Sept 2010--Jolene's Wedding and Wrestling Alligators
Friday, September 17, 2010
This trip was a bit of a surprise. At the beginning of the year I had no intent of traveling to the mountains of southern Colorado. I also had no idea Jolene would be getting married. Based on what I had observed to date, I didn’t think Randy would ever marry Jolene. He was with his first girlfriend, the mother of his two kids, Kelli, for 10 years and they had never married. We even had a bit of disagreement, to the point where he would allow us to given Jaden and Devon Christmas presents in 2009, over this subject. I am not positive what his epiphany was, but I think it had to do with his grandfather passing away. Jolene said they were close, and it wasn’t long there after (June?) that he proposed.
All of that still doesn’t explain why we decided to go to the mountains of Southern Colorado. Well, Randy’s folks are going through a bit of a hard time financially, and can’t really afford the expenses of a trip to the Brighton area, an overnight stay, and such. They live in Farmington, NM. So Jolene and Randy decided on a Pagosa Springs, as it would be fairly close to them, a pretty location, and outrageously far for us to drive.
One of my recent additions to my bucket list is to visit the Colorado Gator (an alligator farm in Colorado, who knew) and Great Sand Dunes National Monument, only a few miles for the reptiles. So I figured as long as we were going to be in the general area, and I had a few discretionary dollars this year, we might as well turn the over night trip into a long weekend. After some research I also decided to spend some time in Leadville, and take a train ride. It should be a nice trip.
Cont…..
We are on our way. We are about 10 miles south of Salida, on 285. It has been a pleasant trip so far. When Jolene told us about their plans and that it would be in Pagosa Springs, one of my first questions was about her grandmother. My mom passed away just about a month before her announcement. But Patty is still alive. However there is no way she should drive that far, her car wouldn’t make it, and she can’t afford it. So I offered to take her with us, and to pay her expenses. So right now she is in the back seat.
But, like I said so far it has been a nice trip. I have been pleasantly surprised at how much of the fall colors are out. Kenosha Pass was particularly colorful. The whole mountainside was golden with aspen leaves. It was at least as good as anything we saw in New England two years ago. Even South Park which is usually pretty dry and barren has a few shades of green.
Jessi and Pete are also along for this trip, but not in the car. We are currently in Margo’s Impala. The kids are in my Stratus. This is the first road trip we have been on since Jessi was old enough to drive, so she is piloting the Dodge. Up until Fairplay they followed us, but she didn’t like Margo’s driving style, so they took off ahead of us. We met in Salida, at the McDonalds for lunch. Now they are a mile or two in front of us. We have identical GPSs (TomTom One) and everything is programmed in. They have a map for back up, and Pete is really good in the mountains. The current plan is to meet at the hotel, The Pagosa Inn and Suites. There I have the biggest suite in the hotel reserved. There should be three beds, and two bed rooms. Once we get there and checked in the plan is to scout locations for pictures after the wedding. The weather is supposed to be good. So far, so good.
Cont…..
We made it to our hotel in about 6 ¼ total hours on the road. We left at 8 AM, and pulled into our hotel, the Pagosa Inn and Suites, at 2:15 PM. The trip was uneventful and the kids made it to the hotel just ahead of us. We have the largest room in the hotel. It is comfortable. We have two queen bed, a king bed, and a small hideaway. There is a microwave, a fridge, and a spa tub. We have three TVs (all of them 24” or smaller), one of them is in the bathroom. There is also a phone in the bathroom. Cool, huh.
We got checked in and then went looking for places to take Jolene and Randy’s wedding pictures after the wedding tomorrow. We found three possibilities; a small western building in the resort across the street from our hotel; a park near the church with western style buildings, or the San Juan River, near the Visitor’s Center. Margo is leaning towards the Visitor’s Center. It does have more choices. We will likely end up there. Maybe we will go to more than one place.
After we finished checking for picture locations we went back to the hotel, to try to figure out our dinner plans. We eventually decided on Boss Hogg’s. The service was pretty good, but my BBQ was only so-so. Jessi’s Frito Pie was too spicy. But, Margo, Patty, and Pete thought there food was good.
Jolene and Randy were able to join us towards the end. They had driven to Farmington on Wednesday, to be with Randy’s parents. They needed to meet with the minister before they get married, so they set it up today. After they finished they met us at the restaurant. We finished up, talked a bit, and Jolene had some cheesecake. Then they had to get going, as it was 2 hours back to New Mexico.
That was essentially the end of our day. Back to the hotel. The kids went swimming and I went for a walk. Margo surfed the internet and Patty read some. Tomorrow is wedding.
All of that still doesn’t explain why we decided to go to the mountains of Southern Colorado. Well, Randy’s folks are going through a bit of a hard time financially, and can’t really afford the expenses of a trip to the Brighton area, an overnight stay, and such. They live in Farmington, NM. So Jolene and Randy decided on a Pagosa Springs, as it would be fairly close to them, a pretty location, and outrageously far for us to drive.
One of my recent additions to my bucket list is to visit the Colorado Gator (an alligator farm in Colorado, who knew) and Great Sand Dunes National Monument, only a few miles for the reptiles. So I figured as long as we were going to be in the general area, and I had a few discretionary dollars this year, we might as well turn the over night trip into a long weekend. After some research I also decided to spend some time in Leadville, and take a train ride. It should be a nice trip.
Cont…..
We are on our way. We are about 10 miles south of Salida, on 285. It has been a pleasant trip so far. When Jolene told us about their plans and that it would be in Pagosa Springs, one of my first questions was about her grandmother. My mom passed away just about a month before her announcement. But Patty is still alive. However there is no way she should drive that far, her car wouldn’t make it, and she can’t afford it. So I offered to take her with us, and to pay her expenses. So right now she is in the back seat.
But, like I said so far it has been a nice trip. I have been pleasantly surprised at how much of the fall colors are out. Kenosha Pass was particularly colorful. The whole mountainside was golden with aspen leaves. It was at least as good as anything we saw in New England two years ago. Even South Park which is usually pretty dry and barren has a few shades of green.
Jessi and Pete are also along for this trip, but not in the car. We are currently in Margo’s Impala. The kids are in my Stratus. This is the first road trip we have been on since Jessi was old enough to drive, so she is piloting the Dodge. Up until Fairplay they followed us, but she didn’t like Margo’s driving style, so they took off ahead of us. We met in Salida, at the McDonalds for lunch. Now they are a mile or two in front of us. We have identical GPSs (TomTom One) and everything is programmed in. They have a map for back up, and Pete is really good in the mountains. The current plan is to meet at the hotel, The Pagosa Inn and Suites. There I have the biggest suite in the hotel reserved. There should be three beds, and two bed rooms. Once we get there and checked in the plan is to scout locations for pictures after the wedding. The weather is supposed to be good. So far, so good.
Cont…..
We made it to our hotel in about 6 ¼ total hours on the road. We left at 8 AM, and pulled into our hotel, the Pagosa Inn and Suites, at 2:15 PM. The trip was uneventful and the kids made it to the hotel just ahead of us. We have the largest room in the hotel. It is comfortable. We have two queen bed, a king bed, and a small hideaway. There is a microwave, a fridge, and a spa tub. We have three TVs (all of them 24” or smaller), one of them is in the bathroom. There is also a phone in the bathroom. Cool, huh.
We got checked in and then went looking for places to take Jolene and Randy’s wedding pictures after the wedding tomorrow. We found three possibilities; a small western building in the resort across the street from our hotel; a park near the church with western style buildings, or the San Juan River, near the Visitor’s Center. Margo is leaning towards the Visitor’s Center. It does have more choices. We will likely end up there. Maybe we will go to more than one place.
After we finished checking for picture locations we went back to the hotel, to try to figure out our dinner plans. We eventually decided on Boss Hogg’s. The service was pretty good, but my BBQ was only so-so. Jessi’s Frito Pie was too spicy. But, Margo, Patty, and Pete thought there food was good.
Jolene and Randy were able to join us towards the end. They had driven to Farmington on Wednesday, to be with Randy’s parents. They needed to meet with the minister before they get married, so they set it up today. After they finished they met us at the restaurant. We finished up, talked a bit, and Jolene had some cheesecake. Then they had to get going, as it was 2 hours back to New Mexico.
That was essentially the end of our day. Back to the hotel. The kids went swimming and I went for a walk. Margo surfed the internet and Patty read some. Tomorrow is wedding.
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Saturday, September, 18, 2010
Today is the day. It’s nearly 11 AM, and Jolene & Randy just got here. So we will get ready and in two hours my oldest will be married. I was up at about 7:30. Patty and Margo were already up, and the kids were up shortly after I was. They went to smoke, and scouted out the breakfast area. They have the usual selection of cold cereal, bagels, pastry and some fruit. They also had waffles. I went out and got a bagel and a pastry. Margo was already ironing stuff. But her iron shut off, so she was ironing with a cold iron, wondering why it wasn’t working. But, once it got started she made good progress. I got my shower and decided to go for a walk and kill some time. I was gone for about 1 ½ hr and brought back some ice and water. The kids had also gone out looking for an undershirt for Pete. They were back and lying on the bed trying to grab a nap. Margo was just getting out of the shower when I walked in. She is usually pretty modest, so when she walked out of the bathroom and started to talk with me and dry off, in front of everyone, I was a little shocked. Pete was facing the other way, with his eyes closed. Jessi was lying on her back, and Patty was over in the little living area. I asked Margo if she had heard from Jolene as to when they would be here. She said “No, unless they called Jessi.” Jessi chimed in that she had not. Margo exclaims “Shit! I didn’t know they were back! But, she was almost done dressing anyway.
