Indian Peaks, Colorado

Peggy and I are going hiking today in the Rocky Mountains and I am interesred to see if they are different here from Canada. As it will be a hot day we make an early start and before we leave she closes the windows and blinds in the house to keep the heat out. We drive out of Boulder and into the foothills of the Rockies and begin to climb steeply through Ponderosa Pine and Aspen trees. We drive through a small town called Ward, which is one of the original mining towns. Nowadays it is where many of the original hippies of Boulder have moved to. The houses are scattered higgeldy-piggeldy on the slopes on either side of the road where old cars and trucks have been  abandoned. 

Ward

Abandoned Truck

We drive into the Arapoho National Park and park by Brainard Lake. .

Brainard Lake

We are now at just over 3000m and as we start walking along the trial I can feel the altitude affecting my breathing. The path climbs between spruce trees which give off a crisp, fresh pine smell.

Peggy at the Start of the Trail

We cross a stream and then come out into a wild flower meadow which has so many different varieties of flower, it is impossible to count and identify them all. The flower theme continues all the way along the trail including clumps of columbine, which is the national flower of Colorado.

Stream

Wild Flower Meadow

Indian Paintbrush

Penstamen

Columbine

We come to an area of boulders to cross and when I admire that they have been arranged into steps to allow easy access Peggy explains that in the 1930s President Roosevelt implemented a programme of job creation and teams of otherwise jobless men built many of the national park trails. Thank you President Roosevelt. 

Isabelle Lake

We arrive at Isabelle Lake and picnic on a broad flat rock, where we bake in the sun lile lizards until the sun thankfully goes behind a cloud. As we eat our lunch we enjoy the sound of the nearby stream and the views of the peaks.

Me at Isabelle Lake

Indian Peaks

As we retrace out steps we share our stories about our married lives and find we have had many similar experiences, such that at several times we take up the tale in turns as if it is one story.

On the way back we stop for a drink in another small old mining town called Nederland. The attractive main street is like a set from a wild west movie, but now with gift shops, as well as the old saloon.

Nederland

Peggy takes me to visit the Carousel of Happiness which is housed in a new building inthe shopoing plaza. The carousel dates from 1910 when it lived in an amusement park on a pier in Salt Lake, Utah. In 1958 the park went bankrupt and the carousel was dismantled and stored in a warehouse. In 1986 the original animals were sold and the rest of the structure was going to be sold for scrap when it was rescued by a Vietnam war veteran who brought it to Nederland and spent the next 26 years carving the new animals to populate the carousel.  Peggy and I pay our $1 each for a ride and the carousel and its story casts its spell and we do indeed feel even happier than before.

The Carousel of Happiness

Carousel in 1986

New Man in my Life?

In the evening after another delicious dinner, Peggy suggests we watch the film War Horse. I remember that it was filmed on Dartmoor, so I am able to show her the countryside and villages near my home; so now she knows what to expect when she comes to visit.

Boulder, Colorado

I am going to visit my friend Peggy in Boulder, Colorado. We were both on the China trip last October and got on well. As well as liking her, I admire her greatly for her energy, enthusiasm and attitude. I take a 2 and a half hour flight from Calgary to Denver – the Mile High City - and Peggy meets me at the airport. We drive for about an hour across a dry plain patterned with circular green irrigated fields. The Rockies are visible in the distance and as we come closer the city of Boulder appears in a circular hollow nestled close to the foothills and surrounded by a protected belt of countryside. Peggy describes Boulder now as ' 25 square miles surrounded by reality'.

The first people to live in the Boulder Valley were the Arapaho Indians. Propectors arrived in the mouth of the Boulder canyon in 1858 and the town grew up at the bottom of the mountains as a supply base for miners and farmers. The city is home to Colorado University, which has been here since 1877.

