Windy wake up to starry night

The summer really seems to be coming to a close. We'll be heading back "home" next weekend, so this last weekend was really our last chance for tent camping on the Land this year.

We headed up Friday evening after the end of drama camp. We put up the tent and took some pictures of the progress on the Cabin, but we didn't feel like the rigmarole of cooking and a campfire, so just headed to Back Country Pizza in Nederland for an easy supper. We made it back to the Land before pitch darkness, but not much. Wee fell asleep quickly under the serenade of my birthday Indian flute. Alex and I stayed up a little longer to do sword patterns in the dark and watch the stars then went inside the tent ourselves. We know it's been a long summer of camping since almost all of our lanterns and flashlights are dead and I had to read on my Kindle using my iPhone for light - how techie am I?

Sleep did happen for a little while. But then the winds kicked in. Our tent is 10' x 15' x 7'. We love it for all the space in all directions under normal conditions. But that's a lot of fabric to get whipped around by the wind. Wee slept like a log, but I lay frozen watching the walls and poles jerk and sway. I listened intently to the wind outside waiting for our temporary abode to either collapse or whisk us off to Oz. After a very early morning potty break Alex discovered that it was way less scary outside the tent than inside. With that news and with a little bit of dawn's early light I headed out of my own internal hell to brave the elements head on. Gusts of wind sent aspen leaves shimmering, but otherwise everything seemed to be staying more upright and calm than the environment of the tent. Plus, there was a beautiful double rainbow flying over the continental divide just trying to make me smile. I got Rory from the car and we explored the wilds above the Christmas tree a bit, then I came back to the tent for a couple more hours of reading and rest. When Alex went outside again at a more reasonable hour the morning was (temporarily) sunny and calm.

But storms were still looming so we chose a car centric day.

First stop breakfast at the Pioneer Inn (PI) in Nederland. Just us and a "gang" of middle aged motorcyclists riding Honda Gold Wings.

We drove down through Central City and even got out of the car to look at some of the antique stores. Central City/Black Hawk is a weird little town on Peak to Peak Highway. In the 1800's it had boomed with Silver Mining and does have that standard old west feel. But it took a different approach to modern times by allowing casinos. So mixed in among 150 year old store fronts are slot machines and gambling tables. I think the miners would have loved that. For us it was just a quick stop.

Next stop was Red Rocks. Famed amphitheater built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1941. But also amazing rock formations. We ran down and up the stairs and generally wandered all around. Then had our choice for lunch in nearby Morrison in a room filled with stuffed dead animals or a biker bar. We chose stuffed animals since we did biker bar for breakfast.

Dinosaur ridge was next. Footprints, fossilized bones, worm holes, and wave marks on this one cool "hogback" ridge. It was uncovered while building the road to Red Rocks, but protected for its scientific and educational significance. I'm not normally all that into dinosaurs, but it's pretty powerful to see footsteps that are millions of years old.

Finally the weather was getting pretty stable, but I still didn't want to spend another night in a windy tent. We drove back to Nederland through Coal Creek Canyon past scenic Wondervu to get our stuff from the campsite. Then we headed to Lyons' Planet Bluegrass mini-woodstock-esque venue to see a little of this weekend's Folks Festival. The woodstock feel jumped right out at us as we walked past the rows of campers and tents - I guess the wind doesn't bother these stoned campers crammed into a valley and tired from three days of festival antics. We paused for a few minutes to do some hula hoop in among the craft and food stands. Then we found Amy (who had an awesome spot, chairs, and a tarp to sit on - thanks Amy!!!), got some food and settled in to watch a little Susan Tedeschi. Wee fell asleep in our arms as Don McLean played communist/populist old songs, he was asleep before Starry Starry Night and had already said bye-bye before American Pie.