Jessi has been annoying Pete all morning. Nothing mean, just trying to get a rise out of him. Well, once Jolene got here, Jessi jumped into the shower. Jolene suggested that Pete give Jessi a wedding present from her, and dump some ice on her. Pete thought that this would be a great idea. No ice was available, but cold water was. Jessi saw him coming we all heard the “What are you doing” and “That was mean!”. That’s been the excitement so far this AM
The morning got over quickly and soon it was time for the men to leave. We took Randy’s BMW, and Pete and I piled in and made for the church. We got there about 12:20, with the ceremony at 1 PM. The church was locked and the preacher wasn’t there yet. But Randy’s family was. They had followed us in from just off the highway. I was introduced to his parents, Randy and Linda, his brother Ryan, and her girlfriend Crystal, and her two kids. I think they were Tyler and Taylor. Shortly, Randy’s sister, Ryanna and her husband, Jason (?), and their two kids, Dylan and Emma arrived.
I think Randy ended up calling the preacher, and he arrived about 12:40. I had specific orders from Margo to take pictures of the flowers, the altar (wasn’t one), and the church in general. To be honest, I was not impressed with the inside of the church. Half of it was in tile, and marked like a gymnasium. The other half was in blue chairs, not pews. The outside of the church had looked nice enough. It was of the modern church design, with no steeple, looking more like an office building with a little character. Pictures taken Randy went into the church part, and I paced around until the ladies showed up. Jolene was insistent that Randy not see her in her wedding dress until it was time to walk down the aisle. The ladies arrived and we discovered that the preacher did not have The Wedding March. Margo had anticipated this and downloaded it to her laptop. She sent Jessi back to the hotel to get it. The preacher (xxxxxx) did have some computer speakers and Margo got that set up. She also set up her laptop to play Jolene’s out go music. Jolene had not chosen anything, so Margo suggested Esme’s song”. This from "Eclipse" of the Twilight movies.
After all of this was handled, we finally got down to business about 1:15 PM. I walked Jolene down the aisle. She was in a hurry and I tried to slow her down some. Randy’s dad, Randy, videoed the whole ceremony. The preacher said a few words and finally got around to asking “Who gives this girl to be married” I said my “I do” and shook Randy’s hand. The ceremony was nice, with a Sand Ceremony, the kids, Jaiden and Devon, bringing up the two rings, and a few prayers. I think it last about 30 minutes. Then it was over. Jolene teared up. Margo held her’s in check. I wasn’t too bad, either. In truth, I was glad it was over.
Jessi has been annoying Pete all morning. Nothing mean, just trying to get a rise out of him. Well, once Jolene got here, Jessi jumped into the shower. Jolene suggested that Pete give Jessi a wedding present from her, and dump some ice on her. Pete thought that this would be a great idea. No ice was available, but cold water was. Jessi saw him coming we all heard the “What are you doing” and “That was mean!”. That’s been the excitement so far this AM
The morning got over quickly and soon it was time for the men to leave. We took Randy’s BMW, and Pete and I piled in and made for the church. We got there about 12:20, with the ceremony at 1 PM. The church was locked and the preacher wasn’t there yet. But Randy’s family was. They had followed us in from just off the highway. I was introduced to his parents, Randy and Linda, his brother Ryan, and her girlfriend Crystal, and her two kids. I think they were Tyler and Taylor. Shortly, Randy’s sister, Ryanna and her husband, Jason (?), and their two kids, Dylan and Emma arrived.
I think Randy ended up calling the preacher, and he arrived about 12:40. I had specific orders from Margo to take pictures of the flowers, the altar (wasn’t one), and the church in general. To be honest, I was not impressed with the inside of the church. Half of it was in tile, and marked like a gymnasium. The other half was in blue chairs, not pews. The outside of the church had looked nice enough. It was of the modern church design, with no steeple, looking more like an office building with a little character. Pictures taken Randy went into the church part, and I paced around until the ladies showed up. Jolene was insistent that Randy not see her in her wedding dress until it was time to walk down the aisle. The ladies arrived and we discovered that the preacher did not have The Wedding March. Margo had anticipated this and downloaded it to her laptop. She sent Jessi back to the hotel to get it. The preacher (xxxxxx) did have some computer speakers and Margo got that set up. She also set up her laptop to play Jolene’s out go music. Jolene had not chosen anything, so Margo suggested Esme’s song”. This from "Eclipse" of the Twilight movies.
After all of this was handled, we finally got down to business about 1:15 PM. I walked Jolene down the aisle. She was in a hurry and I tried to slow her down some. Randy’s dad, Randy, videoed the whole ceremony. The preacher said a few words and finally got around to asking “Who gives this girl to be married” I said my “I do” and shook Randy’s hand. The ceremony was nice, with a Sand Ceremony, the kids, Jaiden and Devon, bringing up the two rings, and a few prayers. I think it last about 30 minutes. Then it was over. Jolene teared up. Margo held her’s in check. I wasn’t too bad, either. In truth, I was glad it was over.
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nce the church part was over, we all piled into cars and headed down to the San Juan River, by the Visitor’s Center to take some pictures. I got a few good ones. After that was over, we went to a nearby restaurant called Tequila’s to have the post ceremony reception. The total bill was close to $500, which I expected to have to cover, but Randy Jr took care of at least $300 of it, and then there were other donations. So I ended up kicking in a $150 or so. Not a problem at all. We will be throwing Jolene and Randy a big reception, in Brighton, that is going to set me back about three times that, once it is all said and done.
I think it was about 6 PM when we finished up. Randy Sr and the Farmington crowd were not spending the night, and needed to get on the road. As we had booked a suite, Margo and I took Jaiden and Devon, so the Jolene and Randy could have some together time. I expected it to be much worse than it was. With having two tweeners and Margo’s mother, I fully expected to be contemplating suicide before the night was over. But, Devon was content to watch Home Alone II, and Jaiden read a book. They did get to go swimming and that probably helped tire them out.
When we finally got hungry again we decided on a place called Boss Hoggs. The service was great. The food was so-so. Jolene and Randy joined us towards the end and had a piece of cheesecake with us. I think Randy was worried about pawning the kids off on us, but like I said it was working out great.
I finished up the night by going on a long walk. I have been doing a pretty good job of sticking to my diet and taking my walks and I wanted to at least try to keep it up. I discovered that sidewalks were few and far between. Street lights were also limited in the semi-residential area where I walked, so I was a bit leery. I had to keep one eye and one ear on the limited traffic. The other eye had keep track of where I was walking, and my other ear was listening to my iPod. I was asking for trouble, but luckily trouble wasn’t listening and I made it back safe and sound. I decided that tomorrow I would have to choose a different route.
I think it was about 6 PM when we finished up. Randy Sr and the Farmington crowd were not spending the night, and needed to get on the road. As we had booked a suite, Margo and I took Jaiden and Devon, so the Jolene and Randy could have some together time. I expected it to be much worse than it was. With having two tweeners and Margo’s mother, I fully expected to be contemplating suicide before the night was over. But, Devon was content to watch Home Alone II, and Jaiden read a book. They did get to go swimming and that probably helped tire them out.
When we finally got hungry again we decided on a place called Boss Hoggs. The service was great. The food was so-so. Jolene and Randy joined us towards the end and had a piece of cheesecake with us. I think Randy was worried about pawning the kids off on us, but like I said it was working out great.
I finished up the night by going on a long walk. I have been doing a pretty good job of sticking to my diet and taking my walks and I wanted to at least try to keep it up. I discovered that sidewalks were few and far between. Street lights were also limited in the semi-residential area where I walked, so I was a bit leery. I had to keep one eye and one ear on the limited traffic. The other eye had keep track of where I was walking, and my other ear was listening to my iPod. I was asking for trouble, but luckily trouble wasn’t listening and I made it back safe and sound. I decided that tomorrow I would have to choose a different route.
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Sunday, September 19, 2010
Today was the big day. Well, for me anyway. Yesterday was the kids’ big day. Today I would be wrestling alligators. The class started at 11 AM, and the alligator farm opened at 9 AM. I had planned to be on the road early, but Randy and Jolene wanted to sleep in a bit, and it was their time, so I didn’t put up any fuss. It was a little over two hour drive, so we had to be on the road by 9 AM. It all worked out. By 8:15 we were on the road, to McDonald’s anyway. We stopped long enough a quick breakfast and then we were really on the road. But, it didn’t last long. We ended up making three stops before we got to Mosca, Colorado, home of Colorado Gators.
The first of the three stops was at Treasure Falls, not very far out of Pagosa Springs. It was a beautiful waterfall, about 3/8 of a mile from the road. There was a trail that led to an observation area, but we had no where near the time to hike it. So we settled on a few picks from the trailhead parking lot and were soon on our way, again.
The next stop was at the overlook near the top of Wolf Creek pass. I debated about stopping, but we are on vacation, and who knows when we would be back. The only thing we were giving up was touring time at the gator farm. I figured we could make that up on the back side. So we stopped. I am very glad we did. The view of the (Wolf Creek?) valley was spectacular. It was one of the best I have ever seen. It was sunny and clear. The sky seemed to be on top of us, and the valley had the gravitas that I have only seen surpassed by the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The valley was mostly populated by evergreens, but there were other trees turning in the early fall of this elevation. We lingered longer than we ordinarily would have, and took several pictures. But, we were also on a mission, so we had to get going sooner, rather than later.
Stop three was at South Fork. Here was the church that Jolene originally wanted to be married in. It was at least a quarter mile off the highway, but both Margo and I zoomed in and took a few pics. When we looked at them under magnification, we learned that it was called the Holy Family Mission. It is a nice traditional looking white church, with a large steeple. Jolene mused about renewing their vows in a year at this church. It might be worth the effort. As we were pulled off on the side of the highway, we didn’t stop long.
The first of the three stops was at Treasure Falls, not very far out of Pagosa Springs. It was a beautiful waterfall, about 3/8 of a mile from the road. There was a trail that led to an observation area, but we had no where near the time to hike it. So we settled on a few picks from the trailhead parking lot and were soon on our way, again.
The next stop was at the overlook near the top of Wolf Creek pass. I debated about stopping, but we are on vacation, and who knows when we would be back. The only thing we were giving up was touring time at the gator farm. I figured we could make that up on the back side. So we stopped. I am very glad we did. The view of the (Wolf Creek?) valley was spectacular. It was one of the best I have ever seen. It was sunny and clear. The sky seemed to be on top of us, and the valley had the gravitas that I have only seen surpassed by the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The valley was mostly populated by evergreens, but there were other trees turning in the early fall of this elevation. We lingered longer than we ordinarily would have, and took several pictures. But, we were also on a mission, so we had to get going sooner, rather than later.
