South Pueblo KOA
Colorado City, Colorado
After we checking in on Friday, we headed to Pueblo for the Chile and Frijoles Festival. Everyone around here must eat a lot of these peppers because they brought them in by the truck-full.
The peppers were put into round wire baskets on a spit. A very large burner roasted the peppers while a worker turned the basket so the tumbling peppers roasted evenly.
It had been a long time since we were in the city so Pueblo's Riverwalk came as a pleasant surprise.
One end of the Riverwalk formed a large lake with these whimsical paddle boats for rent. We enjoyed dinner at the festival but needed about a gallon of water each to cool our throats down. Obviously, the word "mild" has different meanings in different locales.
Back at the campground, we got drafted to help crew a hot air balloon event over the weekend. Saturday we were up before dawn to meet at the launch site. Unfortunately a last minute weather forecast of rising winds cancelled the event. It would have been nice to sleep later but we enjoyed the time and met a lot of interesting people.
With our balloon duties dismissed, we took time to drive up in the mountains for the day. It was a beautiful day and the aspen trees had started to turn.
It's difficult to describe Bishop Castle. It was built by one man, Jim Bishop, in his spare time. Some of the towers are over 80 feet high. The iron walkways stick out the sides of the buildings and railings were not mandatory.
The iron structures at the top lead to lookouts and walkways between the towers.
This dragon's head was an extension of the roof of the main room. A old discarded hot air balloon burner in its throat provided fiery breath on command.
I was shaking a bit coming down the stairs. I don't think this place was approved by OSHA.
We were close to Canon City, so we decided to check out the Royal Gorge Bridge before we went back. Last year a fast moving forest fire engulfed the area and all the buildings burnt to the ground. Planks on the bridge were scorched but otherwise the bridge remained intake. A new visitor center has been built and other structures will be completed by next year.
The Arkansas River is about 1000 feet below the bridge. The train tracks follow the river.
An adventurous group was rafting on the river while we were walking across the bridge.
Canon City's largest employer has always been the prison system. The old territorial prison contained a museum of its questionable history.
Dave must be gaining weight. Did you notice how all of him did not fit behind the fashionable prison stripes?
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