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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 9

23 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 9 Thursday 

9/17/2020 

This morning I headed back into the Black Hills National Forest to visit the Civilian Conservation; Corps (CCC) Museum located in Hill City, SD.  This museum displays photographs and arifacts discribing the men and the projects related to South Dakota between 1933 and 1942.  The museum indicates that at least 30,000 men worked on CCC projects in SD alone with as many as 3-million being involved, nation-wide. during the same time period.

While I was in Hill City I tried to visit Wade’s Gold Mine but it was closed because of COVID-19, so I headed for the Mount Rushmore National Memorial to experience that great patriatic work of art.  A person really can’t imagine just how big the monument is from photos or videos.  When you are standing there looking up at it, the magnitude of the sculpture takes your breath away.  Wikipedia tells me that the project was started by Gutzon Borglum in 1925 with a commision orcastrated by Doane Robinson, known as “The Father of Mount Rushmore.“  The sculpture was completed in 1943 by Borglum’s son Lincoln after his father’s death in 1941.  It is said that some 400 workers were employed during  the 18 years of the project, and amazingly without a single fatality. 

After that exhilarating experience it was only a few miles northeast on US- 16 to visit the National Presidental Wax Museum located in Keystone, SD.  This is an amazing and informative museum with life-size wax figures of all 45 United States presidents, as well as 55 other important figures who have been an influence on our presidents during their years in office.  The self-guided audio narritive highlights the significant events each president, and his administration, are known for.

While I was in Keystone I visited The Big Thunder Gold Mine.  This attraction has it all for those wanting to experience the excitement of the Old West.  There is a guided tour of the mine (originally called the Gold Hill Lode) similar to many others that drew prospectors to the Black Hills area during the gold rush days of the 1890s.  There is a museum filled with antinqe mining tools and equipment used by the prospectors and miners to bring the gold and silver ore from the mines.  And best of all, you can acctually pan for gold in the mine (with all the necessary instruction and equipment provided by trained Big Thunder  staff).

As I was leaving Keystone I drove past Dahl’s Chainsaw Art schulper garden and just had to stop and take a photo or two.  This guy is amazing!  Jarrett Dahl has a huge display of chainsaw art pieces of every size and discription lining Iron Mountain Road (US-16A).  He or one of his team are constantly at work on a new design that you can watch take shape.  You can even request your own design and watch it being carved (for the right price).  Jarrett says his specialties are bears and eagles.

On the way to the motel in Rapid City I stopped to take a look at the Chapel on the Hill located just south of SD-44 in the Canon Lake Park area.  The chapel has an amazing story behind it.  Built in 1969 by Anton A. Dahl, the chapel is an exact reproduction of the famous Borgund Stavkirke in Laerdal, Norway.  A museum on the property is housed in an authentic 1800s Scandinavian log cabin that displays artifacts representing typical Nordic lifestyle of that time period.

Before getting to the motel, a Taco Bell caught my eye and I stopped in for one of their Mexican Pizzas with one of their desserts.  That rounded out my day with a happy tummy.  After checking into the motel, I recorded my exciting day’s activities and slept like a log. 

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 8

16 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 8 Wednesday 

9/16/2020 

This morning I had to back track thru Lusk on my way to the Black Hills National Forest in SD.  At Mule Creek Junction I turned off US-85,  onto US-18 and headed east.  In its day, this interrsection served as the north-south Cheyenne to Deadwood stage route, and the east-west Oregon Trail Route.  

Another 20 miles east on US-18 and I visited The Gun Vault located in Edgemont, SD.  This turned out to be a sales and service shop dealing with all types of new and used guns.

As I was leaving Edgemont, I was surprised to see hundreds of diesei train engines lined up in the rail yard.  I stopped to take a photo so I could tell my son, Billy, about them.  This railroad worker came up to my car and ask who I was and why I was taking photos.  I explained and he said, “You need to be careful who sees you taking photos of these engines.”  He went on to explain how the sale of these engines was very contriversial and some ‘people’ could misintruperate what I was doing.  I made a hasty retreat. 