Arapaho Chief Niwat

Peggy's lovely house is situated in a subdivision close to the edge of the city and in the morning we take a walk around the neighborhood and within 5 minutes we are on the edge of suburban development right by the foothills of the Rockies. Although it is relatively early in the morning it is already hot - I guess about 30 degrees. We pass people taking exercise in a variety of ways: cycling, race walking, running, and jumping off the foothills with parachutes. The irrigated park land of the town contrasts with the dry scrubby landscape of the foothills. Families of prairie dogs run around and then disappear into their sandy burrows as we approach.

Park on the Edge of Boulder

Dry Rockies Foothills and Irrigated Park Land

Prairie Dog

On our way downtown for lunch we drive through an historic residential area where the fine houses of the rich residents were first built.

1877 House

We relive our China experience by having lunch in small restaurant that serves authentic Chinese food.

Chinese Lunch

We spend the afternoon wandering around the very pleasant dowtown area and seeking shade where we can, as the temperature is now well into the 30s. The main street is Pearl Street and for the most part is a shady walking street lined with historic buildings which now contain interesting individual shops, bars and restaurants.

Pearl Street

In the middle of town is the court house building. The original old building burned down and was replaced with an art deco version. Inside the building are old photographs of Boulder and the surrounding area, including this one of the original building. In the plaza outside there are memorials to the War of Independence and the First World War. 

Court House

Original Court House

Outside in the street there is a fun water feature where children play in their swim suits as the water spurts up unexpectedly.

We go inside the 1909 Boulderado Hotel which is restored in its original style and has a beautiful Italian glass ceiling. It has an original lift with a sliding metal gate and in the entrance hall there is an original water fountain which still supplies water straight from the Arapaho Glacier high up in the mountains.

Boulderado Hotel

Water Fountain

Boulder Creek runs down off the Rocky Mountains via Boulder Canyon and through the city. On this hot sunny day people sit on steps with their feet in the water and children paddle and splash about

5521 Boulder Creek

In the evening Peggy and her son Adam prepare a delicious dinner of watermelon and feta salad, wild salmon and asparagus. We sit outside to eat and it is pleasantly warm all evening and there are no biting insects – heaven.

Cooking Dinner

The Calgary Stampede

The Calgary Stampede is billed as the biggest and best Wild West Show on earth and this year is its hundredth anniversary. As we are in the area while it is on Brigitte and I decide we have to go and visit.

As we drive east from Canmore we are very quickly out of the mountains and crossing wide open rolling farm land. In about an hour we reach the outskirts of Calgary and take a train right through the city to the Stampede ground. Most of the other people on the train are also going to the Stampede and there are already plenty of cowboy hats and boots to be seen – yee haw.

The Stampede ground is filled with a large fair ground, the main arena, agricultural displays, stalls, various stages for entertainment and an Indian village.

Brigitte and I begin our day by wandering along to the Indian village where local First Nation tribes have erected colourfully painted tipis. There are native people standing around to give information and answer questions about their lifestyle and culture – and no they don’t live in tipis any more. We go inside one tipi which is hung with colourful handmade clothes; many of which are intricately beaded and decorated with feathers.

First Nations Village

Inside a Tipi

The fairground has traditional and modern rides and stalls with soft toys to win and fair food on sale. Almost everything is deep-fried. There are the usual burgers, but also corn dogs, which are hotdogs deep-fried in a cornmeal batter and even deep fried cheesecake. I decide to try poutine, which is an exotic-sounding French Canadian dish; but it is in fact cheesy chips covered in gravy.

Fairground

Poutine

We go into a tent selling western-style clothes. Here you can pick up a whole outfit: cowboy hat, leather belt with silver buckle, cowboy boots, checked shirt and blue jeans.

Cowboy Hats for Sale

We go into the grandstand and join the crowds for the rodeo. We are sitting inthe blazing sunshine and are grateful when the sun moves behind the granstand and provides some shade. The opening event is a precisely-executed musical ride by the Canadian Mounted Police.

