part of that photo opportunity.

 The second bronze features both Sadie and me!  What you can't really see in this photo is the detail on this guy's shoes so I cropped the photo and focused on his shoes--wingtips.  Such a striking feature of the bronze sculpture.

At the far end of town, was this panoramic view of the Sangre de Cristos.  I (unfortunately) forgot my camera for this day trip, so all these were taken with my phone (thank you, God, for camera phones!).  But, the video I took panning the mountains is too large for me to send via email so I have to figure out another way to download it to my computer.  I've tried downloading photos once before with no success, but I'll give it a try again.

After lunch (we had an excellent lunch at a bar and grille), Gary had the MOST AMAZING chili either of us has ever had at a restaurant.  They used shredded beef and chipotle chilis.  Honestly, we have never tasted chili that good before.  Gary was very happy with his lunch.  I had a steak salad which was also fantastic.  They make their own salad dressings, use only fresh romaine for their salads, and basically make all their own stuff.  Yum! Yum!  From Westcliff we headed towards Bishop Castle.  We had been told we needed to go there, so we did.

The drive over was through the San Isabel National Forest.  There are lovely stands of Aspens scattered throughout the evergreen hillsides and roadsides.  We are definitely planning this trip again in the autumn when the leaves are changing color.  It should be outstandingly colorful and beautiful.

 We also passed Bigelow Divide (or gap) which is at the summit of Hwy. 165 at an elevation of 9,350.  Originally we thought it was a crossing of the Continental Divide, but I couldn't find anything on the Internet to verify that so it just seems to be a summit in the San Isabel National Forest off the highway.

 Located right to the left of these photos were some Aspen trees.  I love the bark on Aspens.  It is just so lovely and reminds me of the trees I have for our miniature New England Village (which all happens to be in storage!).

Now, your obligatory history lesson on Bishop Castle because you may not have ever heard of it!

For 40 years, Jim Bishop has been building a castle on a mountainside in central Colorado. "Did it all myself, don't want any help," he says mechanically as he unloads a pile of rocks that he's hoisted to the 70-foot level on one of the castle towers.

Every year since 1969, Bishop has single-handedly gathered and set over 1000 tons of rock to create this stone and iron fortress in the middle of nowhere. Bishop calls it "a monument to hardworking people" and "America's biggest, one-man, physical project." "I always wanted a castle. Every man wants a castle,” Bishop continues, his voice a broken record, answering the same questions he's obviously been asked thousands of times before.

It hasn't been easy. For most of those 40 years Bishop was engaged in a running battle with Washington bureaucrats over the rocks that he used, which came from the San Isabel National Forest that surrounds the castle property. Bishop felt that they were his for the taking, the government wanted to charge him per truckload.

Another bone of contention that stuck in Bishop's craw belonged to the Colorado state Chamber of Commerce, which refused to list Bishop Castle as an attraction in its official tourism guides.

Happily, those angry years are in the past. Both Uncle Sam and the Colorado Chamber now recognize that Bishop's dementia concretia is marketable, and that he's transformed some heavy, unwanted rocks into pure tourism gold.

Bishop's goal is to complete his castle before he dies. He has no thought of slowing down. Although the castle is mostly a hollow shell of cemented rocks and ornamental ironwork (Jim Bishop's regular line of business), his future plans include a moat and a drawbridge, a roller coaster mounted on the castle's outer wall, a balcony big enough to hold an orchestra, and a second castle for Phoebe, his wife. (By 2005, Jim had added a large metal mesh dome on top of the castle, which rotates when visitors run in it.)

"I want to live as long as I can and keep building that castle bigger and bigger and bigger."

Now that you know what it is, here are some photos.  Some I took off the Internet because it's hard to get good photos of the top of the castle when it is a sunny day--too much light and glare.

This photo I snagged from the Internet.

 And this one, too!  It shows all three towers really well.

 

 Now, on to my camera phone photos.  Can you see the dragon's head coming out of the peaked roof?  We were told that he used to have a propane tank so that every once in awhile the dragon would breathe out fire!

 Gary at the main entrance. 

 Stairs going straight up.  I looked at those and said, "Heck no!"  Even looking at it made my stomach turn a little.

 

 They have this large, rustic chair sitting out front.  Couldn't pass up that photo opp! It was a bit of a climb up with my short legs, but I finally conquered it.

 The clouds had this beautiful effect that I had to catch.

 And, on our drive back to Canon City (we basically made a loop) we passed this ramshackle residence that was picture perfect.  How pastoral is that?

 

 Psalms 57:10-11  //  For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens and Your truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth.