Stop three was at South Fork. Here was the church that Jolene originally wanted to be married in. It was at least a quarter mile off the highway, but both Margo and I zoomed in and took a few pics. When we looked at them under magnification, we learned that it was called the Holy Family Mission. It is a nice traditional looking white church, with a large steeple. Jolene mused about renewing their vows in a year at this church. It might be worth the effort. As we were pulled off on the side of the highway, we didn’t stop long.
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South Fork was about the half way point. The GPS was predicting that we would arrive before 11, but it’s estimates are notoriously conservative. You often make time up as you drive, even if you are not exceeding the posted limit. I guess that is due to the GPS not assigning correct speed estimates to most highways. As it turned out, we arrived at 10:30, which was about perfect.
Someone from Co-op had given Margo an appraisal of this place, as they had been there before. They said it really wasn’t much to look at, but once you got into it, it got better and was interesting. I think that is a fair appraisal. It really is not much to look at. The pens are not much more than mud holes with fencing. They use pallets for gates. All the signs are hand painted and many are faded. But, you can experience things at Colorado Gators that you won’t at any other reptile park. I have been to Gatorland in Orlando and Reptile World in Grand Rapids. I have never seen anyone wrestle alligators, much less had the opportunity to do it myself. On the other hand, if I wasn’t wrestling the gators, I’m not sure it would be worth the $15 admission. But, I was wrestling alligators and I think it was worth it big time. Upon admission, Margo and started a self guided tour. We had about 30 minutes to kill, so why not look around. The first stop was to have our picture taken, with a small, about 30 inches, alligator. We had done this in Orlando, but that fellow had had his jaws taped shut. It felt perfectly safe. Our picture mate, Gumbo, had his jaws unencumbered. Margo made it clear that I would be hold the alligator and she would be happy to stand beside me, with his business end pointed the other way. He felt a little heavier than I expected, but not scaly or slimy. We smiled pretty and I got another picture alone, glaring at Margo. We toured for awhile. I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to much of anything. I would be wrestling alligators in less than an hour. We headed back and got back to the front desk in plenty of time. |
The class got started a little late, both waiting on two of the students, and while our instructor fixed his water-proof camera enclosure and installed fresh batteries. We soon all followed PT, our instructor, out to a nearby alligator pit. It was something akin, in size and shape to an above ground pool. In the pit were about 15 alligators ranging in size from 2 ½ to 4 feet. These would be our training alligators. This would be were we would get comfortable at least touching them. PT, whose real name is Patrick Thomas, fearlessly climbed in and began to tell us how to catch and hold these small alligators.
Now when I say he climbed in fearlessly, it was not with any trepidation or even much notice that there were sharped toothed carnivores lurking everywhere. He seemed not to care. We all pretty much figured that these small critters would not be able to kill, but could inflict nasty bites, and perhaps remove small appendages did cross my mind. So, I was a bit in awe. PT went on to explain that you basically grab them by the back of the neck and force them down to the bottom and hold them. You do that with one hand. Your other hand is heading for the back end, high up on the tail, and grabs it there. Then you just pull him out and show everyone your prize.
PT demonstrated the technique. I half watched, not because I was disinterested. Vital parts of my anatomy could depend on paying attention. I half watched because I was distracted by the realization that I would be doing that realllllllly soon. The next thing I new is that he was asking for a volunteer to go first. No one jumped at the invitation. As one of the guys, Joe Law, suggested drawing straws, I stepped forward. Why wait and make it worse. I climbed over and put my foot a rickety plywood platform. PT then said that was a bad idea, as it really was poorly built and only there for shade. He said the best way was to just get in the water. Just get in the water he says. What if I step on submerged alligator, it gets pissed and goes for my leg. I wanted to ask that, but as he is standing there in shorts and sandals, in 8 inches of muddy, opaque water, I do it figuring he must know what he was doing.
The gators were not crazy about this. They had been through this drill before and even though they are not the smartest members of the animal kingdom, they knew that whatever was about to happen was not going to be fun for them. With this in mind I walked as carefully as I could towards one. He scurried away. It was a bit anxious in there. After a few seconds I was less worried about getting bit, than trying to find a gator who was both still and not pointed at me. That is rule number one. Approach from the back, or side. Rule number two is to watch their head. That’s where the teeth are. It had to have been less than two minutes, maybe less than one, but it seemed much longer before I selected one, and grabbed him. It went smooth and I stood up and pulled an alligator out of the water. My classmates, all three of them, applauded. I let junior go and got out of the pit. Joe, Don, and Donna followed. They did just as well as I had, and in less than ten minutes we had all caught our first alligator.
Now when I say he climbed in fearlessly, it was not with any trepidation or even much notice that there were sharped toothed carnivores lurking everywhere. He seemed not to care. We all pretty much figured that these small critters would not be able to kill, but could inflict nasty bites, and perhaps remove small appendages did cross my mind. So, I was a bit in awe. PT went on to explain that you basically grab them by the back of the neck and force them down to the bottom and hold them. You do that with one hand. Your other hand is heading for the back end, high up on the tail, and grabs it there. Then you just pull him out and show everyone your prize.
PT demonstrated the technique. I half watched, not because I was disinterested. Vital parts of my anatomy could depend on paying attention. I half watched because I was distracted by the realization that I would be doing that realllllllly soon. The next thing I new is that he was asking for a volunteer to go first. No one jumped at the invitation. As one of the guys, Joe Law, suggested drawing straws, I stepped forward. Why wait and make it worse. I climbed over and put my foot a rickety plywood platform. PT then said that was a bad idea, as it really was poorly built and only there for shade. He said the best way was to just get in the water. Just get in the water he says. What if I step on submerged alligator, it gets pissed and goes for my leg. I wanted to ask that, but as he is standing there in shorts and sandals, in 8 inches of muddy, opaque water, I do it figuring he must know what he was doing.
The gators were not crazy about this. They had been through this drill before and even though they are not the smartest members of the animal kingdom, they knew that whatever was about to happen was not going to be fun for them. With this in mind I walked as carefully as I could towards one. He scurried away. It was a bit anxious in there. After a few seconds I was less worried about getting bit, than trying to find a gator who was both still and not pointed at me. That is rule number one. Approach from the back, or side. Rule number two is to watch their head. That’s where the teeth are. It had to have been less than two minutes, maybe less than one, but it seemed much longer before I selected one, and grabbed him. It went smooth and I stood up and pulled an alligator out of the water. My classmates, all three of them, applauded. I let junior go and got out of the pit. Joe, Don, and Donna followed. They did just as well as I had, and in less than ten minutes we had all caught our first alligator.
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We walked for about a minute and came to a reasonably large enclosure. I would say it was 80 ft by 50 ft and a bit less than half of that was water. In it were about 20 alligators ranging from 4 feet to 7 feet in length. They were congregating against the back wall, sunning themselves on old tires. These guys looked dangerous. If one of the big ones bit you, it would not be just a nasty bite. The doctor was going to ask where all the pieces were when he went to sew you up. Again, PT opened the gate and walked in like there was nothing to fear in the world. The gate let us into dry land, with a raised platform. This platform was for sitting things on, and would not be used for shelter or for standing.
It took PT just a couple of minutes to explain the basics. Approach from behind. Stay away from the teeth end of the alligator. Duh. We had that one down before he said it. Reach underneath and grasp the alligator’s tail and medium slowly pull it up and get a grip with both hands. PT says that the alligators don’t sense when you are doing this, and won’t react. He also said he was somewhat of a prankster, so that part would be approached with plenty of trepidation. Once you had your two handed grip you dragged your gator to shore, keeping an eye on his head to make sure he didn’t turn around to show his displeasure.
Then, PT turned and walked into the alligator infested water like he did it everyday. Which, upon further review, he probably does. It took him just a few seconds to select a gator, grab his tail as described and begin to pull him to shore. After about four or give steps Mr. Gator decided he didn’t want to go and twisted around to try to persuade PT to let him go. Instantly PT started to spin with the alligator, never letting go of the tail, and also not getting bit. As he was doing this he was also lecturing us on what he was doing. I caught the words “move towards his head” and after that my brain stopped taking in new information so I could process that. Move towards his head. Towards the teeth. Towards the jaws that swallow fish whole and take chunks out of cows. That does not compute. I might have heard something about the move towards his head pulls the alligator with you and his teeth away from you. Maybe I heard that. The next thing I do remember hearing was him saying “I know that doesn’t seem the natural thing to do.” Again, Duh.
After a single revolution the gator gave up, and PT dragged him to shore. With one great heave, PT pulled the gator’s tail hard between his legs, and jumped on top of the gator’s back. Both hands immediately went for his neck, and he pushed his head to the ground. Then the hands quickly worked their way underneath, and PT leaned back, pulling the gator back with him, and arching the gator’s back. Simple. PT did some more explaining about keeping your arms straight, and the importance of doing this quickly. Then he asked if we were ready or wanted him to do another one. After his gator dance, I for one wanted another viewing, so I voiced that loud and clear. This is work to drag a 150-200 pound animal, who doesn’t want to go, and PT took just a second to catch his wind. Then back in the water he went. It was a repeat of gator number one, sans the gator trying to bite. Oh, well. Then it was our turn.
It took PT just a couple of minutes to explain the basics. Approach from behind. Stay away from the teeth end of the alligator. Duh. We had that one down before he said it. Reach underneath and grasp the alligator’s tail and medium slowly pull it up and get a grip with both hands. PT says that the alligators don’t sense when you are doing this, and won’t react. He also said he was somewhat of a prankster, so that part would be approached with plenty of trepidation. Once you had your two handed grip you dragged your gator to shore, keeping an eye on his head to make sure he didn’t turn around to show his displeasure.