On my way to visit the Crazy Horse Monument, I passed thru Pringle, SD and stopped to take a photo of the “Bicycle Sculpure.“  This is nothing more than a huge pile of rusting bicycles that some people call art.  The pile has evedently taken various shapes over the years (since 1980), but it just looks like a junkyard to me.  

I continued another 15 miles north on US-385 to visit the 4-Mile Old West Town Museum located in Custer, SD.  This old west town and museum consists of 50 buildings assembled in such a mammer as to show guests what life  was like in the 1880s Dakota Territory.  It is a treasure trove of early western pioneer life historical artifacts and memorabilia.

It was only another 5 miles north on US-16 to the Crazy Horse Memorial.  This monument is being carved out of the Thunderhead Mountain (since 1948) to honor the Oglala Lakota warrior, Chief Crazy Horse, who is known for leading the attack against US Army troops at the battle of the Little Big Horn (1876).  A model of the finished monument is shown below, with the unfinished moument in the background.

As I wound my way north thru the Custer State Park, I spotted people stopped along the road and saw that they were taking photos of some buffalo grazing in a medow.  Believe it or not, this was the first free-range (live) buffalo I have ever seen in all my travels!  The next thing I knew some really jagged rock formations appeared.  They looked a lot like the rock formations I had seen at the Garden of the Gods area in Colorado.

I was still headed north on US-16 toward Hill City, but the road was slow going (25 mph) as it twisted and turned thru the park.  Then I came around a curve and the road went thru the Needle Eye Tunnel.  I just had to get a photo of that tunnel.  Luckily, when I came out of the tunnel, there was a turn-off where I could stop and take a picture.

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Another 10 miles north on US-16 and I found the South Dakota State Railroad Museum located in Hill City, SD.   The museum is located at the old 1880s Hill City Depot and displays local railroad artifacts and memorabilia related to the history of the railroad in the Black Hills area dating from the mid-1800s.  The 1880 Train is also operates out of  the Hill City Depot.  This original steam operated train offers a 3-hour (roundtrip) daily ride in their restored vintage 1800s train cars from Hill City to Keystone.  The 1880 Train also offers special train ride events, including student field trips, during their annual season of operation.

As I was leaving the museum, I overheard a couple of guys talking about the diesel locomotive sales.  Finally I asked them about how many locomotives were involved and they told me there were about 1000 at Edgemont and another 2000 in other rail yards in the state.  I was amazed at the enormity of it all.

On the way to the motel I stopped and picked up another “Heat-&-Serve Broccoli Chedder Au Gratin to eat in my room.  It was yummy and I was satisfied to record my days activities and talk to DiVoran for a while.  Then it was off to ZZZ-Land for me after a really long day.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 7

9 Dec

Day 7 Tuesday 

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

9/15/2020

This morning’s first museum there in Cheyenne was the Cheyenne Depot Museum located in the historic 1887 Union Pacific Railroad Depot.  This museum houses artifacts and memorabilia which interpret the early history of Cheyenne and the surrounding area.  The museum offers annual Steam Train Excursions and Depot Days events and is in partnership with The Old West Museum and Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Just a few blocks north of the Cheyenne Depot and Plaza I visited the Nelson Museum of the West.  This two-story building houses a huge assortment of early American cowboy, Native American and military artifacts and memorabilia from the Old West days.

I wanted to visit the Warren ICBM Museum but it is located on the Warren AFB and is closed to the public due to COVID-19.  So I just headed north US-85 toward my next museum.  About 45 miles up the road I passed thru Chugwater, WY and just had to stop for a photo of their sign.  I wonder who came up with that name?

Now it was another 25 miles north on US-85 to visit the Laramie Peak Museum located in Wheatland, WY.  This small museum is devoted to preserving the early history of Wheatland and the surrounding western prairie area with artifacts from the 1880s to the present.

On my way to Fort Laramie, WY on US-26 I went thru Guernsey, WY and stopped to see the Cliff Register & Oregon Trail Ruts.  As it turns out this State Historic Site is located just south of town and adjacent to a bend in the North Platte River.  The identification marks of many pioneers can be found on the Cliff, near the spot known as the first overnight stop west of Fort Laramie, for Oregon Trail travelers on their way to California.