Rolling on the River

Left a good job in the city
Working for the man every night and day
And I never lost one minute of sleeping
Worrying 'bout the way things might have been

Big wheel, keep on turning
Proud Mary, keep on burning
Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river

Do you remember who wrote that song and what group s/he was in?  Answer is at the end of the blog.  And for extra brownie points (because that's all you get if you're right!) what was the year?

We decided to take a stroll on part of the Arkansas Riverwalk that runs along Highway 50 right through Canon City and Pueblo (which also has their own Riverwalk).  The Riverwalk in Canon City is seven miles long and is a favorite for walking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, canoeing, and photographing. 

We didn't cover very much of the Riverwalk this time out because it was one of those spur of the moment decisions and we weren't really prepared for a long hike. Here's where we started our walk.

A little bit of the river. And how about that typical Colorado sky?

Gary and Sadie stopping for a sniff ... and maybe a pee marking or two.  Uh, Sadie, not Gary on the marking (LOL!)

 

 Underneath this tree is a carpet of white wildflowers.  Hope you can see it ... it was so beautiful.

 

A little more of the river, looking east downriver.

A perfect place to stop (right past one of the bridges) for a family photo.

 

We passed Centennial Park on our walk.  Again, love those skies!

The geese are obviously well trained about visitors.  Here they come hoping we have something to share ... but we didn't!  Such a disappointment for those geese.

These were the only two white geese in the crowd.

We also passed the Robinson House on our walk.  The Historic Robison Mansion & Carriage House is an exquisite 1884 home located down by the Arkansas River.  It is an elegant Victorian mansion set on a majestic 2.5 acre manicured lawn, fenced and gated grounds with some of the oldest trees in Cañon City.  Here is an excerpt from a newspaper article at the time it was being built.

Canon City Record, August 1, 1885:

The handsome and modern residence erected by Lyman Robison in South Canon, one of the most lovely building sites in this part of the country, 500x300 feet and facing the Arkansas river, is about completed; only a few finishing touches here and there by the painters being required to render it ready for occupancy. It is probably the handsomest and most elegant private residence South of the Arkansas. It is three stories high, the rooms on the first floor having 16 feet ceilings, on the second 11 feet and on the third 10 feet. On the first floor are the parlor, sitting room, dining and conservatory, also two bay windows 5x11 feet. The second floor contains six chambers and a bathroom. The third floor is divided into two large rooms. The main building is 61x88, with a two story kitchen, 11 and 10 feet ceilings 20x20 feet, including pantry and china closet, built onto the rear. The walls are of the finest quality of selected brick resting on a stone foundation and smoothly cut water tables. The walls are sixteen inches thick on the first floor and twelve from there up to the eves. The caps of all the windows and doors are of the renowned Berlin stone elegantly chiseled in the latest style of the stonecutters art. The roof is of the mansard style, with Gothic windows on each side and covered with metallic shingles painted in the imitation of slate surrounded by a wide, heavy cornice upheld by some of the finest brackets in the land.

The expenditures of $20,000, for the building completed will cost fully that, Mr. Robison came here to make this place his permanent home and not simply for his health and the Record is glad to chronicle the completion of his residence, the handsomest in Southern Colorado.

We walked the entire perimeter of the house and then headed back to the Riverwalk to end our journey back at the car.

 

And, as you all know, my FAVORITE sound is that of a river or creek running rampant or willy-nilly so I couldn't let this moment pass without recording it for you!  Here's my usual reminder/disclaimer that you may need to click the title link and go directly to the website if you want to watch and listen to the short video.

Finally, what you've really been waiting for the answers to the opening questions:

ANSWERS:  John Fogerty / Credence Clearwater Revival / 1969

How many did you get right?

 

Psalms 36:7-9
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.  They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.  For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.

It Was an "E" Ticket Ride!

After a few locals recommended it, we decided to take the ride up on Skyline Drive.  We were told there were pretty impressive views so we thought, "What the heck?"  Little did I know it would be one 'hari kari' drive.

The drive starts off passing through this beautiful stone arched entrance.  Looks pretty innocuous, doesn't it?

We started the drive up the hill/mountain and it was great.  The driver's side (Gary) was against the hillside and my side was facing the view of the opposite hill across the highway so I had great photo opportunities.

We kept climbing and started to see wonderful views of Canon City and the surrounding hillsides.

In the photo below you can see Highway 50 below (left side, lower corner).

Then we got to the "E" ticket part of the ride and I was almost holding on for dear life!