Then, PT turned and walked into the alligator infested water like he did it everyday. Which, upon further review, he probably does. It took him just a few seconds to select a gator, grab his tail as described and begin to pull him to shore. After about four or give steps Mr. Gator decided he didn’t want to go and twisted around to try to persuade PT to let him go. Instantly PT started to spin with the alligator, never letting go of the tail, and also not getting bit. As he was doing this he was also lecturing us on what he was doing. I caught the words “move towards his head” and after that my brain stopped taking in new information so I could process that. Move towards his head. Towards the teeth. Towards the jaws that swallow fish whole and take chunks out of cows. That does not compute. I might have heard something about the move towards his head pulls the alligator with you and his teeth away from you. Maybe I heard that. The next thing I do remember hearing was him saying “I know that doesn’t seem the natural thing to do.” Again, Duh.
After a single revolution the gator gave up, and PT dragged him to shore. With one great heave, PT pulled the gator’s tail hard between his legs, and jumped on top of the gator’s back. Both hands immediately went for his neck, and he pushed his head to the ground. Then the hands quickly worked their way underneath, and PT leaned back, pulling the gator back with him, and arching the gator’s back. Simple. PT did some more explaining about keeping your arms straight, and the importance of doing this quickly. Then he asked if we were ready or wanted him to do another one. After his gator dance, I for one wanted another viewing, so I voiced that loud and clear. This is work to drag a 150-200 pound animal, who doesn’t want to go, and PT took just a second to catch his wind. Then back in the water he went. It was a repeat of gator number one, sans the gator trying to bite. Oh, well. Then it was our turn.
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Again, it was time for volunteers. Everyone looked at me, as I had gone first before. As I put my first foot in the water I was thinking “This is not smart.” But again, after just a few moments the task of selecting the right gator started to crowd out the fear of being a gator snack. PT has warned us that the smaller alligators were more agile and more able to reach back and bite. It was actually to our advantage to select one of the larger ones. This whole experience was turning into one counter-intuitive shake after another.
It was a chore selecting that first gator. I didn’t want a small one, but those 7-footers were a bit intimidating, and they always seemed to be pointed teeth end first. If finally, again it seemed like ages, selected one, and slowly got his tail. True to his word, the gator did not appear to notice me. I got my two handed grip and started to pull him backwards. I got about two steps when he turned and lunged. PTs advice about turning into the gator’s head did pop into my head….about a split second after I let the gator go, threw up my arms, and probably screamed like a little girl. I turned to PT, as my pulse dropped from the stratosphere and said “That was probably a mistake, huh” He said “That was probably the second best thing to do.” I was all right with that.
But, the task was not done. I still had to get me an alligator. Even as I write that last sentence, it seems a combination of strange and stupid. But, there you are. I still had to get me an alligator. I walked towards the other end of the pen, where the gators were now stacked. If you got close they would either open their mouths and hiss, which is a very menacing sound which leaves no ambiguity about what it means, or they try to get away. But, I soon had my hands under the tail of another. I started pulling. The pictures show splashing about, both from me and the gator. But, I don’t remember any of that. I just remember pulling hard, and having to keep glancing back to make sure I didn’t trip and make myself an easy target for a quick snap before my friend rejoined his pals. PT would offer advice about which way to walk, and to keep my eye on his head. And then the final piece of advice as I got the gator to shore. “Now, don’t linger do this part fast! The longer you wait the more dangerous it is”. As soon as I got my gator far enough from the water where I figured I had some ground to give up, I pull his tail hard between my legs and went for his neck. In my mind I moved like a cat. The one action picture I have, I seem to be lumbering a bit. But, it worked. I was on him, and my hands were on his neck forcing him to the ground. He was still trying to get back in the water, and he was having some success. I was not sitting with all of my weight on him, and he was making progress. I worked my hands under his neck and leaned back. This brought his head and front legs off the ground, and I had won! PT waved his hat at the gator to get a big smile and pictures were taken. Then it was down to the business of doctoring him. He had a couple of minor cuts, and rubbing alcohol plus triple anti-biotic ointment was applied.
Then it was time to let him go. It was appropriate, if more than a little exaggerated to think of Jefferson’s quote about slavery. I think it went something like “We have the wolf by his jaws, and can neither safely hold him nor let him go” That sounded about right.
It was a chore selecting that first gator. I didn’t want a small one, but those 7-footers were a bit intimidating, and they always seemed to be pointed teeth end first. If finally, again it seemed like ages, selected one, and slowly got his tail. True to his word, the gator did not appear to notice me. I got my two handed grip and started to pull him backwards. I got about two steps when he turned and lunged. PTs advice about turning into the gator’s head did pop into my head….about a split second after I let the gator go, threw up my arms, and probably screamed like a little girl. I turned to PT, as my pulse dropped from the stratosphere and said “That was probably a mistake, huh” He said “That was probably the second best thing to do.” I was all right with that.
But, the task was not done. I still had to get me an alligator. Even as I write that last sentence, it seems a combination of strange and stupid. But, there you are. I still had to get me an alligator. I walked towards the other end of the pen, where the gators were now stacked. If you got close they would either open their mouths and hiss, which is a very menacing sound which leaves no ambiguity about what it means, or they try to get away. But, I soon had my hands under the tail of another. I started pulling. The pictures show splashing about, both from me and the gator. But, I don’t remember any of that. I just remember pulling hard, and having to keep glancing back to make sure I didn’t trip and make myself an easy target for a quick snap before my friend rejoined his pals. PT would offer advice about which way to walk, and to keep my eye on his head. And then the final piece of advice as I got the gator to shore. “Now, don’t linger do this part fast! The longer you wait the more dangerous it is”. As soon as I got my gator far enough from the water where I figured I had some ground to give up, I pull his tail hard between my legs and went for his neck. In my mind I moved like a cat. The one action picture I have, I seem to be lumbering a bit. But, it worked. I was on him, and my hands were on his neck forcing him to the ground. He was still trying to get back in the water, and he was having some success. I was not sitting with all of my weight on him, and he was making progress. I worked my hands under his neck and leaned back. This brought his head and front legs off the ground, and I had won! PT waved his hat at the gator to get a big smile and pictures were taken. Then it was down to the business of doctoring him. He had a couple of minor cuts, and rubbing alcohol plus triple anti-biotic ointment was applied.
Then it was time to let him go. It was appropriate, if more than a little exaggerated to think of Jefferson’s quote about slavery. I think it went something like “We have the wolf by his jaws, and can neither safely hold him nor let him go” That sounded about right.
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Am I a badass or what?
What you are supposed to do is stand up at the same time you walk your hands back on the alligator’s back, while keeping as much weight as possible on him. Then when you are partially upright, you push the gator down, and you move back fast. With my hip, getting upright, while using the alligator for support was much closer to what happen. But, I did keep pushing down while going through my motion to get up. Plus, instinct and that fact that this wasn’t the first time some fool had drug him out of the water by his tail, had nudged him to just get back in the water.
I felt great! I had just walked into an alligator pit, grabbed a dangerous predator by the tail, drug him out of his home, sat on his back, and bent him to my will. Plus, it was all on film. Margo took pictures. PT took pictures. Hell, a lady watching took pictures and got our e-mail address to send them to us. It wasn’t going to get any better than this.
My success had emboldened the others. Joe Law went next and got his alligator. That was followed my Don Moon, from Australia. Then finally Donna Wyman. There were fist bumps and high fives all around. Margo took plenty of pictures and we all ended up exchanging e-mail addresses. After everyone had had their turn, PT asked if anyone was ready to go again. I was and I did. I went looking for a bigger gator this time, as my confidence had increased. There was plenty of help from Peanut Gallery. The words “Here’s One!” would occasionally drift into my ear. I remember thinking, “Does this kid think I am blind!” I could see alligators everywhere, but I wasn’t about to approach the business end of one, with my hand out. I finally selected one, and got him. He was a bit bigger, about six feet, where as the gator number one was a little smaller. I landed him pretty quick and did a fair job of getting on his back. This guy wanted back in the water, and was doing a good job of walking in. Don came up behind me and grabbed his tail, and I got my hands underneath him, and lifted his head off the ground. When I look at the pictures now, I kind of resent Don helping me, but I can tell you at the time, I was grateful for his assistance. While your heart is pounding and the adrenaline is flowing, during the dragging out part, you don’t realize how tiring this was, but once you are on the gator’s back, it hits you.
I felt great! I had just walked into an alligator pit, grabbed a dangerous predator by the tail, drug him out of his home, sat on his back, and bent him to my will. Plus, it was all on film. Margo took pictures. PT took pictures. Hell, a lady watching took pictures and got our e-mail address to send them to us. It wasn’t going to get any better than this.
My success had emboldened the others. Joe Law went next and got his alligator. That was followed my Don Moon, from Australia. Then finally Donna Wyman. There were fist bumps and high fives all around. Margo took plenty of pictures and we all ended up exchanging e-mail addresses. After everyone had had their turn, PT asked if anyone was ready to go again. I was and I did. I went looking for a bigger gator this time, as my confidence had increased. There was plenty of help from Peanut Gallery. The words “Here’s One!” would occasionally drift into my ear. I remember thinking, “Does this kid think I am blind!” I could see alligators everywhere, but I wasn’t about to approach the business end of one, with my hand out. I finally selected one, and got him. He was a bit bigger, about six feet, where as the gator number one was a little smaller. I landed him pretty quick and did a fair job of getting on his back. This guy wanted back in the water, and was doing a good job of walking in. Don came up behind me and grabbed his tail, and I got my hands underneath him, and lifted his head off the ground. When I look at the pictures now, I kind of resent Don helping me, but I can tell you at the time, I was grateful for his assistance. While your heart is pounding and the adrenaline is flowing, during the dragging out part, you don’t realize how tiring this was, but once you are on the gator’s back, it hits you.