Crowd at the Rodeo

Candian Mounted Police Musical Ride

Then the rodeo itself begins with novice events of bare-back and saddle-back riding. Youths try their luck at staying on the bucking horses, but are quickly flung to the ground and many have to be helped out of the ring by the awaiting medical team. It is brutal entertainment. Then the main events follow and the grown men, who are professional rodeo stars, compete for major prize money. There is a total of 2 million dollars to be won over the whole Stampede, with riders winning $5 500 per event. This time, for the most part, the riders somehow manage to stay on both horses and bulls, and only the occasional cowboy limps out of the arena.

Saddle Back Riding

 Bull Riding

Then it’s the cowgirls’ turn to entertain and they race around barrels, churning up the dirt.

Barrel Racing

Then it’s back to the cowboys, who compete to rope a calf and then to leap off their galloping horse and wrestle a steer to the ground. They can manage to do these crazy things in 6-7 seconds flat.

Calf Roping

Steer Wrestling

After the rodeo we wander around the ground visiting the agriculture exhibits, window shopping in the market, taking in an amusing hypnotist show and then visiting an indoor arena where there is a cattle-penning competition going on. Amateur teams of 3 riders have to separate 3 numbered calves from a herd and successfully pen them within 90 seconds. It is a kind of ‘one man and his dog’ event for cowboys and calves. It is very entertaining as there are so many variables. The winning team of 3 riders with $13000 and a new saddle each.

Cattle Penning

Then it is time for another deep-fried snack and Brigitte and I share a funnel cake. This is made by piping a pancake-type mixture into hot fat to make a ring-shaped base which is then decorated with fruit and ice cream. I think some of the weight I lost in New Zealand is going back on.

Funnel Cake

The evening show in the main arena begins with the National Anthem and the Canadian flag is flown across the ground by helicopter. There is something about a National Anthem that makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck and I am getting quite good at joining in with the words now:

O Canada!
Our home and native land!...

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!

Canadian Flag

Then comes the chuck wagon racing. Each team consists of 4 horses pulling a chuck wagon, with 1 driver, plus 2 out-riders on horses. Four teams like this compete in each race and there is a complicated start whereby they each have to complete a figure of 8 before racing around the track. It looks chaotic and is exciting; creating lots of dust and noise.

Chuck Wagon Racing

It has been a long hot day, but we have enjoyed it and feel lucky to have had this cultural experience. Back to nature tomorrow.

Banff and Canmore

Today we are moving east from Lake Louise Village to Canmore. On the way we stop for a short while in Banff and enjoy a wander up and down the busy, touristy main street. At the end of the main street is the oldest natural history museum in Canada. The wooden building itself is interesting. It dates from 1903 and is built in a rustic style, with a glass-sided ‘lantern’ roof, to let in light. Inside the stuffed animals, butterflies and eggs are still exhibited in their original style. It is a museum of a museum.  

Downtown Banff

Banff Natural History Museum

Inside the Natural History Museum

We leave Banff and the national park and drive a short distance to the little town of Canmore. We take a short walk from a reservoir up to a lake and watch rock climbers tackle the cliffs behind the lake. 

View of Canmore

We check into our hostel on the edge of town. It belongs to the Alpine Club of Canada and is a beautifully presented hostel. We can’t believe how nice it is and all for $25 a night. The lounge has leather sofas and huge windows looking over the valley to the peaks opposite.

Hostel Lounge

Evening View from the Hostel

The next day we take a trip to Calgary to visit the Stampede – but I will write about that separately and on our final day together we get out into the natural environment again with a last lovely hike. At the start of the trail there is a warning sign about bears.

Bears Frequent this Area

The path heads up a valley between huge mountains and crosses and re-crosses a fast-flowing mountain stream. It is another hot day and it is pleasant to stand on the bridges and feel the cool air coming off the water.

View at the Start of the Trail

Mountain Stream

The path climbs steeply and we stop occasionally to rest and admire the views and after a couple of hours we arrive at the alpine lake.

Views from the Path

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Lillian Lake

Back at the hostel we celebrate our last evening together with a meal on the verandah and a bottle of rose wine. We have both really enjoyed our week together and will keep in touch and definitely meet up again somewhere – maybe in England, or the Netherlands, or who knows where else.

Goodbye Meal