This part of the one-way road goes over the highest peak and you literally have very little wiggle room on each side before you it goes straight down!  From this point (as you should be noticing) you cannot see the other (down) side of the peak!  You may or may not know that I have a fear of heights so this (and a few other choice parts of this road) did not go over well with me.  There were times I just couldn't even think about taking a picture.  It took everything out of me to take this picture because I really wanted to share the experience with all of you.

Oh, by the way, did I forget to mention that people bike over this road as well and you're supposed to share the road with bicyclists.  Really???  What were they thinking???

After this peak, you start your descent and it starts to feel a little safer.  In the photo below you can see how the road hairpin curves around during the descent.

 

Finally, almost to the bottom with Canon City spread out in front of us.  Whew!  It was a great drive, but I'm not thinking about doing it again that's for sure. 

 

It was a beautiful day and these pictures are what our days in Canon City, Colorado have been like.  Cloudy with blue skies.  We've been told that Colorado weather in this area is just like that.  Can start off beautiful in the morning, cloud up in the afternoon, it may rain for awhile, and then clear up again. 

 

We are really enjoying Colorado.  It has so much to offer for outdoor activities.  We've really just been exploring locally and will start to widen our exploration activities once the weather gets better.

 

 

Romans 8:38-39 //  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It Only Takes Eight Seconds

Eight Seconds

By:  Poetic Cowboy  ©July 1997

Eight seconds is all it takes
To win the prize for heaven’s sakes
Any cowboy will understand
What it takes for the ride to be grand

The bulls and broncos are tuff you know
And are ready to give a really good show
There is nothing like a rodeo
To bring out the best in all you know

The cowgirls that ride really pass each test
Cowgirls with pride stand out above all of the rest
So there with their fellows they'll ride with pride
And the guest that arrive there will notice their stride

These are among America's best

Facing a challenge that will put them to the test
But these proud few that ride for us all
Won't disappoint us they will ride and stand tall

Rodeo is America's own brand of pride
And those who arrive will give a good ride
Ladies love cowboys that are wild and brave
At least for this cowboy there is one woman I crave!

Yup, we went to another rodeo ... yeehaw!!  It was the Royal Gorge Rodeo in Canon City.  The stands were filled and the food was atrocious (not kidding either), but the entertainment was fabulous.  I guess that could be a matter of opinion though.  We had a good time anyway.

 

 

The Royal Gorge Rodeo is a popular event in Canon City and is held in conjunction with the Music and Blossom Festival.  The stands were packed by the time the rodeo started. 

Here's a shot of the officials who are judging the competitions and the holding pens where the riders take off on their buckin' broncs.

 

The event started with the local cowboys and cowgirls performing a synchronized riding routine.

 

The first official event was the bronc riding.  Now, we have been to only one other rodeo so we are by no means rodeo experts, but let me just say that the bronc riding in Montana didn't hold a candle to this bronc riding event.  These buckin' broncs were radically buckin' and threw just about every rider as you'll see below.

And, of course, every rodeo has their requisite clown, and here's the Royal Gorge Rodeo clown sporting his finest.

The next event was the steer roping.  Two cowboys were to rope a steer and one of them was to jump off their horse and hog-tie the steer.  Not many of them were successful, but it only takes one to win the prize!

In the photo below, look closely and you'll see the cowboy (whose saddle is now empty) right behind the steer pullin' him down for the take.

Here's a couple who took a time-out to two-step to the music.  And, of course, the guy guzzling his Coors for a Rocky Mountain high!  Don't you just love small towns?

 

Third event of the evening was steer roping.  What made this one different from the other is that it was one cowboy going after the steer.  As you can see below, this cowboy's rope missed the steer and this was not an infrequent occurrence.

This guy got his steer!

Here this cowboy is throwing his lasso.

Gotcha!

 

The last event we stayed for was this cowgirl riding a longhorn steer.  Why would anyone want to do that is beyond me.  This cowgirl, however, got thrown from this steer about 1-1/2 years ago during a thunderstorm.  She was seriously injured and this was her first time publicly performing on her steer since the accident.  Look how she gets that big honkin' steer up on that round pedestal.  Ride 'em cowgirl!

The Music and Blossom Festival also included a carnival located close to the rodeo grounds.  So I'm going to end this post with an evening photo showing the bright lights and fanfare from the carnival.

 

Makes you want to be a small-town dweller, doesn't it?  It does me!

 

Job 39:19-25 //  Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane? Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrible. He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons. He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; and he does not turn back from the sword. The quiver rattles against him, the flashing spear and javelin. With shaking and rage he races over the ground, and he does not stand still at the voice of the trumpet. As often as the trumpet sounds he says, 'Aha!' and he scents the battle from afar, and the thunder of the captains and the war cry.