Don Moon
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Joe Law
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Margo the Combat Photographer
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Gator number two was released. Joe went again and got his second gator. Don declined, not because his courage had failed, but because his lungs weren’t cooperating. He was not used to the elevation, and was having a hard time getting air. Donna, who was with Don, declined until after our break. We all went up front to get something to drink and then returned about 20-30 minutes later. I went for a third time, with the intent of getting a 7-footer, but I couldn’t get an angle on one. I didn’t want to just chase the alligators from one end of the pen to another. That started to look like they were afraid of me. How would that look to my ego? So, I selected the next one who had it’s tail pointed at me. It ended up being the smallest. But, I executed the mount well enough to get a compliment from PT. Soon, gator number three was back with it’s reptilian family. Donna was ready to give it another try and went in. She got one, but it pulled free. Then she chased them around for awhile before deciding that they weren’t going to co-operate. She came out of the water and with that, this segment was over. Now we had to go deal with Big Mama.
Gator #2
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Gator #3
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Big Mama (not her real name) is a 9 foot nesting female. There are not eggs in the nest, but Big Mama does not care. When someone gets too close, which essentially means if she can see them, she comes swimming over and makes to attack. The owner was trying to get a good look at her when us students wandered over. We had taken a break after the 5-7 footers so PT could get new batteries or something or other for the camera. The owner explained that Big Mama and a 7 footer, who was not too aggressive for students, had gotten into a tiff. Both gators had gotten hurt, but until they were pulled out of the water, you couldn’t tell how badly. It was going to be PT's job to get the 7 footer out of the water, and then we were going to move her to another pen. Then PT would get Big Mama out for an inspection.
This was the plan, but neither gator was in a cooperative mood. Before I forget, this would be PT's job, because once these gators got to be a certain size, they make up their minds that humans are not to be feared. They aren’t exactly prey, but the gators don’t run away anymore. They are more likely to attack then to retreat. So, students were not going into the water to get these guys. Even these people aren’t that insane. Back to the story. First PT wanted to get Big Mama, as she was the most aggressive and hardest to handle. Might as well get her while he was still well rested. Except Big Mama now decided that she didn’t want to guard her nest anymore, and decided to play hide and seek at the bottom of the water. This is like playing Blind Man’s Bluff with a land mine. Once you find it, you just might die. So PT, decided to go after the 7 footer.
To catch gators this size, they don’t pull them out by the tail. They entice them to come up out of the water, so a rope can be thrown around them to pull them out of the water. Entice is another word for "piss them off". PT might poke him with a stick, or get out in front and wave his hat out at him, or just yell. But, when he is sufficiently “enticed” he raises up to lunge, either to attack or get away. Then you rope him. Simple, huh? It took several tries, but eventually PT got him roped and pulled out of the water. At that point he jumped on him, and two or three of us, jumped on behind. Yes, Steve Irwin was alive and well, in Mosca, CO. After PT got him down, and his hands worked around his snout, an assistant from the farm taped his mouth shut with good ole duct tape. Then it was our turn.
This alligator needed to be moved to whole new pen. You don’t put a leash on 250 lb alligator and walk him over. She had to be picked up and carried. My classmates were more strategically located when this request was made, so I ended up in the very back, holding the tail. I wasn’t supporting much weight, so my classmates had to do most of the work. We got him into the pen and we got the gator doctored up. Then I got to take the tape off of his mouth, while PT held his mouth shut. Soon our work was done and the gator was released. But now we had to deal with Big Mama.
This was the plan, but neither gator was in a cooperative mood. Before I forget, this would be PT's job, because once these gators got to be a certain size, they make up their minds that humans are not to be feared. They aren’t exactly prey, but the gators don’t run away anymore. They are more likely to attack then to retreat. So, students were not going into the water to get these guys. Even these people aren’t that insane. Back to the story. First PT wanted to get Big Mama, as she was the most aggressive and hardest to handle. Might as well get her while he was still well rested. Except Big Mama now decided that she didn’t want to guard her nest anymore, and decided to play hide and seek at the bottom of the water. This is like playing Blind Man’s Bluff with a land mine. Once you find it, you just might die. So PT, decided to go after the 7 footer.
To catch gators this size, they don’t pull them out by the tail. They entice them to come up out of the water, so a rope can be thrown around them to pull them out of the water. Entice is another word for "piss them off". PT might poke him with a stick, or get out in front and wave his hat out at him, or just yell. But, when he is sufficiently “enticed” he raises up to lunge, either to attack or get away. Then you rope him. Simple, huh? It took several tries, but eventually PT got him roped and pulled out of the water. At that point he jumped on him, and two or three of us, jumped on behind. Yes, Steve Irwin was alive and well, in Mosca, CO. After PT got him down, and his hands worked around his snout, an assistant from the farm taped his mouth shut with good ole duct tape. Then it was our turn.
This alligator needed to be moved to whole new pen. You don’t put a leash on 250 lb alligator and walk him over. She had to be picked up and carried. My classmates were more strategically located when this request was made, so I ended up in the very back, holding the tail. I wasn’t supporting much weight, so my classmates had to do most of the work. We got him into the pen and we got the gator doctored up. Then I got to take the tape off of his mouth, while PT held his mouth shut. Soon our work was done and the gator was released. But now we had to deal with Big Mama.
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We all went back to the pen with Big Mama and PT tried to catch her. But, she had decided that she did not want to play anymore, and in short order she headed to the deep end (3 feet or so) of the pen and went down to the bottom About this time the owner, and I wish I could remember his name, came by to check. After being appraised of the situation, he soon came to the conclusion that he had to get personally involved. So he went into the water with an old axe handle that he would be using as a probe. We were all thinking that this is the height of stupidity. These two would be wading into dank, opaque water with an eleven foot male and a nine foot female alligator all with in a 100 square foot area. It was no longer a question of if they would get one or more of the alligators to surface; it was merely how upset they would be when they did. They had just graduated from playing Blind Man’s Bluff in a minefield, to playing it with a steel bear trap.
It took less than a minute for the owner to find one of them. He had touched it with his probe, and then slowing squatted down to feel the gator, and find out where the tail was. He announced to us that he had found a foot, and started counting out toes. He counted one-two-three-four----five. The feet on an alligator have four on the back and five on the front. He was standing in three feet of water, holding on to the front foot of an alligator. He slowly released the foot, and worked his way down the alligator until he found the tail. When he was behind the gator he lifted it up and began to drag the gator out. When the gator surfaced it was PT’s job to jump on it and hold down in the shallower water. Then they would work the rope under and around his neck. And, that’s the way it worked out. In less than a minute PT was resting on the back of the gator, with a rope around it’s neck like a leash.
It took less than a minute for the owner to find one of them. He had touched it with his probe, and then slowing squatted down to feel the gator, and find out where the tail was. He announced to us that he had found a foot, and started counting out toes. He counted one-two-three-four----five. The feet on an alligator have four on the back and five on the front. He was standing in three feet of water, holding on to the front foot of an alligator. He slowly released the foot, and worked his way down the alligator until he found the tail. When he was behind the gator he lifted it up and began to drag the gator out. When the gator surfaced it was PT’s job to jump on it and hold down in the shallower water. Then they would work the rope under and around his neck. And, that’s the way it worked out. In less than a minute PT was resting on the back of the gator, with a rope around it’s neck like a leash.
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I’m not sure if PT was guiding it somehow or if this was the alligator idea, but he started swimming towards the bank, where we all were. At this point we weren’t scared. Awe had set in and we figured they had the situation totally in control and we were in the presence of gods. Once PT and the gator were close, PT tossed the rope to me, and in short order the classmates and I were dragging the 350 pound animal out of the water. When we got him to shore, either Joe or Don pointed out that with me up front, that there was nothing between the gator’s jaws and me, except the taught rope. This had not escaped my attention. I assumed that it had also not escaped the alligator or the Gator Wrangler’s attention either. I was hoping that we were all on the same page. The gator was going to try to pull back. It worked out that way.
As quickly as we got Big Mama to shore, PT got on top. My job continued to be to hold the line taut. The rest secured Big Mama, and the proceeded to force her jaws open, as she had clamped down on the rope. The owner and PT worked to pry the gators jaws open, and they got them, and then they snapped shut, hard. It made a powerful, hollow, slapping sound. The owner got a tiny puncture in one hand from pushing so hard on the gator’s tooth, but that was the only injury.
With everything ride in the local gator world, we progressed with a quick check of the gator’s injuries. There was nothing serious. Originally, based on the way she was holding one leg, they thought it might be broken. But it wasn’t. So we moved on to pictures and then treating the alligator’s wounds. Someone asked why the gator’s wounds didn’t come first. Yeah, I thought. Why? I was too caught up in the moment to really care, and then I started to feel kind of superficial. But, it turns out there is a good reason. Treating the gator involves putting some anti-biotic ointment on the wounds, and that stuff can get slippery. It reduces the safety margin to have a slippery gator when you have novices around. So first pictures and then slippery stuff. We all got to sit on Big Mama and hold the gator’s mouth open. We were a pretty old and fat group. I was the youngest and thinnest. Something I am not accustomed to saying. So, wedging ourselves in the correct sitting position was a bit of a problem. If Big Mama had been in a frisky mind, there could have been trouble with all of the poor technique, but she wasn’t and all ended well.
With this done, treatment completed, Big Mama was released. She wasted little time in hurrying back to the water without even a hiss good-bye. We went back to the main office. Margo and I need to buy gifts, and Colorado Gators had a few gifts for us. On the way back, I was able to convince, it wasn’t terribly hard, for Margo to hold the little alligator that stamped our cards as we walked in, a few hours ago. I got a nice picture of her, and now she can say she held a baby alligator as well. It took us about 30-45 minutes to get everything pick out, paid for, and to get our gifts from Colorado Gators. Included in my Wrestling Class was a CD of all the pictures PT took through out the day with me in them. That was pretty cool. Plus I got a photo certificate; with me hold Big Mama’s jaws open, and words to the effect that I was crazy. I have to say I walked out of there with a spring in my step even though I was tired. The experience was quite literally one of the best days in my life.