At the Fort Laramie National Historic Site I learned that the fort was originally founded as a private trading post in 1834 as Fort William.  It was sold (privately) in 1841 and became the Fort John Trading post.  Then in 1849 the U.S. Army purchased it and renamed it Fort Laramie.  During the 1850s and 1860s the fort took on a more military posture, and during the Civil War the fort was used as a POW camp for captured Confederate soldiers.  Once the Transcontinental Railroad linked the country in 1869, the fort’s importance decreased until in 1890, it was decommissioned by the Army and the property was opened up to homesteaders for settlement.

Now I headed north 60 miles, thru one of the most boring stretches of road, as I passed nothing but dry brown grasslands as far as the eye could see for an hour.  I was finally rewarded when I arrived at the Stagecoach Museum located in Lusk, WY.  This museum consists of a host of authentic1800s relics and memorabilia related to the east central Wyoming area.  This includes a variety of wagons, buggies and a Black Hill Stage Line stagecoach used for the old Cheyenne to Deadwood route. There is also the 1886 Iron Clad Store and a 1800s one-room schoolhouse outside. 

Next I headed west 60 miles on US-18 to visit the Douglas Railroad Museum & Visitor Center located in Douglas, WY.  This museum is housed in the historic 1886 FE & MV Railroad Passenger Depot and displays many artifacts related to the history of the railroad in and around the Douglas area from the 1800s.  The museum also has several restored pieces of rolling stock, outside, that includes the 4-8-4 No. 5633 steam engine of the 1940s.

As I was leaving the museum area I spotted a sign for the Pioneer 1886 Cemetery and decided to check it out.  This stop wasn’t on my list but it turned out to be quite interesting, with local gravestones for many of the pioneers who founded this area in the early 1800s.

By now I was ready for something to eat and went looking for just the right restaurant for the occasion.  I found the Plains Trading Post Restaurant where I enjoyed their Spanish Ouelette with mushrooms & black olives (instead of Jalapenos) and fried onion rings. Yummm! 

The motel there in Douglas was a cool and comfortable place where I recorded the day’s activities and laid down for a good night’s rest.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 6

2 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 6 Monday 

9/14/2020

Let me tell you about the hotel I stayed in last night.  The Broker Inn was built as a private hotel in the mid-1900s to serve the elite in the Boulder, CO area.  It has since changed hands several times and has finally ended up being operated by the Choice Hotels chain, which is how I happened to stay there.  Most of the hotel’s interior still retains a good bit of its original decor, especially in the lobby area.  It is beautifully arranged to portray an early Victorian atmosphere with rich dark woods, thick carpets, and lots of stained glass.  

Leaving Boulder this morning I headed 15 miles southeast on US-36 to visit the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum located in the North Midway Park area.  This museum displays artifacts and memorabilia related mainly to local veterans, from all branches of the service, dating from the Civil War to the present.  The museum also has a small library containing some 2500+ military/history books and veteran related videos.

It was only a few blocks to the where I visited the Broomfield Depot Museum located in the Zongs Spur Park area of town.  This museum is housed in the original 1909 C&S Railroad depot and displays local railroad artifacts and memorabilia about to city and county growth as they are related to the railroad’s influence in the late 1800s.

Next it was only a 5 mile drive north on US-287 to visit the Miners Museum located in Lafayette, CO.  The small house was originally built in the 1890s for miners working in the Gladstone Mine just north of Lafayette.  After the mine shut down the house was moved to its present location and later turned into the Miners Museum.  Historical mining artifacts tell the story of the pioneering heritage of this town and the surrounding area during that time.

It was another 6 miles northeast on CO-7 & County Line Road to where I was able to visited the Spirit of Flight Center located adjacent to the Erie Municipal Airport in Eire, CO.  The Flight Center was closed but their website tells me that this organization restores unique civilian and military aircraft to help educate the public and future generations with regard to the evolution of civil and military aviation.

Next I headed east 15 miles on CO-52 to visit the Fort Lupton Museum located just east of the South Platte River in Fort Lupton, CO.  The museum is housed in the old 1929 city library building, and displays artifacts and memorabilia related to the history and heritage of Fort Lupton and the surrounding area dating from the 1800s.

