BLUE SKIES AND WIDE OPEN PRAIRIE

Sculpture in Colorado Springs

A friend from Minnesota moved to Washington State only to move back to Minnesota because she couldn't adapt to the scenery she found in Washington. Boundaries created by tall trees, towering mountains, hills, narrow streets with tall buildings, and the ocean left her longing for the wide-open prairie. I didn't quite understand her feelings until we spent several days in Colorado. I had the reverse sense of space. I couldn't find the boundaries that I'm used to in California: hills, mountains, ocean, streets lined with trees or buildings. Instead, the intense blue skies and wide, flat plains kept me from feeling any boundaries. My senses tried to reach too far. I was glad when we reached Manitou Springs, which is within the Rocky Mountain range. I had edges and boundaries again, and my line of sight narrowed.

Mural in a coffee shop

I drove from Denver to Colorado Springs and remembered how much I love to drive long distances on straight, not-too-busy roads, a leftover from childhood when my family took car trips back to Minnesota. My dad would drive at night through the deserts and stop at motels where my mother would test for cleanliness, while we waited to swim in the pool. At restaurants, my requests for hamburgers would never vary though I had to adapt to other states' versions or order a California hamburger with lettuce and tomato.

Walking Pikes Peak mural

I was often the instigator of a call to stop at every little building that claimed to be a museum housing artifacts and dinosaur bones from the local environs. My parents learned to look for museum signs and to turn the car at a corner in hopes that I hadn't noticed. Not much luck there. We wandered through the Jim Bridger Museum, the Little Bighorn Memorial also known as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon, and Salt Lake City. We walked by the falls in Twin Falls, Idaho, drove through the Black Hills to see Mt. Rushmore, roamed Bemidji, home of Paul Bunyan, and stood next to the source of the Mississippi River. As we drove closer to Minnesota, the land became flatter and fields of corn, wheat, and soybeans stretched towards the horizon. I would get dizzy from watching the straight rows of corn stalks flickering by our windows for mile after mile.

Cat and Bananas mural

Last weekend in Colorado Springs, Bill and I discovered that the city has opened itself to artwork all around the downtown. Each corner has a bronze sculpture. We were delighted to see the murals covering the sides of so many buildings. And we found a museum. We stopped at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum where we saw the Wall of Wheaties and the interactive exhibits that test your speed, aim, and balance. I tried a race with Olympic champion Carmelita Jeter who took 3.21 seconds to finish our race. I hadn't even moved when she crossed the finish line. I took 15.2 seconds. So much for my racing career. The movie at the end of the walk through the museum shows highlights about Olympians. I teared up watching the film. Walking out of the museum, I looked up at the deep blue sky and understood why so many people are moving to Colorado Springs.
 

Cherry blossoms on a manhole cover. Cherry trees were blooming.
You can see a few cherry blossom petals around the cover.

This long weekend trip was just like old road trip times. I had a chance to drive long roads again and visit a quirky museum that reminded me of our country's history.

Check out the US Olympic & Paralympic Museum:

https://usopm.org

Check out my race with Carmelita Jeter:

https://digital-locker.usopm.org/oOYpIcxbNCJugFcY/training/speed

We stayed at the Antlers Hotel in Colorado Springs. We recommend it. We had a view of Pikes Peak from our window:

https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/wyndham/colorado-springs-colorado/the-antlers-a-wyndham-hotel/photo-gallery

These two sites have good info about road trips:

https://www.roadsideamerica.com

https://viatravelers.com/minnesota-to-california-road-trip/