As quickly as we got Big Mama to shore, PT got on top. My job continued to be to hold the line taut. The rest secured Big Mama, and the proceeded to force her jaws open, as she had clamped down on the rope. The owner and PT worked to pry the gators jaws open, and they got them, and then they snapped shut, hard. It made a powerful, hollow, slapping sound. The owner got a tiny puncture in one hand from pushing so hard on the gator’s tooth, but that was the only injury.
With everything ride in the local gator world, we progressed with a quick check of the gator’s injuries. There was nothing serious. Originally, based on the way she was holding one leg, they thought it might be broken. But it wasn’t. So we moved on to pictures and then treating the alligator’s wounds. Someone asked why the gator’s wounds didn’t come first. Yeah, I thought. Why? I was too caught up in the moment to really care, and then I started to feel kind of superficial. But, it turns out there is a good reason. Treating the gator involves putting some anti-biotic ointment on the wounds, and that stuff can get slippery. It reduces the safety margin to have a slippery gator when you have novices around. So first pictures and then slippery stuff. We all got to sit on Big Mama and hold the gator’s mouth open. We were a pretty old and fat group. I was the youngest and thinnest. Something I am not accustomed to saying. So, wedging ourselves in the correct sitting position was a bit of a problem. If Big Mama had been in a frisky mind, there could have been trouble with all of the poor technique, but she wasn’t and all ended well.
With this done, treatment completed, Big Mama was released. She wasted little time in hurrying back to the water without even a hiss good-bye. We went back to the main office. Margo and I need to buy gifts, and Colorado Gators had a few gifts for us. On the way back, I was able to convince, it wasn’t terribly hard, for Margo to hold the little alligator that stamped our cards as we walked in, a few hours ago. I got a nice picture of her, and now she can say she held a baby alligator as well. It took us about 30-45 minutes to get everything pick out, paid for, and to get our gifts from Colorado Gators. Included in my Wrestling Class was a CD of all the pictures PT took through out the day with me in them. That was pretty cool. Plus I got a photo certificate; with me hold Big Mama’s jaws open, and words to the effect that I was crazy. I have to say I walked out of there with a spring in my step even though I was tired. The experience was quite literally one of the best days in my life.
We had one more thing to do before we left the area. Even though it was after 3:30 PM, I still wanted to visit Sand Dunes National Park. I had never been here and I’ve though about visiting for years. Now with being about half an hour away, I couldn’t pass it up. Who knows if I would ever have this chance again? I had thrown a snow sled, the kind that looks like a trash can lid, in the trunk, because I had read that you could ski down the dunes, and the park people didn’t care. That sounded like a hoot.
We drove and the closer we got the more impressive the dunes looked. This is a large pile of sand. They were created over thousands of years as wind picked the sand up, and carried it miles and miles until the hit the Sange de Cristo Mountains. They rise up quickly and have almost bowl like bend in them where the dunes formed. The mountains cause the wind to slow, and then lose the energy required to carry the sand and if falls. The biggest of the dunes are well over 600 feet. The park has the tallest sand dunes in North America. The sand field is over 30 square miles, and the park itself over 150,000 acres. Like I said a big pile of sand.
We parked at the Visitors Center and decided we would spend a few minutes in there looking around. They also had an outdoor observation area, so after 10-15 minutes we went out and looked through their telescopes. We could see people out on the dunes and other people walking towards them. It should give you pause to think that you needed a telescope to see the people. For some reason, it did not give me pause. But, just a few minutes later the distance dawned on me.
It wasn’t terribly hot, but the sand made it seem so. We carried water and our sled and then took our first steps from the concrete walkway to the sandy approach. It was very fine sand, and exactly like being on a dry beach. Walking was going to be difficult. As we walked I did some mental calculations. It was at least 3/8 of mile to the dunes, maybe ½ mile. On flat concrete it would take 10 minutes to walk there. In the sand, more like 15. We were tired and hot, and getting hotter. It was coming up on 5 PM, we hadn’t eaten, and we had a 2 plus hour drive ahead of me. Margo was trooping right along, and I suggested that this was a bad idea, and that we should just forget about sledding the dunes. It took her almost until the words were out of my mouth to agree. We took two quick pictures of each of sitting in the sled, and called it good. Five minutes later we were back at the car and on our way out of the park.
As we had driven into the park, probably just half an hour ago, we noticed a little restaurant. My thought was that as we were in pretty isolated territory, that we should not be choosy. Margo agreed and after stopping to take some pictures at the Sand Dunes sign, we stopped to eat. We took our time eating and by something around 6 we were on our way.
We drove and the closer we got the more impressive the dunes looked. This is a large pile of sand. They were created over thousands of years as wind picked the sand up, and carried it miles and miles until the hit the Sange de Cristo Mountains. They rise up quickly and have almost bowl like bend in them where the dunes formed. The mountains cause the wind to slow, and then lose the energy required to carry the sand and if falls. The biggest of the dunes are well over 600 feet. The park has the tallest sand dunes in North America. The sand field is over 30 square miles, and the park itself over 150,000 acres. Like I said a big pile of sand.
We parked at the Visitors Center and decided we would spend a few minutes in there looking around. They also had an outdoor observation area, so after 10-15 minutes we went out and looked through their telescopes. We could see people out on the dunes and other people walking towards them. It should give you pause to think that you needed a telescope to see the people. For some reason, it did not give me pause. But, just a few minutes later the distance dawned on me.
It wasn’t terribly hot, but the sand made it seem so. We carried water and our sled and then took our first steps from the concrete walkway to the sandy approach. It was very fine sand, and exactly like being on a dry beach. Walking was going to be difficult. As we walked I did some mental calculations. It was at least 3/8 of mile to the dunes, maybe ½ mile. On flat concrete it would take 10 minutes to walk there. In the sand, more like 15. We were tired and hot, and getting hotter. It was coming up on 5 PM, we hadn’t eaten, and we had a 2 plus hour drive ahead of me. Margo was trooping right along, and I suggested that this was a bad idea, and that we should just forget about sledding the dunes. It took her almost until the words were out of my mouth to agree. We took two quick pictures of each of sitting in the sled, and called it good. Five minutes later we were back at the car and on our way out of the park.
As we had driven into the park, probably just half an hour ago, we noticed a little restaurant. My thought was that as we were in pretty isolated territory, that we should not be choosy. Margo agreed and after stopping to take some pictures at the Sand Dunes sign, we stopped to eat. We took our time eating and by something around 6 we were on our way.
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Margo was tired and asked me to drive. I was tired, too. But, when she asks I have to take over. It’s only fair, as she does such a large part of the driving, and I prefer to drive on the highways anyway. The trip to Leadville was fairly uneventful. The sunset was very pretty, and I spend my time going over the speed limit and watching for speed traps. We made fairly good time, but it was still well past dark when we pulled into Leadville. We were staying at the Delaware Hotel. This place is on my Bucket List, as it is about 100 years old, and the most prestigious hotel in town. It was a little expensive. It also didn’t have an elevator. I knew both of these facts. I also knew that Leadville is over 10,000 feet in elevation. What I didn’t know was that our room was on the top, the third floor, and that the elevation would have such an effect on me.
We were just in Pagosa Springs, at about 8,000 feet and never even noticed it. But, after checking and climbing the first half flight of stairs, I was dying. I had been wrestling alligators a few hours ago, and now 8 steps were kicking my ass. Margo was similarly affected. By the time we got to our room I knew I had made a big mistake staying at this hotel. The other things that attracted me to it; the ambiance, the history, the beauty, were all there. But, those stairs were too much. We were scheduled to stay two nights. I was wondering I could survive one.
We got settled in, and we were both hungry. Judging by the selections in the guest book, in our room, most places were closed. We quickly decided that a pizza delivered to the room would both solve the hunger problem, and keep us away from the stairs. The pizza got to us pretty quickly. I didn’t have the change I wanted, so I over tipped. I didn’t care, and he had to deal with the stairs. We ate, watched a little TV and turned in for the night.
We were just in Pagosa Springs, at about 8,000 feet and never even noticed it. But, after checking and climbing the first half flight of stairs, I was dying. I had been wrestling alligators a few hours ago, and now 8 steps were kicking my ass. Margo was similarly affected. By the time we got to our room I knew I had made a big mistake staying at this hotel. The other things that attracted me to it; the ambiance, the history, the beauty, were all there. But, those stairs were too much. We were scheduled to stay two nights. I was wondering I could survive one.
We got settled in, and we were both hungry. Judging by the selections in the guest book, in our room, most places were closed. We quickly decided that a pizza delivered to the room would both solve the hunger problem, and keep us away from the stairs. The pizza got to us pretty quickly. I didn’t have the change I wanted, so I over tipped. I didn’t care, and he had to deal with the stairs. We ate, watched a little TV and turned in for the night.
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Monday, September 20, 2010
We didn’t have a set agenda today. We were taking a train tour of the area at 1 PM, but other than that the day was free. We were up around 8 AM, and ready for breakfast before 9 AM. We walked down the stairs, and settled on the next door, Golden Donkey restaurant for breakfast. Our hotel has a nice restaurant, but it was kind of expensive. Our breakfast went well. The service was quick, the food was good, and the place had a lot of character.
We finished up before 10 AM, and now had 3 hours before our train trip. Leadville is famous in Colorado for two women; Molly Brown and Baby Doe Tabor. I had grown up attending Colorado schools and the Legend of Baby Doe Tabor is more prominent then the Unsinkable Molly Brown. Her basic story, being born middle class, but a failed marriage dropping her into poverty is common. But, her beauty and charisma captured the heart of the married, silver baron, Horace Tabor. They became an item. He divorced and married her. They might have lived happily ever after, except for the Sherman Silver Act of 1893. This took silver out of the US money system, and the price of the commodity fell drastically. Horace was destitute. The family went from dining with Kings and Presidents, to wondering how to feed themselves. Everyone assumed that Baby Doe had married Horace for his money. But she stuck by him until he died, and then lived at the Matchless Mine, until she died in the 1930s. The Matchless Mine was one of Horace’s best producing mine, and he had always told Baby Doe to hold on to it. Well, she did have to sell it, but the new owners let her live in the old, rustic cabins on the property. She died there during a harsh snowstorm.
