It will take you to Victor.
From Victor, you can continue to Cripple Creek, another 19th-century mining camp. Today, Cripple Creek has plenty of casinos that provide slots, poker and blackjack, along with small gift shops. To return to Colorado Springs, take Colorado 67 north to Divide, then U.S.
Southwest of Colorado Springs, in a remote area in the Wet Mountains of San Isabel National Park, is a kooky stone-and-iron castle that's been under construction considering that 1969. Jim Bishop started constructing it ten years after he 'd acquired a little tract for $450 at the age of 15. Visitors' contributions to a 501( c) 3 non-profit called the Bishop Castle Non-profit Charitable Structure for New-born Heart Surgery money the continuous project.
To get to Bishop's Castle from Colorado Springs, take Highway 115 south to Florence, turn left at the first traffic light onto Highway 67, then best onto Highway 96 in Wetmore. Turn left onto Highway 165 and go 12 miles. The castle is huge you can't miss it. After your check out, double back on Highway 165 and turn left on Highway 96 and go Westcliffe.
Then follow Colorado 69 south toward Gardner, however before you arrive, turn right at the indication for Red Wing. Before you get to Red Wing, search for a small green sign for Pass Creek and turn left onto this road. It is a surprisingly smooth unpaved roadway that will take you to La Veta Pass.
This pass that the residents use will shave off about an hour and a half from needing to go southeast to Walsenberg to get to the San Luis Valley. The tallest sand dunes in all of North America are here in the San Luis Valley. Researchers think the dunes were created less than 440,000 years back by winds that blew sand deposits from the Rio Grande River to the western base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The dunes are open to the general public year round, 24/7. The park uses a lodge and cabins, which are available in the spring through the middle of October. There's a small corner store and a dining establishment, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the summer season traveler season. When my sibling and I existed in early October, it was just open for breakfast.
If you don't go throughout the summertime, you may wish to bring your own food. The lodge staff advised that we not endeavor on foot from the lodge in the dark because black bears reside in the area. Information and reservations: Great Sand Dunes Lodge, 719-378-2900; www.gsdlodge.com The next morning, my sibling and I dined on tasty pancakes and huevos rancheros at the restaurant, and our friendly server was the 3rd local to recommend that we take time to see the close-by waterfalls before we continued our travels north through the San Luis Valley.
The tracks are extremely small and shallow and even a light wind will blow them away. The dunes were my preferred part of the entire trip. After walking on the ridges of the dunes, we headed 10 miles south on Highway 150 and pulled off onto the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
This roadway is steep and rough, and we went over whether seeing the falls was worth all this trouble. We finally reached a car park. From there, it was a quarter-mile walking up a rough and steep trail to a stream, which we had to cross 5 times to reach the falls inside a narrow crevasse.
Care: The rocks are slick, and residents stated the stream can be fast and deep throughout early summertime. On our drive down from the falls, I asked my bro to stop so I might discover out what people were doing on the side of the roadway. I approached a female and presented myself.
Archeleta told me that the trees just produce nuts every 5 or 6 years. The nuts must be toasted prior to utilizing in a variety of meals. The next stop on our adventure was 47 miles away. We took Colorado 150 North, then Lane 6 West, then Colorado 17 North. The indication warns: "No trespassing.
The secret is to supply them with geothermal water that stays at a comfy 87 degrees. Offering alligators to numerous zoos across the nation, Colorado Gators Reptile Park contains little bit, medium-size, big and extra-large gators, sorted by size so they don't consume each other. It also has 5 albino alligators (we were informed there were just about 50 in captivity). Colorado Gators Reptile Park likewise offers a class in alligator fumbling.
It's just a few miles north of the Colorado Gators Reptile Park on the west side of Highway 17. Owner Judy Messoline claims that many psychics have actually felt the presence of a pair of vortexes that work as websites into parallel universes. The Vortex Garden is certainly a bizarre location, with sunglasses, empty bottles, watches and bracelets, beaded necklaces, silk flowers, combs, spiritual symbols and other things.
We motivate visitors to leave something in The Garden to get their energy there also. PLEASE do not move or get rid of anything in The Garden bad, bad Karma if you do." Info: 719-378-2296; www.ufowatchtower.com. To go back to Colorado Springs, go north on Highway 17 and turn east on to Highway 285 to Salida.
50 East, which is a very scenic route along with the Arkansas River amidst high canyon walls. Driving through these canyons along with through the aspen-covered mountains on the Gold Camp Road were my bro's preferred parts of our journey. When you reach Penrose, take Colorado 115 back to Colorado Springs.
These unbelievable rock developments are a popular destination for photographers, hikers, rock climbers and bird watchers. Spend the morning checking out The Kissing Camels (a formation that resembles 2 camels), The 3 Graces, the Cathedral Spires in the Cathedral Valley and Balanced Rock. Details: 719-634-6666; www.gardenofgods.com. You have actually probably heard of Cheyenne Mountain, the former site of NORAD (The United States Northern Command, and the Flying Force Area Command).
On another part of the mountain, above the surface, is the house of numerous exotic animals. At an elevation of 6,800 feet above sea level, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is the only zoo in the United States on a mountain. It's southwest of Colorado Springs, above the Broadmoor resort, which you can see from the zoo.
It's best known for its giraffe herd. The zoo presently has 18 giraffes, and its breeding program is the most successful worldwide, with 199 births because 1954. The giraffes are permitted outside when the temperature level is 40 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. For a couple dollars, you can acquire a handful of lettuce to feed the giraffes and get a close encounter with their sweet and curious characters along with their 20-inch, dark purple tongues.
24 East, then turn south on 21st Street. Follow indications to the zoo. Details: 719-633-9925; www.cmzoo.org. Consider this four-day schedule as merely a sampling of remarkable sites southern Colorado has to offer. My brother and I are currently making strategies for next year's road adventure that includes a check out to the extraordinary cliff homes at Mesa Verde National Park.
