Saturday, September 22, 2012

About That Colorado Springs (September 16 - 22)

Dear Family and Friends,

 We left Gillette, Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain FMCA Ramble on Sunday morning, seeing lots of antelope and deer along the way to our next destination. Our drive took us south on Wyoming 59 to Douglass, where we picked up I - 25 to Cheyenne. We spent the night at Terry Bison Ranch and  had plenty of time to see the sights in Cheyenne and F.E. Warren Air Force Base.

 The Wyoming capitol building is one of the most beautiful that we have seen.


 Decorated cowboy boots are located throughout the city.

 Antelope are everywhere in this part of the country. This buck's picture was taken at F.E.Warren Air Force Base.

 This old army post, now Warren AFB, is truly beautiful. It is home to Minute Man missiles and the 90th Missile Wing.

 Headquarters of the 90th Missile Wing.

 Three intercontinental ballistic missiles sit at the entrance to Warren AFB.

The Tour was parked at Terry Bison Ranch outside of Cheyenne, for one night.

 The bison herd at Terry Bison Ranch


We left Cheyenne, early Monday morning and continued south on I - 25 to Colorado Springs and the Air Force Academy. We love our site among the pines and will remain at the Academy for three weeks. Our RVing friends, Butch and Pam, came over for drinks and we had fun catching up with them.

Our site for three weeks at the USAFA Famcamp. We are truly in the pines.

 Finally, lots of cycling on the great roads at USAFA.

 Happy Hour with new and old friends.

Roger and I were lucky to meet Randy, who educated us about a wonderful breed of dog, called the Karilan Bear dog. This breed is very well known in Russia and Finland for their ability to send bears running. Randy and Nikka (featured below) worked for Glacier National Park this year. They spent time in the back country trying to keep the bears (Grizzly and Black) from getting too close to people. Apparently Nikka, who is from Finland, produces no fear pheromones and therefore bears are reluctant to attack her. She barks at the bears (the only time she barks) with Randy holding on to her ten foot leash. Invariably the bear turns and runs. There is so much more to this story, but Randy and Nikka are a wonderful team. Roger and I were thrilled to meet both of them.

As I said earlier in the blog, we will be in Colorado Springs for three weeks before heading to Santa Fe.  We look forward to spending time with friends, USAFA football games, cycling and enjoying the beautiful Fall weather. Thank you for your interest in our travels. See you next week.

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