We finished up before 10 AM, and now had 3 hours before our train trip. Leadville is famous in Colorado for two women; Molly Brown and Baby Doe Tabor. I had grown up attending Colorado schools and the Legend of Baby Doe Tabor is more prominent then the Unsinkable Molly Brown. Her basic story, being born middle class, but a failed marriage dropping her into poverty is common. But, her beauty and charisma captured the heart of the married, silver baron, Horace Tabor. They became an item. He divorced and married her. They might have lived happily ever after, except for the Sherman Silver Act of 1893. This took silver out of the US money system, and the price of the commodity fell drastically. Horace was destitute. The family went from dining with Kings and Presidents, to wondering how to feed themselves. Everyone assumed that Baby Doe had married Horace for his money. But she stuck by him until he died, and then lived at the Matchless Mine, until she died in the 1930s. The Matchless Mine was one of Horace’s best producing mine, and he had always told Baby Doe to hold on to it. Well, she did have to sell it, but the new owners let her live in the old, rustic cabins on the property. She died there during a harsh snowstorm.
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Taking a tour of the Matchless seemed like a great idea. And, as it turned out I was glad that we did. There are three structures on the property; Baby Doe’s cabin, a Tuff Shed, turned into a Gift Shop, and the old hoist building. We checked in at the gift shop, and bought combo tickets for the Matchless tour and admission to the Mining Hall of Fame in town. We were planning to be her Tuesday, and it seemed like an interesting thing to do. The Matchless tour started not long after we got our tickets and was conducted by a 50ish, thin woman, with long graying dark hair. She spoke with in a voice that had a grating, monotonous bent to it. But, she was very pleasant, and we learned quite a bit about the Matchless Mine, and the life of Baby Doe.
I had always assumed that Baby Doe had held on to the Matchless, because that is where she died. But in truth she had sold it years ago. She had two daughters to try to feed, and even when they were older and moved away, she had no money. She worked the mine a little, but most got by with the help of others. She was a very proud woman, and convinced herself that she was actually earning the gifts she received. The owner of the Matchless gave her a job as caretaker of the mine, to guard it from trespassers. The mine was virtually worthless by this time. The cost of silver had risen from it’s 1890s lows, but the water has also risen and fill the mine. Pumping it out, and then keeping it out was a big expense, and ultimately not worth it. But, she would occasionally bring in to town a large piece of ore to pay for her groceries. Her groceries were really being paid for by her brother, who knew of both her plight and her pride. The grocer would occasionally give her a few coins back, telling her that her last piece of silver ore was too big, and that she had over paid.
We saw the inside of the very spartan cabin. It had no water and no bathroom. The nearest water was something like a mile away and the outhouse a few dozen yards away. The cabin was cold as the arctic in the winter, and was heated by a wood/coal stove. She had papered the walls with old newspaper, and then whitewashed over them to make them look better. It sounded like she kept the place as clean and repaired as was possible. But, the contrast between this place and even the Delaware, where we were staying was striking. I imagined an ignorant visitor spending a few hours asking Ms Tabor about her life, and walking away thinking that he had just visited some senile old woman. Who did she think she was kidding with stories of spending five figures for her own wedding dress, and then even more for a christening dress for her daughter? Or how her husband had been a United States Senator, and she had traveled the world.
I had always assumed that Baby Doe had held on to the Matchless, because that is where she died. But in truth she had sold it years ago. She had two daughters to try to feed, and even when they were older and moved away, she had no money. She worked the mine a little, but most got by with the help of others. She was a very proud woman, and convinced herself that she was actually earning the gifts she received. The owner of the Matchless gave her a job as caretaker of the mine, to guard it from trespassers. The mine was virtually worthless by this time. The cost of silver had risen from it’s 1890s lows, but the water has also risen and fill the mine. Pumping it out, and then keeping it out was a big expense, and ultimately not worth it. But, she would occasionally bring in to town a large piece of ore to pay for her groceries. Her groceries were really being paid for by her brother, who knew of both her plight and her pride. The grocer would occasionally give her a few coins back, telling her that her last piece of silver ore was too big, and that she had over paid.
We saw the inside of the very spartan cabin. It had no water and no bathroom. The nearest water was something like a mile away and the outhouse a few dozen yards away. The cabin was cold as the arctic in the winter, and was heated by a wood/coal stove. She had papered the walls with old newspaper, and then whitewashed over them to make them look better. It sounded like she kept the place as clean and repaired as was possible. But, the contrast between this place and even the Delaware, where we were staying was striking. I imagined an ignorant visitor spending a few hours asking Ms Tabor about her life, and walking away thinking that he had just visited some senile old woman. Who did she think she was kidding with stories of spending five figures for her own wedding dress, and then even more for a christening dress for her daughter? Or how her husband had been a United States Senator, and she had traveled the world.
We finished the tour and stopped back at the gift shop for a few minutes. Then it was close enough to 1 PM to head over to the train depot. We got to the depot, checked in and then waited near the train for an “all aboard”, so we could get started. The seats on this train were down the middle of the cars, and faced the windows. You had your choice of facing the depot or away. One of the conductors said words to the effect that the “town” side was better, but there were no bad seats. He lied. The side that faced the depot, which we assumed to be the “town” side, would eventually face the mountain as we toured. There was not much to see at all. The highlight of looking at that side was a few elk that had journeyed down in search of food.
As our seats were not adequate, and no way to really switch, and sitting near by was a pseudo know it all, who reveled in choosing the correct side, it ended up being a frustrating trip. But, we did get to see the scenery, just by standing up and looking out the other window. It would have been nice to sit and see as well. The train did stop at the old water tower and we got to stretch our legs and take a few pictures. Not long after that stop, we were back at the depot.
As our seats were not adequate, and no way to really switch, and sitting near by was a pseudo know it all, who reveled in choosing the correct side, it ended up being a frustrating trip. But, we did get to see the scenery, just by standing up and looking out the other window. It would have been nice to sit and see as well. The train did stop at the old water tower and we got to stretch our legs and take a few pictures. Not long after that stop, we were back at the depot.
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Now we were getting hungry and after deciding on a Mexican place for dinner, my mind turned back to the hotel. I really didn’t like this hotel. The stairs were just too much. I am not some whining pussy. I take the bad and adapt, but I was in distress after climbing those stairs. I do have asthma, and maybe it was acting up. I could darn sure stand to lose some weight. But I walk 6-10 miles everyday, and my legs are strong. I take a small measure of pride in that. I was hesitant to check out of the hotel and go somewhere else. The Delaware had evidently played this game before. They required their money in advance, and issued no refunds. I understood that when I booked it, and I knew there was no elevator. So if we left I would have to pay for an additional room somewhere else. . When I finally made my decision and ran it past Margo, she whole heartedly agreed.
We decided to go back to the hotel, pack, and go the Central City or Black Hawk and spend the night at one of the resorts there. Margo usually spends hours packing and getting things ready. We were packed and out the door in 20 minutes. This was important, as Blackhawk was a couple hours away, and the shadows were getting long. I checked out and while the clerk apologized his ass off, he did not offer a refund. I wasn’t expecting him to. We sped out of town, with the thought that whatever else happened we would at least get away from the Stairs of Death.
I usually comment about a drive or flight being uneventful. This is not just to add an extra sentence to my narrative. Most times, even the vast majority of times, the trip is without any incidence that bears notice. This drive was going to fall in the minority class. When we left we did not know where we were staying, and had not had a route planned. We decided to have me drive, so Margo could work her internet enabled phone to find a hotel. And we figured the GPS would get us to where we were going.
We decided to go back to the hotel, pack, and go the Central City or Black Hawk and spend the night at one of the resorts there. Margo usually spends hours packing and getting things ready. We were packed and out the door in 20 minutes. This was important, as Blackhawk was a couple hours away, and the shadows were getting long. I checked out and while the clerk apologized his ass off, he did not offer a refund. I wasn’t expecting him to. We sped out of town, with the thought that whatever else happened we would at least get away from the Stairs of Death.
I usually comment about a drive or flight being uneventful. This is not just to add an extra sentence to my narrative. Most times, even the vast majority of times, the trip is without any incidence that bears notice. This drive was going to fall in the minority class. When we left we did not know where we were staying, and had not had a route planned. We decided to have me drive, so Margo could work her internet enabled phone to find a hotel. And we figured the GPS would get us to where we were going.
SIgn of empending doom. Dirt Road, narrow, and no guard rails
Margo began to search for a hotel, and with in fifteen minutes she lost service to her phone. We were in the heart of the Colorado mountains, so that was not a big surprise. We figured we would just find a hotel, and settled in for our drive. Everything was going great until we got to Idaho Springs. I don’t know that area very well, but I did know that there were two highway routes into the BHCC area. What I didn’t know was that the old, original, horse drawn wagon road was not only still in existence, and used, but dutifully installed in the maps database of my GPS. As it is the “shortest” route, TomTom routed us on to it. Now I couldn’t tell what it was doing, exactly. But I go suspicious as we started to go into the residential part of Idaho Springs. I knew that was not right. I had brought a Colorado map with me, but the detail wasn’t good enough, so after driving in circles for awhile, and deciding against taking “the long route”, I opted to trust that TomTom would get us there.