I wanted to visit the Vintage Flying Museum located just east of Fort Lupton, but they were closed.  Their WWI vintage flying machines are some of the only remaining examples of what the LaFayette Escadrille flew against the Germans during the “War to End All Wars.”

Instead, I headed north 10 miles on US-85 to visit the Fort Vasquez.  This historic site was built by Louis Vasquez & Andrew Sublette in 1835, and served as a trading post for fur traders, Native American tribes, and mountain men.  Abandoned in the mid-1840s, the fort was restored in the 1930s by a WPA project and finally became a museum since 1958.

Now I headed north another 20 miles on US-85 to visit the Colorado Model Train Museum located in Greeley, CO.  This museum consists of over 500 locomotives pulling trains thru 80+ (scale) miles of train track.  The tracks wind thru hundreds of miniature scenes, making up the 5,500 sq. ft. layout.  The large building also houses a full-sized restored 1919 C&S caboose which is open to guests for their inspection.

Now it was another 10 miles north on US-85 to visit the Lee Maxwell Washing Machine Museum located in Eaton, CO.   This is one of the most unusual museums I have visited recently.  The museum displays 1400+ (Guinness Record) restored (running if applicable) various types and styles of vintage washing machines from the U.S., the UK, Europe, and Australia dating from 1865.

It was another 45 miles to Cheyenne, WY where I found a Chick-fil-a.  I selected one of their grilled chicken strips dinners for my gourmet meal in my motel tonight.  I recorded the day’s activities and by then I was really ready for some rest after this day’s journey.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 5B

25 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 5 Sunday – Continued 

9/13/2020 

From Breckenridge it was another 35 miles northeast on I-70 where I visited the Georgetown Loop Railroad, located near Clear Creek in Georgetown, CO.  This unique railroad offers visitors a spectacular trip on a vintage steam engine train, that travels some 4-½ miles over a corkscrew route of horseshoe curves, steep grades (4%) and the 95’ high Devil’s Gate trestle over the Clear Creek Gorge.  All that distance, and you only travel the 2.0 miles (as the crow flies) from Georgetown to Silver Plume.  This is a trip to be remembered!

After this thrilling experience, I headed another 15 miles northeast on I-70 to visit the Argo Gold Mine & Mill located in Idaho Springs, CO.  Built in 1893, the gold mill and processing facility is located just north of Clear Creek and provides visitors with tours of the gold tunnel (mine) and the equipment to try their luck at panning for gold.  There are indoor and outdoor museum displays, including examples of gold mining, milling, and processing equipment used during the late 1800s.

Now it was just another 25 miles east on I-70 to check out the Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave located in Golden, CO.  I had visited Buffalo Bill’s birthplace and homestead in LeClaire, Iowa a couple of years ago, during another road trip, and now here I was visiting his gravesite (In Lookout Mountain Park). This museum chronicles the life and times of William F. Cody with artifacts and memorabilia dating from his birth (1846) to his death (1917).

On my way to meet my niece, Karen and her husband, Brian for dinner, I stopped at the Colorado Railroad Museum to see what they had to offer.  As it turned out, the museum was hosting an open house (family day), and I choose not to elbow my way thru the crowd of parents and their kids.  I took a few photos of their rolling stock outside and headed for the restaurant.

I met Brian and Karen at Tequila’s Mexican Restaurant there in Golden where we enjoyed a delicious meal and a delightful (but short) family visit.  Their training schedule gave them the afternoon off, so we had plenty of time to catch up on things.  The last time I had seen them was in 2019, when they helped me on another of my road trips.  They had picked me up at the Chicago airport, and we had lunch.  Then they took me to pick up my rental car.

I almost gave up trying to find and photograph the James F. Bailey Assay Office Museum located at the east edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park, near Gold Hill, and just west of Boulder, Co.  This historic structure served as the Wall Street assay office for the Gold Extraction Mining Co. during the hard-rock mining years between the late 1880s and early 1900s.  The museum exhibits the tools and equipment used to determine the value of ore samples.

