handwritten on July 5, 2016
Today we traveled up to Vail, which is a pretty popular ski resort for those who do ski. Vail receives around 300 inches of snow per year whereas Denver receives very little due to the lower elevation. On our way up, we passed the Red Rock ampitheatre which has excellent acoustics. Its a huge outdoor ampitheatre and one of the best nationally. In addition, it is used as an outdoor venue for crossfit and various exercise groups.
We landed in Vail and spent a few hours there. It honestly looks like a small German/European town in the midst of the Rockies. There were plenty of outdoor shops and food vendors and the Vail Jazz group was playing as well. In the summer, every Sunday, vendors are...
handwritten on July 5, 2016
We spent most of the day driving to Denver today. Denver is a huge city with a lot of nightlife. From spending most of our days looking at vast landscapes, Denver appeared even larger than it actually is. We spent our time walking around the city of Denver, looking at the main street art vendors, attending a local block party and viewing the various malls and hotels.
handwritten on July 5, 2016
It was a scorching 100 degrees today. Certainly, the hottest day thus far. This morning we drove to see the statue of Crazy Horse- a statue that is much larger than Mount Rushmore. It has been a project that is privately funded and has been ongoing for many years. In fact, no one knows when it will be completed! The man who originally started the memorial had 10 children. His children and grandchildren have continued the carvings. When completed, it will be the largest statue to date. The granite the Crazy Horse Memorial is made from contains minerals such as iron, garnet, feldspar, quartz, mica, and pyrite; pretty spectacular.
We also went to the Crazy Horse Memorial Museum which I found...
handwritten on July 5, 2016
In 1872, a lot of new surveys came out to this region. In 1873, there were many new inventions such as the colt revolver and the devils rope ( barbed wire) thid was a much cheaper version of fence. Unfortunately, a lot of bison were slaughtered, so the Native Americsns lost their food source. In 1834, General Custer found a lot of gold in the black hills. The Americans want to buy the Black Hills which is sioux territory. After January 31, all Sioux were supposed to move out of the black Hills. Those who did not, a war was started.
Terry, Gibbons and Crook go on an expedition to clear out any Sioux that are still in the lands. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were the two leaders of the Sioux...
handwritten on July 5, 2016
Today we woke up early to race to breakfast. The sky was just as sunny and blue as it was yesterday. We traveled to Cody, Wyoming where the famous Buffalo Bill Cody established a town named after him. On our way to Cody, many forests of trees were spotted. It was clear that many of the forests contained dead trees from the forest fire of 88. It may take 200 some years before this vegetation comes back.
We then ventured through the first national forest known as the Shoshoni National Forest named after the Shoshoni indians. We stopped after a bit to enter into Buffalo Cody's hunting lodge. It was quite a rustic lodge with very little lighting. Apparently it was the original lighting they...
