The Wheels on the Bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. : Alamosa, Colorado

Road trip to Antonito, Colorado

Built in 1863, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish is the oldest church in Colorado. Not sure how it still holds this title because the church was destroyed by a fire on Ash Wednesday in 1926. A new church was finished in September of that same year, with the remaining adobe towers being the only sign of the original church. Beautiful though.

El Santuario de los Pobladores

A small team of volunteers from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, turned some 32,000 handmade adobe bricks into an awe-inspiring shrine to honor the valley's early settlers, who built almost exclusively with adobe. The prayer labyrinth, with walls six feet high, is divided into four sections which each contain five small meditation chapels. The labyrinth was finished in 2022. (picture taken from the internet)

Cano's Castle

Built single-handedly by Dominic "Cano" Espinoza, a Native American Vietnam vet. Built largely out of beer cans and other metal refuse, for Espinoza the castle serves as a thanks for having his life spared during the Vietnam war. Cano's Castle is actually four separate structures. "The king", "the queen", "the palace" and "the rook". The four story "king" house, covered in gleaming beer cans and hubcaps, is his crowning architectural achievement. Cano says his main influences for the Castle are "Vitamin Mary Jane" and Jesus.

In the beginning of the film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, young Henry Jones Jr. AKA Indy is on the run from a gang of graverobbers. He finally hoofs it to his childhood home and the safety of his father. This is the house used as the childhood home of Henry Jones Jr. On the outside of the home, the rustic mailbox bearing the Jones name is still affixed to the wooden fence, appearing exactly as it looked in the film.

Road trip to Chama, New Mexico

Conejos River

Cumbres & Toltec Historic Railroad

Chama, New Mexico

A major encounter between the U.S. Army and a large group of Utes and Jicarilla Apaches occurred here in July 1848. Old Bill Williams, the famous scout and guide, was badly wounded while fighting the Utes, who had once adopted him as a tribesman.

Back in Colorado

Road trip to Creede, Colorado

The Bachelor Loop, a 17-mile scenic driving tour through the historic mining district allows visitors to see the abandoned mines, historic buildings, and the townsite itself, offering a glimpse into Creede's rich silver mining heritage.

Commodore Mine

Weaver Townsite

Last Chance Mine

Amethyst Mine

Last Chance Mine

On-site museum

Bachelor City reached its peak population of around 1,200 residents in 1893. By the mid-1890s, however, the district’s mines began to decline due to persistent water issues and the rising costs of extracting lower-grade ore from increasingly deep shafts. The workforce at the mines was reduced, and the town’s population declined to about 800 by 1896, and then just 200 by 1900. The town persisted for another decade, but the post office ultimately closed in 1912. Today, a historical marker is all that remains to identify the former townsite.

In it's heyday, Bachelor City had a dozen saloons, four hotels, five grocery stores, a meat market, two barber shops, two bakeries, several restaurants, a school, a jail, city hall and a Catholic Church with a parsonage, a doctor, a dentist and a newspaper.

Bulldog Mine site

Overlooking the town of Creede

The temporary burial site of the man who shot and killed Jesse James. Bob Ford was initially buried in Creede, but was later exhumed and reburied in the Richmond City Cemetery, Missouri.

Wagon Wheel Gap is a scenic gap and historical site along the Rio Grande River in Mineral County, Colorado, notable for its namesake, a found wagon wheel, and its past as a hot springs resort and a vital fluorspar mine for the steel industry.

Sunset at the RV park

Headed up Blanca Peak to Lake Como and beyond

Jaws #1

In 2019 we started this trail by ourselves. When we got to this tippy spot we decided it was a little too intimidating to do solo so we turned around, but not today!

Jaws #2

Never encountered a horse on the trail before.

Jaws #3

Lake Como

Lake Como is popular for hiking due to the combination of stunning natural beauty and challenging, varied terrain, which then serves as a base camp for climbers and hikers. The area offers unique diverse trails for various skill levels, and the accomplishment of summiting Colorado's four southern-most "fourteeners".

Blanca Peak 14,345 ft

Ellingwood Point 14,042 ft

Little Bear Peak 14,037 ft

Mount Lindsey 14,042 ft

Lunch time

Back side of Lake Como

During lunch we spoke with a young man who was with the Military Special Ops training. They use this area twice a year for Rock climbing and Ice climbing training. As we continued past Lake Como we crossed paths with them coming down the mountain.

Blue Lake

End of the road for the Jeeps.

Heading back down

There's that tippy spot again

Coming down Jaws #2

Coming down Jaws #1

Sky to the North of the air up spot

Sky to the South of the air up spot

Our timing was off by 5 minutes

Great San Dunes National Park

Medano Pass Road is a four-wheel drive road that begins where the main park road ends. The unpaved road crosses Medano Creek nine times and traverses 4 miles of deep sand. The road winds around the eastern side of the dune field, up through a forested mountain canyon inside the National Preserve, and then up to Medano Pass - elevation 9,982 feet. Médano in Spanish means "sand dune".