After my ordeal with multiple stops for road construction and the winding mountain roads to get to the Assay Office, I headed for my motel.  On the way, I swung past the Shelby American Collection, located just a few miles northeast in Boulder, CO.  This museum consists of a fantastic collection of some 40+ donated mid-century race cars that represent the evolution of the Shelby Mustang, Cobra, and Ford GT as created by Carroll Shelby and others.  WOW! 

The motel was a welcome sight when I finally got there.  I was ready to stop, eat, and rest after this busy day.  Of course there was nothing worth watching on TV, so I just recorded my day’s activities, had a snack of a few salted in-the-shell pistachios and went to bed.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 5A

18 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 5 Sunday 

9/13/2020 

Before leaving Canon City this morning I took the time to stop at the Royal Gorge Route Railway Depot for a photo.  In 2006 DiVoran and I had made a trip to Canon City to visit family and friends.  During that visit one of the tourist things we did was to take the Royal Gorge Route train ride.  The ride starts at the old Santa Fe Depot in Canon City, travels under the Royal Gorge Bridge and returns to the depot.  It’s a really great experience for anyone who hasn’t ever ridden on an open-air train car and the scenery is awesome.

Then since it was on the way out of town to my next stop was at the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience for a photo.  The Dinosaur Experience is new since our 2006 trip to Canon City, when DiVoran and I had explored the dinosaur footprints, located along the Skyline Drive.  I figured they were still there, if I wanted to see real dinosaur footprints, and I didn’t have time to see the museum’s exhibits.

Next I took the road to the Royal Gorge Bridge for a photo of the world’s highest suspension bridge (at least it was in 1929 when it was built).  I’m not sure they have improved the road much since then, but the view of the bridge from the Park & Visitor Center is spectacular.  Back in 1975, when our family took a six-week cross-country camping trip, we were allowed to drive or walk across the bridge.  What a thrill that was.

Now I took CO-9 north 75 miles to visit Fairplay, CO which was founded in 1859, during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush days.  The historic old town is located on a hillside just east of the Middle Fork South Platte River, and has been maintained as the open-air museum called South Park City.  There was not much going on this morning, as most of the old town was closed off because of COVID-19.  So I headed northeast another 25 miles on CO-9 to Breckenridge, CO. 

On my way to Breckenridge I crossed the Continental Divide at Hoosier Pass (Elevation 11,539 feet) and had to stop and have my picture taken at that historic spot.  A couple from Illinois was kind enough to take my picture after I offered to take theirs, in front of the Historical Marker.

Then it was downhill to Breckenridge (Elevation 9600 feet).  It was Sunday and some of the streets in Breckenridge were blocked off for a street fair.  Greta (my Garmin) couldn’t get me close to the Underhill Museum, so I parked and walked a few blocks to find the museum closed for the festivities.  A couple of blocks from Main Street I visited the Erwin Carter Museum, which is a small local natural history museum filled with all kinds of taxidermy displays, mostly done by the miner-turned environmentalist in the late 1880s.

As I was leaving Breckenridge I visited the Lomax Gold Mine located in the Lomax Placer Gulch.  This original 19th century gold mine offers visitors the experience of panning for gold in a setting of 1860s gold mining equipment and historic cabins.  I didn’t have time to try my hand at panning on this trip, but maybe next time I’m in Colorado I’ll give it a give it a whirl.  

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 4

11 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 4 Saturday

9/12/2020 

I started today’s activities with a visit to the Weisbrod Aircraft Museum located adjacent to the Pueblo Memorial Airport, and it was close to my motel.  This is a great aviation museum with 40+ beautifully restored aircraft and lots of other aviation artifacts and memorabilia in two large hangers and outside.  The museum’s show-piece is a Boeing B-29 by the name of “Peachy.”  I just wish our Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum at home had more of these rare WWII aircraft in it’s collection.  

Now I drove into downtown to visit the El Pueblo Museum.  This museum displays artifacts and memorabilia related to the history and culture of the ethnic groups from the southern Colorado area.  It also has an archaeological excavation scene depicting the original 1842 El Pueblo trading post site, and a re-created scene showing what the El Pueblo Trading Post & Plaza would have looked like in the mid-1840s.

