Colorado without the Grand Canyon (3)

7.9 Garden of Gods--Red Rock Amphitheater--Central city Koa.

Yesterday, Dad Guo dedicated his whole day to repairing the car, so naturally he wanted to "reward" him with some decent attractions today. The most famous places around Denver are the Garden of the Gods and the Red Rock Theater.

The Garden of the Gods is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which is actually very close to the KOA where you live in front of the Great Sand Dunes. True to its name, the gardens are filled with red sandstone, conglomerate and limestone of varying shapes, a testament to millions of years of weathering. One of the most interesting is the "Camel Kiss", as the name suggests, two camels are kissing. These rocks with different shapes are perfectly integrated with the surrounding flowers and trees, which has a unique flavor. Behind the sandstone is the famous Pikes Peak in Colorado, which makes people have to marvel at the uncanny craftsmanship of nature. There is also a very worthwhile museum in the garden, which contains specimens and popular science introductions of Colorado's unique animals and plants, as well as a wide viewing platform.

The Red Rock Theater is located in the mountains 20 kilometers west of Denver, at an altitude of more than 1,800 meters, so it is named after the huge red sandstone. It was built during the Great Depression in the United States. In order to increase employment opportunities, the mayor of Denver hired about 200 workers to build the theater, which took two years to complete. This is the only large-scale amphitheater in the world built using the natural mountains of mountains and ravines. It is built between two huge red cliffs. Theater, I've never seen it anyway). There is also a huge red sandstone behind the stage in the middle of the bottom, which is called "stage rock". The layers are like vertical cakes, which is really beautiful. The whole theater is surrounded by these three natural red sandstones, which can accommodate nearly 10,000 spectators. Many world-renowned bands, including the Beatles, have held concerts here, and it has become a sign of glory to perform at the Red Stone Theater. There is also a sculpture of John Denver near the visitor center, which makes Guo's mother inexplicably excited.

Although the two are not national parks, the scenery is not inferior, and it is somewhat similar to the style of Utah. The most important thing is that such a good place for all ages and pleasant scenery is completely free of charge! ! ! If you have plenty of time and the weather is right, you can spend one day each hiking the trails around the garden and the theater, which must be more interesting. Although it was during the epidemic period, there were not many tourists at all, and the parking lots near the hiking trails were all full, and the occasional vacancies were for special people. Comparing the two, in addition to the natural landscape, the Hongshi Theater has also added the ingenious and creative design of human beings tailored to local conditions. Going around along the slope built along the trend, changing the scenery step by step, suddenly the empty theater comes into view, the rows of curved seats are dazzling, and the cliffs on both sides are towering into the clouds, which makes people unable to imagine after nightfall Thousands of spectators held light sticks and swayed with the music, and the sound waves were naturally amplified and surrounded by three-dimensional. What an exciting scene. Although they missed the concert, some tourists still enjoyed it, running laps from top to bottom or bottom to top. Guoba Guobao is also very playful. He started to jump from the highest step and arrived on the stage in less than a minute.

The two parks stayed for 2 hours each, and it was afternoon in a flash. I drove to the Colorado Railway Museum, and I found out that the small train in the courtyard was out of service that day, and it was approaching get off work, so why not come back tomorrow! If it is a white trip, God will not agree, because before leaving, I found an old-fashioned steam train in the park. A staff member took the initiative to inform that this 346 was actually an old antique in 1890, and it was the only one. Standard narrow gauge steam locomotive. After years of hard work, today is the first day of a new life! Colorado is an important mining area in the United States, and the train culture is particularly popular. There are more than a dozen train museums of various sizes, and this place is known as the most outstanding. In addition, the Royal Gorge is famous. It is often hard to find a ticket for the 2-hour round-trip sightseeing train. Guo’s mother also paid attention to it before, and vaguely remembers that the cheapest seat costs more than 60 dollars. It’s only because we earn RMB instead. Not Dollar hey!