As it turned out TomTom did get us there. But not without scaring the shit out of me. We came up on signs telling us about an 11% grade, and how the road is not maintained in the winter. September is not winter, but it’s not high season either. It snows in September all the time in the mountains. I doubted we would run across that problem, but the isolation, in case of a problem did creep into my mind. The road itself is dirt, narrow, and very dark. The only lights came from our car. The farther we drove up this road, the more concerned I got. I had to shift from Drive to 3rd, just to keep the engine from overstressing, and to continue forward momentum. Much too quickly, I was in 2nd gear, and still pressing the accelerator much to close to the floor. When I had to put it in low, and we were still slowing down, I was near panic. I was afraid we were either lose the engine, cause it major damage, or stall and be unable to get going again. Margo’s phone did not have service, and there were no lights to be seen. I was having Margo call out distance to the next turn to gauge if we would make it or not. Then she yelled out to stop! We were in a downhill part at that point, so I did. She told me that the GPS had just gone off. Luckily, she meant it was still working. Unluckily, she meant that the road we were on did not exist in the GPS. We came across a turn, took it, and got back on the map. But, five minutes or so later, we were back at the same point, and the GPS road disappeared. I made the decision to keep going on it and hope. Just a few hundred yards later we drove back onto the GPS road, and things got a little better. At this point even thought things had settled down with the stain on the engine, the road noise and unfamiliar ground still had both of us very stressed. Margo announced that we were just yards away from, so I began praying it was a paved road. That paved road announced itself with a jolt. It was raised several inches above the dirt and I never saw it coming. Margo said she had, but after the initial adrenaline rush had subsided, we calmed just a bit.
Even though the worst of the road was behind us, it was still late and dark, and we didn’t know exactly where we are at, or where we were going. We still did not have a hotel picked out. After a few turns in the road we turned down a familiar road and I saw that we were in Central City. But, it looked awful devoid of life at this hour. CC does not have a lot of big showy places to stay, and that’s what we wanted. Something that screamed “civilization”. Something bright and inviting. Something that said there are people here. I don’t recall if Margo was able to program the GPS for Blackhawk or if we just stumbled on to the right road, but not too much longer we were pulling into the AmeriStar parking garage.
As it turned out TomTom did get us there. But not without scaring the shit out of me. We came up on signs telling us about an 11% grade, and how the road is not maintained in the winter. September is not winter, but it’s not high season either. It snows in September all the time in the mountains. I doubted we would run across that problem, but the isolation, in case of a problem did creep into my mind. The road itself is dirt, narrow, and very dark. The only lights came from our car. The farther we drove up this road, the more concerned I got. I had to shift from Drive to 3rd, just to keep the engine from overstressing, and to continue forward momentum. Much too quickly, I was in 2nd gear, and still pressing the accelerator much to close to the floor. When I had to put it in low, and we were still slowing down, I was near panic. I was afraid we were either lose the engine, cause it major damage, or stall and be unable to get going again. Margo’s phone did not have service, and there were no lights to be seen. I was having Margo call out distance to the next turn to gauge if we would make it or not. Then she yelled out to stop! We were in a downhill part at that point, so I did. She told me that the GPS had just gone off. Luckily, she meant it was still working. Unluckily, she meant that the road we were on did not exist in the GPS. We came across a turn, took it, and got back on the map. But, five minutes or so later, we were back at the same point, and the GPS road disappeared. I made the decision to keep going on it and hope. Just a few hundred yards later we drove back onto the GPS road, and things got a little better. At this point even thought things had settled down with the stain on the engine, the road noise and unfamiliar ground still had both of us very stressed. Margo announced that we were just yards away from, so I began praying it was a paved road. That paved road announced itself with a jolt. It was raised several inches above the dirt and I never saw it coming. Margo said she had, but after the initial adrenaline rush had subsided, we calmed just a bit.
Even though the worst of the road was behind us, it was still late and dark, and we didn’t know exactly where we are at, or where we were going. We still did not have a hotel picked out. After a few turns in the road we turned down a familiar road and I saw that we were in Central City. But, it looked awful devoid of life at this hour. CC does not have a lot of big showy places to stay, and that’s what we wanted. Something that screamed “civilization”. Something bright and inviting. Something that said there are people here. I don’t recall if Margo was able to program the GPS for Blackhawk or if we just stumbled on to the right road, but not too much longer we were pulling into the AmeriStar parking garage.
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We parked and I asked Margo “What is our drop dead amount?” I had no idea how much it cost to rent a room and if it was too much, I was figuring to point our car east and go home. My nerves were fried and I was tired. I could unwind my nerves as easily driving home, and whatever else this. She didn’t have an amount. But, I was thinking the $150 was the ceiling, if the price including tax was going to be over that, we were going home. We found our way to the check in desk, and found out that a room was $99 plus tax. Sold. We took care of the paper work and made our way to the 13th floor. We opened the door and with only a rough idea of what to expect, we were very pleasantly surprised. The room was big, modern, clean and the bed was perfect.
We tossed out suitcase on the suitcase holder and decided to walk around the casino and unwind a bit. We stayed together for a slot machine or two, and then we went our separate ways. This is our normal pattern when we end up in a casino. We each have our own kind of machines that interest us, and we don’t usually find them together. As we were still pretty tired, it didn’t take long for us to both lose about $20 each, and come down from our adrenaline buzz. So very soon we decided it was time to go back to the room and go to bed.
We tossed out suitcase on the suitcase holder and decided to walk around the casino and unwind a bit. We stayed together for a slot machine or two, and then we went our separate ways. This is our normal pattern when we end up in a casino. We each have our own kind of machines that interest us, and we don’t usually find them together. As we were still pretty tired, it didn’t take long for us to both lose about $20 each, and come down from our adrenaline buzz. So very soon we decided it was time to go back to the room and go to bed.
Tuesday, September, 21, 2010
We had no plans to get up early. The only thing getting us out of bed was the 11 AM check out time. I did not want to pay for a third day to get us through last night. We made it. I was down at the register’s desk at about 10 ‘til. Our plan for the day was to gamble a little, sight see a little, and maybe shop a little. It had been my experience that in BHCC, we could gamble very easy (winning is another story), sightsee if you already knew what you were looking for, and shop is you were either lucky or not picky.
We ran our bags to the car, and decided to leave the car right where it is. Parking is an issued in BHCC, and they have a nice shuttle system to get you around. But, as AmeriStar had been nice to us so far, we decided to gamble there for awhile. First we had a quick bite to eat at their Fireside Restaurant. Then we went out to the casino. We each won some, and then lost all that we had won, and then some. It wasn’t long before we decided to follow Obama’s socialist teachings and “spread the wealth”. But becoming a millionaire on this trip was not to be. No matter where we gambled we ended up losing.
It wasn’t long before we decided to try shopping and sightseeing. Margo collects charms to go on a bracelet. She likes to collect those that symbolize where we went or what we did. In the few shops that were both open and catered to something close to what she was looking for we found nothing. We did strike a wealth of information when we went to the Central City Visitor’s Center. We met a very nice lady named Darla. She is a lifelong resident and very passionate about her home town. She told us a few stories, including a couple about that road we traveled on last night. She said it goes through Virginia Canyon, and is known locally as the Oh My Gawd Road. She told us that her grandfather would ride up that road on a horse drawn wagon. It would take 12 hours. It took me about 30 minutes and I was scared to death the last 15 minutes. She said she still takes it a lot of days to go home in the evening. She said she doesn’t do it at night, but it is very beautiful during the day. Well, now I know. I will still be avoiding it, unless I have four wheel drive.
Not long after our talk with Darla we decided that we had donated enough money the BHCC economy. But, we had done a poor job in getting souvenirs to take home for the kids. I remembered seeing a big souvenir shop along I-70, at one of my other trips into the mountains, so that was our plan. We never found it, but we stopped at Colorado Mills Mall off of Colfax & I-70. That worked just as well. We ended up getting a Build-a-Bear for Jessi. It was a Wedding Bear, in which we even got underwear. This had special meaning because all of the girls had to keep pulling Jolene’s underwear up, as her hose was trying to pull them down the whole wedding. For Randy we got acrylic heart in which we engraved one of the wedding pictures on it. For Jolene, we found a Precious Moments Bride statuette. Pete was the real pain. We ended up with a t-shirt that had no trip significance. We just couldn’t find anything.
This took us 2-3 hours to finally make happen. But, once that was done we went home. Finally. It had been another memorable trip. Now it was time to focus on our next one, Orlando and the Space Shuttle.
We ran our bags to the car, and decided to leave the car right where it is. Parking is an issued in BHCC, and they have a nice shuttle system to get you around. But, as AmeriStar had been nice to us so far, we decided to gamble there for awhile. First we had a quick bite to eat at their Fireside Restaurant. Then we went out to the casino. We each won some, and then lost all that we had won, and then some. It wasn’t long before we decided to follow Obama’s socialist teachings and “spread the wealth”. But becoming a millionaire on this trip was not to be. No matter where we gambled we ended up losing.
It wasn’t long before we decided to try shopping and sightseeing. Margo collects charms to go on a bracelet. She likes to collect those that symbolize where we went or what we did. In the few shops that were both open and catered to something close to what she was looking for we found nothing. We did strike a wealth of information when we went to the Central City Visitor’s Center. We met a very nice lady named Darla. She is a lifelong resident and very passionate about her home town. She told us a few stories, including a couple about that road we traveled on last night. She said it goes through Virginia Canyon, and is known locally as the Oh My Gawd Road. She told us that her grandfather would ride up that road on a horse drawn wagon. It would take 12 hours. It took me about 30 minutes and I was scared to death the last 15 minutes. She said she still takes it a lot of days to go home in the evening. She said she doesn’t do it at night, but it is very beautiful during the day. Well, now I know. I will still be avoiding it, unless I have four wheel drive.
Not long after our talk with Darla we decided that we had donated enough money the BHCC economy. But, we had done a poor job in getting souvenirs to take home for the kids. I remembered seeing a big souvenir shop along I-70, at one of my other trips into the mountains, so that was our plan. We never found it, but we stopped at Colorado Mills Mall off of Colfax & I-70. That worked just as well. We ended up getting a Build-a-Bear for Jessi. It was a Wedding Bear, in which we even got underwear. This had special meaning because all of the girls had to keep pulling Jolene’s underwear up, as her hose was trying to pull them down the whole wedding. For Randy we got acrylic heart in which we engraved one of the wedding pictures on it. For Jolene, we found a Precious Moments Bride statuette. Pete was the real pain. We ended up with a t-shirt that had no trip significance. We just couldn’t find anything.
This took us 2-3 hours to finally make happen. But, once that was done we went home. Finally. It had been another memorable trip. Now it was time to focus on our next one, Orlando and the Space Shuttle.