A few blocks away, and adjacant to the Arkansas River,  I visited the Pueblo Railway Museum located in a part of the old original Pueblo Union Depot.  The museum displays artifacts and memorabilia discribing the railroad history in and around the Pueblo area from the 1880s to the 1940s.  The musuem’s outdoor  displays include historic steam engines and other rolling stock from the 1940s    Pueblo has continued to be a major rail center, and at one time or another as many as five different railroad systems served the city.

Next I drove over to inspect the Steelworks Center of the West which houses the Steelworks Museum and the Steelworks Park.  The Pueblo Steel Mill, Located just south of downtown Pueblo, was founded in 1881 and has been productive thru many turbulant times.  Today with only a fraction of the number of employees it once employed, the mill still produces a smaller quanity of steel products from rcycled scrap metal.  Interesting tours of the mill are still available to visitors that focus on preserving the history of the coal and steel industry in the Southwestern United States.  DiVoran remembers the day her grade school class made the trip from Canon City to Pueblo for a field-trip to the (working) steel mill.  What a thrill that was for the kids.

Now I headed west on US-50 toward Canon City.  On the way I stopped in Penrose long enough to take a photo of the Estes Model Rocket factory.  My son, Billy, and I have fond memories of building and flying model rockets over the years.  We even introduced his son, Jacob, to the sport when he was a teenager.  My, how the time does fly.  It seems as if it was only yestarday when the three of us were launching model rockets from the local school yard.

I arrived in Canon City in time to meet DiVoran’s cousin, Lois, at the Museum of Colorado Prisons (Old Max) for a tour.  The old Colorado Territorial Prison was built in 1871 and served as such until 1935 when it was converted to a women’s prison.  A new prison was built in 1993 and the old prison was renovated and opened as a museum.  The museum displays artifacts and memorabilia of the Colorado Prison System from 1871 to the present day.

After the prison tour, Lois went home to pick up Hank,  and I took a drive over the famous Skyline Drive.  I always get a thrill when driving over that one-way (no guardrails) 3-mile long  ridge road over looking Canon City.  Built by the Colorado Territorial Prison inmates in 1905, it has been a little-known tourist attraction over the years.  I found this really great video of the drive on the internet.

I met with Lois, Hank, Carol & Rob for dinner at the Quality Inn where we had a some really good food (beer battered fish and ‘O’ rings) and a wonderful visit.  After dinner Lois and Hank invited me to their house for home-made brownies and Otter Paws ice cream.  I couldn’t very well turn down that offer now could I?  While enjoying that dessert Hank’s son, John, came in for a visit.  Before I knew it, the night was late and I headed for the motel.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 3

4 Nov

A Slice of Life

Day 3 Friday 

9/11/2020 

The American Numismatic Musuem (Money Museum) located in Colorado Springs, CO was the first stop on my list this morning.  This museum has three display galleries that give visitors a look at many different rare and historic types of coins from all over the world.  Included as part to the museum’s exibits is a mini-mint machine that allows guests to learn how gold and silver coins were made in the early 1500s-1800s. 

Down the road a few miles east I visited the Lester Fire Museum located in the Head Quarters building of the Colorado Springs Fire Department.  This museum temporarly was closed due to COVID-19, but Wikipedia informes me that the museum displays artifacts and memorabilia covering the early history of  the Colorado Springs Fire Department including hand-drawn fire fighting aparatius and equipment from the mid=1800s. 

On my way east a few miles, to visit the Peterson AFB museum, I stopped at the National Museum of WWII Aviation located adjacent to the Colorado Springs Airport.  This is one of the best aviation museums I’ve visited on this trip.  The 28 beautifuly restored flying aircraft are conveniently displayed so visitors can get good photos of the planes.  The docents are well-versed in the history of the museum’s collection and their restoration area is a deticated work in progress. 

I was disappointed that the Peterson Air & Space Museum (located on the base) was closed to the public due to COVID-19, but their website informes me that the museum displays some 20 (mostly Cold War era) restored aircraft.  The museum also displays multiple Air Defence Command early warning system artifacts and mumorabilia to educate future generations about the advancemet in defence technology during that time period.