Leave the train museum and go directly to the KOA where you stayed that day. Because I had to play around Denver the next day, I booked two nights in a row, which was a bit expensive, more than $50 a night. The camp is located in Central city, passing by black hawk, both are resorts, and there are even casinos. Although the map shows that the distance is not far, the drive is more than an hour, because we have been walking through the canyon, and the evening sun shines on the valley, as if swimming in the middle of a painting. The camp feels like it's still under construction, and there are a lot of boulder piles that haven't been cleared. Our tented camp is in the woods, far from our neighbors. Guoba is very satisfied with the location of the electric pile, which is very convenient for making hot pot. Guobao couldn't wait to go to the playground and met several friends. A group of children played gaga ball without Guo's mother worrying about it. The little guy was sweating from playing, and even took a small road back to get a few bottles of water to share with his new friends. There was a girl whose grandparents traveled in an RV. She was very athletic and looked like a gymnast. She was indeed training all the time. Another little girl actually lived across from us, and my brother had been playing with his mobile phone in the tent. In the evening, Guobao and his brother and sister played with stones together, and they ate poorly for dinner. I chatted with the mothers of the siblings for a while. Their father arrived the next day and his annual leave is limited. It seems that the fathers are all bread earners. She also talked about the news of the closure of the Mountain Evans Landscape Avenue, and her words were full of pity.

7.10 railway museum--bill buffalo museum--central city koa.

After waking up, the two little girls were tired of being together again, but they got together too hastily, and the family left the camp after breakfast. We don't have to move the floor today, and it's rare that we don't have to pack our bags in the morning. Today's first stop is the Railway Museum. There was a problem with the navigation when I went there. I simply walked in the direction of moutain evans and saw snow-covered mountains in the distance. It's difficult to understand, because the farthest distance in the world is that it is close at hand and far away in the world. Here is the highest highway in North America. It is said that there is snow on both sides of the highway even in summer, and there is a summit lake on it. Looking at the pictures on the Internet, it feels very similar to the Beartooth Highway, but what you can't get is always the best .

I arrived at the museum with ease, bought a ticket to visit, and forgot the price. As soon as I entered Guobao, I noticed the Morse code. There is a library, an exhibition hall, and more than 100 locomotives of various historical significance, such as mail carriers, beer trucks, livestock trucks, and snow plows, which are dizzying. There is also an open-air train track exhibition hall in the courtyard. It is really interesting for miniature trains to drill caves and tunnels on miniature model tracks. There is also a large display cabinet in the room. After putting in coins, a small train will start, passing through villages and playgrounds, with different lighting effects. Only then did I realize that this is probably the place recommended by the koa staff near fort collins. The most fun thing is to take the retro train ticket and put it into the ballot box, board the antique train, or sit in the booth of the old-fashioned carriage and pretend to be the heroine in the old movie, or enjoy the sunbathing on the open-air bench, and slowly turn around There are three circles, and there is still a sound of whistle at the station. It is inexplicable joy to see the staff waving small flags dutifully. Along the way, the staff also introduced the glorious history of various trains on the roadside through the radio.

The reason why I chose to stay in Cozhou for so long is mainly because of the unique museums here, such as the Coors Beer Museum and the Mountaineering Museum (it is said that there are many black technologies). , the Bull Bill Museum is open as usual. Bull Bill definitely deserves the word "legendary" in the United States. He had dinner with Wilde, and the invitation letter was still on display in the museum; he was received by the Queen of England because he even indirectly recognized the independent status of the United States. Wherever the performances went, there were crowds of people, and there was a thick booklet in the museum. The title page was Bull Bill, has he been to your hometown? It is densely filled with places where he and his team have performed. Judging from the present, it is properly the superstar of the year. There are even debates about his birthplace in several places, but the hill behind the museum is his cemetery. It is said that he traveled all over the world in his life and finally chose to be buried here because it overlooks four states. There are strong cowboy cultural elements in the museum, as well as a bull model that can be ridden on, but fortunately, it is not as violent as in western movies. His life was most glorious when he was famous overseas, and when he was down, he was bankrupt and unable to recover, which is embarrassing. He has an indissoluble bond with the Indians, and all kinds of legendary stories can be made into movies. After chatting with the staff, I almost burst into tears. I lamented that the loneliness of life is nothing more than the end of a beauty's twilight and a hero's end. I also envied him for at least such a magnificent youth. Leaning on the fence, the view is indeed vast, as if there is no end in sight, but as the front desk said, seeing four states is still an exaggeration. Stop by a nearby mansion to punch in the card and then return to KOA, cook, play, and do laundry. Legends like Bull Bill are rare after all, and we will eventually have to go back to daily necessities. A pot of delicious roasted pork with potatoes is enough to comfort our souls.