Now I headed a few miles west, across I-25, to visit the Penrose Heritage Museum located in the north Cheyenne Canon Park area.  This museum showcases the history and heritage of the Pikes Peak area with hundreds of vintage artifacts and memorabilia.  I was not aware, until now, that the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and the Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway exhibits were associated with this museum.  WOW, three for one!

I traveled south on CO-115, on my way to Pueblo,  for a quick stop at the Fort Carson 4th Infantry Division Museum located just south of Gate 1 to the Fort Carson Army Base.  This small museum displays scenes of U.S. Army 4thDivision’s participation in various campaigns from 1917 to the present, along with other 4th Infantry artifacts and memorabilia.  The Tank Garden outside displays the different tank models the 4th Infantry has used during their assignments throughout the world.  The Fort Carson Army Base was named in honor of Brigadier General Clearance (Kit) Carson who pioneered much of the western expansion of this area and later commanded Fort Garland during the Civil War. 

Now I headed on south another 40 miles to Pueblo, CO where I originally had plans to see DiVoran’s friends for dinner.  They had a situation that interrupted our meeting, so I just headed to the motel.  After I got checked in at the motel, I asked the desk clerk for his recommendations for good restaurants in the area, and he pointed me to DJ’s Stake House where I enjoyed a plate of their Grilled salmon with honey chipotle glaze.  Yummmm!

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 2

28 Oct

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 2 Thursday 

9/10/2020

I started today’s activities by visiting the “Cars Remember When” restoration center located in Littleton, CO.  The center consists of a relatively small working shop with lots of active restoration projects in progress.  There is a display room where some 30+ beautifully restored cars are rotated.   There were Mini cars, Muscle cars, Sport cars, and family cars.  I especially enjoyed seeing a beautiful 1955 Buick Roadmaster hardtop just like the one our family had when I was a teenager (except ours was red & white).

Just up the street a short way I visited the Littleton Museum.  This 40-acre museum site consists of artifacts and memorabilia representing local farm life from the 1860s to the 19890s.  There is also a living farm with a 1880s cabin, farm implements, and farm animals including cattle, sheep, pigs, and turkeys.   Museum staff, dressed in period costumes, are available to help guests re-live mid-1800s farm life in Littleton and the South Platte Valley of Colorado.

Next I visited the Vehicle Vault Auto Gallery located in Parker, CO.  This unique building houses a museum that displays some 40+ beautifully restored rare and exotic automobiles from all over the world.  New finds are continually being restored and the inventory is rotated periodically to give guests a fresh view of the history of the auto industry.  The building is also available and used for special events and conferences.

On my way to visit the Mining Museum I stopped in Monument, CO to check-out the Greater European Missions (GEM) facility.  I have relatives that work for GEM as missionary training counselors and wanted to see where the facility was located.  My nephew, Brian, and his wife Karen are based in the Chicago area, but travel to Monument periodically during the year for training sessions.  They were not there today, but were scheduled to arrive there later in the week and we had made plans to get together for dinner then.

A few miles south on I-25 I visited the Western Museum of Mining & Industry located in Colorado Springs, CO.  This museum displays antique drilling and mining equipment, such as pneumatic machines, and steam engines used for mining gold and silver in central Colorado in the mid-1800s.  The museum also has a recreation of an old miners assay office inside, with examples of a stamp mill and steam shovel outside.

The USAF Academy was just a few miles on south on I-25 and I was looking forward to visiting the famous Academy grounds and their aviation museum.  However, when I got to the gate, the guard told me the museum (located on the base) was closed to the public until after the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted.  What a Bumber!  So, I headed south on I-25 a few miles to visit the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum located just east of the interstate.  This museum has a great collection of vintage motorcycles of all types, and I enjoyed the thrill of revisiting my teenage motorcycle past.

Now I took a couple of back-roads over to visit the Garden of the Gods Park located on US-24.  This is an amazing place!  It is said that the mysterious red rock formations were formed as a result of a geological upheaval that took place along a natural fault line millions of years ago.  The resulting rock formations had many different shapes; some toppled, there were some that got overturned, while some were pushed upright and others were pushed around and ended up slanted.  