7.11 denver downtown ----Museum of Nature & Science--cheyenne koa.

If you don't leave Colorado today, someone is going to protest. I made an appointment for the entrance time of the Natural Science Museum in advance, and went to the city for a stroll. Under normal circumstances, downtown Denver organizes free tours and walks around several essential attractions. We set up the line according to the recommendation, and it took less than 2 hours to circle around. The Denver Art Museum is very famous, but Guo's mother is still self-aware of the artistic accomplishment of the family, and she chose the Museum of Natural Science, which is more suitable for children to walk with limited time.

The biggest problem when checking in in the urban area is parking. It was hard to find a block with free parking for 2 hours. The most shocking thing is the Capitol. The golden dome is blinding, but the lawn at the entrance is full of tents. It seems to be a home for homeless people. The sanitation situation can be imagined, and there are many mobile toilets nearby. The building is closed, and there are a lot of graffiti at the door, most of which are BLM themes. Walking around here, I can’t help but lament the huge gap between the rich and the poor in the United States. Although it’s not true that there are frozen bones on the road with stinky wine and meat in Zhumen (there are also volunteers distributing boxed lunches at noon), but a video taken here is estimated that the domestic small It's time for pink to party. The square opposite is clean, with small gardens, obelisks, Liberty Bells, sculptures, works of art, full of artistic atmosphere. There are also mints, churches, city halls, etc. nearby. After taking a stroll around, driving past Union Station and the gate of the stadium is considered a check-in. It is said that this Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium has a great background. It is the home of the Denver Broncos of the NFL team and the highest stadium in the NFL. Because the air is thinner due to the high altitude, rugby can stay in the air for longer, and the record for the longest set piece in history was created here. Parents and mothers agreed that the city is really not suitable for us. Fortunately, we didn't live in the urban area before, and we decided not to go out at night.

After lunch, Guo's mother Guobao went to the museum, and Guo's father caught up with sleep. I have to vomit blood and recommend this treasure-like existence. From entering the museum at 1 o'clock to closing at 5 o'clock, we regret not making an appointment for an earlier time slot. It is not enough to visit here for a whole day! The exhibits in the museum are really rich. There are three floors and more than 1 million collections. They are mainly divided into six parts: anthropology , geology , health science , paleontology , space science and zoology . There are animal specimens and fossils on display. , skeletons , meteorites and natural gold mines , etc. The permanent exhibitions include Discovery Space, Space Odyssey, Egyptian Mummies, North American Indian Culture, Wildlife Exhibitions, etc. Among them, Discovery Space is a scientific space specially designed for children to practice , and Space Odyssey can experience magic In space , the wildlife exhibition displays different kinds of animals through real-life models. Through the visit, you can learn about the natural sciences of Colorado and even the earth and the universe . We can stay in a mineral exhibition hall for more than an hour! All kinds of animals and plants are dazzling, and there are interactive facilities. The degree of care and simulation is really not comparable to some shoddy venues in China. By chance, we also made an appointment for a free Lego building block exhibition. Various famous paintings are presented in the form of building blocks, which is amazing.

I was reluctant to leave until after get off work, and drove to Cheyenne KOA, which is considered the territory of Wyoming. The sky was full of red clouds that night, but the wind and sand were very strong, and it took a lot of effort to set up the tent. The two beauties next door laughed endlessly while setting up the tent. The condition of this tent camp is considered to be the most BASIC all the way, and it can only be said that there is a place to settle down. But fortunately, there is a communal kitchen, although it is a little far from our tent, but at least it is enough to shelter from the wind and rain. During dinner, a little boy came over and kept talking to us about the McDonald's toy in his hand. Guobao doesn't care about the quality of the conditions. Every day, he looks forward to going to different camps to play different amusement facilities and meet different friends. We have also become "nomadic people". Here, she met Gabby in Kentucky, who she kept in touch with, and often video chatted after returning to Gancun.

After a week, I finally crossed the state, and my father felt relieved. Probably the deepest impression left on him here is that he was exhausted after going back and forth to repair the car, and his wallet was troubled! Colorado, what we can see is not even the tip of the iceberg. It is a summer resort and even a ski paradise. But we, who are used to marching in a hurry, are looking forward to seeing Yellowstone Park as soon as possible.