While I was in the area I drove on over to check out the Miramont Castle Museum located in Manitou Springs, CO.    The 14,000 sq. ft. Victorian-era castle that houses the museum was built in 1895 as the private home for the French-born Catholic priest Father Jean Baptist Francolon.  Around that same time the Sisters of Mercy were allowed to use a part of the castle, for the private Montcalm Sanitarium that they operated, with the blessing of Father Francolon.  Museum visitors can tour some 42 of the castle’s lavishly furnished rooms when the museum is open.

On the way to the motel, in Colorado Springs, I picked up a three-piece chicken dinner from KFC and enjoyed a delicious meal with the Colonel in my motel room.  Then I recorded the day’s activities and finally put my tired and aching body to bed for the night.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Mount Rushmore Road Trip Part 1

21 Oct

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 1 Wednesday

9/09/2020

I packed a wool vest and a lined jacket and headed for the Orlando airport.  The Southwest flight to Denver was uneventful as it was cloud cover the whole way.  But the passengers were rewarded with fresh mini-pretzels, small cinnamon cookies and ice-cold water.  It was 39 degrees in Denver when I arrived with snow on the surrounding mountains.  I was witness to an unusual sight after picking up my rental car.  As I headed for the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum I noticed that all the houses in the sub-divisions were covered with snow, but there was no snow on the driveways or on the streets.  I guess the sun baked road surfaces had melted the snow as soon as it hit the pavement.  

The Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum is located within the former Lowry AFB, and displays some 40+ beautifully restored aircraft and lots of aviation related memorabilia.  I am always glad to see the history of aviation restored and displayed in this manner.  I believe it helps to preserve the evolvelution of aviation in our country for future generations

Next I headed a few miles west to visit the Denver Firefighters Museum.  The Volunteer Hook & Ladder Company No. 1 was formed in 1866 and was the first in the Colorado Territory.  This museum is located in the former Fire Station No. 1 built in 1909.  The four-gallery museum displays over 30,000 artifacts and memorabilia.  Beautifully restored displays include fire fighting apparatus such as early 1800s hand-pulled & pumped fire fighting equipment as well as modern day fire engines and trucks, covering the history of Denver firefighters dating from mid-1800s.

Now I drove another few more miles to visit the Forney Museum of Transportation located in historic downtown Denver.  Established by J. D. Forney in 1964 with a single 1921 Kissel Tourister the museum has expanded, over the years, to cover the history of transportation.  This museum’s collection is absolutely amazing.  It consists of over 600 artifacts which include all types of transportation devices such as bicycles, buggies, wagons, motorcycles, firetrucks, automobiles, steam engines and the Fornair airplane.  

After experiencing that amazing collection, I found the Molly Brown House Museum located in downtown Denver.  The museum was closed, but Wikipedia informs me that the house that now houses the museum was built in 1887 for Isaac and Mary Large.  It was sold to James and Margaret Brown in 1894.  In 1902 it was used by the Governer of Colorado  while the Governer’’s mansion was being remodeled.  Margaret became known as The Unsinkable Molly Brown after surviving the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912.  The house was purchased in 1970 by Historic Denver, Inc and restored to its original Queen Ann style architecture and opened as a museum.  I took a photo and moved on to the visit the Cussler Museum.

The Cussler Museum is located in Arvada, CO and displays some 100+ beautifully restored classic cars collected by the novelest Clive Cussler.  I had the opportunity to talk to the Curator of the museum, and he told me that the Denver collection was only part of the  Cussler collection, as there are more cars in a museum in Arizona near the Cussler home.  I was thrilled to get a chance to see a few of the classic cars mentioned in the Clive Cussler novels I have read over the years.

As I made my way toward the motel, I stopped at a local Walmart for a styrofoam cooler, water,  and morning breakfast supplies.   I also picked up a couple of pre-packaged “Heat & Serve” dinner meals to enjoy in my motel room.  I was tired and hungry from the day’s activities, so I just crashed in the room and recorded the day’s activities.  Then I watched some TV while I enjoyed a good hot ready-made meal.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: , ,

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