Prior to leaving on our Thanksgiving weekend vacation we heard the news that our sea shipment had arrived and will be delivered on December 1^st. Great news, everyone is looking forward to having their own beds to sleep in.

We headed out Thursday morning on our 4 day holiday, looking forward to seeing more of the state of Colorado. We drove down the I-25 interstate highway before turning west at a town called Pueblo. We didn't encounter a lot of traffic so it was a very easy trip on a six lane freeway. We passed through Colorado Springs, a very big city at the base of Pikes Peak, a 14,000 ft mountain. We are going to head back here after Xmas because there seems to be a lot to do. Colorado Springs is home to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum so that should be reason enough to return, don't you think!!!

Anyway back to Pueblo. A medium size city spread out on the flat plains and surrounded by distant views of magnificent snow capped mountain ranges. Pueblo is home to the 17 day Colorado State Fair held in August and apart from this there isn't a lot on offer over the winter months. From Pueblo we followed the Arkansas River all the way to Cañon City where we did stop to visit Royal Gorge. Here a very big suspension bridge spans a 1,200 ft gorge across the Arkansas River. We walked over the bridge and went down to the river level on an incline railway. Very impressive. Forgot to mention that on this trip Craig was trying out the new video camera. He thought it would be good to capture the kids and our trip on video so he tested it out at Royal Gorge. I am not a big fan of video cameras so I spent a lot of time avoiding him.

After Royal Gorge we headed back to the main road and continued to follow the Arkansas River. By now we had decided that this area would be filled with tourists in summer as it was the hub for the white water rafting businesses in Colorado. If there was one there must have been 50 various tour operators with bases along the river. Each one was shut down for winter but the gear and the buses they use to transport people up the river were all still there. One big operator had about 40 buses parked at the side of his place so you can imagine the numbers of people that come to this area in the summer months. The river offers class IV and V rapids in summer. Travelling for another 40 minutes we reached Salida and turned north to Buena Vista. All around us now were the Sangre de Cristo mountain ranges, famous because of the number of peaks here that reach over 14,000 feet. Because of the good weather we had terrific views of these ranges, most of which were covered in snow.

We stayed Thanksgiving night at Buena Vista, finding it hard to find anything open for dinner. After an unforgetable dinner at Jan's restaurant (Craig had Chicken fried chicken, a name taken from the chicken fried steak dish where you grill the meat in egg and flour), it was back to our motel and as we had cable it was on with the Disney channel and an exciting night followed. Kyle fell out of bed but that was minor now compared to what else he has done to his little body.

The next morning we hiked in the hills opposite Mt Princeton (14,169ft) so that we could get a closer view of the mountains. There was a series a five peaks, all named after colleges, Mt Harvard, Mt Yale, etc. After our hike and having morning tea we headed off to a road described in our "Backroads of Colorado" book as a must do. This time we were on the other side of the Sangre de Cristo ranges and the first part of the trip was incredibly pretty. Dropping down into Walsenburg it took us a bit longer than we thought. This backroad by the way was more like a highway than a backroad and it took us through some pretty hick towns which maybe why it was declared a backroad. We didn't stop at the Barbed Wire Museum in Walsenburg, I know it may be a pity but maybe next time. We were eager to keep travelling while the kids were asleep and we still had a fair way to go. Arriving at Alamosa, our destination for the next two days, we found our B&B and settled in before going out for dinner.

Up early the next morning we headed out to the Great Sand Dune Monument and spent most of the day there. It is really a National Park, I'm not sure why it is called a monument. The sand dunes cover an area of 55 square miles and have been created over time as the wind passes over the San Juan range carrying sand particles to the base of the Sangre de Cristo range where it accumulates, the wind unable to carry it any further. Quite incredible to see all these sand dunes surrounded by mountains covered in snow. It just didn't make sense, we kept looking for the surf. We spent a little over an hour and a half hiking the dunes, thinking we were getting closer to the top but realising it was a long way away yet. Jane (carrying Kyle in the backpack) and Amy decided to have a rest, and wait for Craig, who was keen to go further on. After some time Craig disappeared over one of the dunes and then re-appeared not long after in the same spot. He started heading back down after realising that we were just too far from the top. The distance was so deceiving, 700 feet tall. We all headed back down, much easier to descend than to climb, but glad we at least tried. After drinking copious amounts of water and eating tangerines we started our next hike, this time in the hills opposite the dunes. It was a marked nature trail and the further we climbed the more snow there was on the trail. This time we had hats and gloves on because we were shaded by the trees, the difference in the temperature was very acute. Not a difficult climb but a bit tiring after the sand dunes. When we got back to the car it was more water and more fruit.

By this time Kyle is still raring to go, it's easy when you get carried. Miss Amy was obviously getting tired but there was one more hike we were keen to do. So now we started with the bribery and corruption. Against Craig's better judgement he agreed to take Amy to Ronald Donald's (there was a McDonalds in Alamosa) for a play so our next hike wasn't a problem. It was a short hike, only half a mile up hill to the Zapata Water Fall. And boy were we glad we did it. It was an amazing sight to see a frozen waterfall, it is hard to describe it was so beautiful. The walk into the falls was bit treacherous as you were walking on a creek that was frozen on top but still running water underneath. After negotiating the creek you walked to the back of a cave and there before you was this 20feet of frozen water that still looked like it was flowing. It is hard to describe so I hope Craig's photos turn out. There was water running down the water fall but it was under this spectacular ice structure, eventually falling into a crystal clear pond and then flowing outside the cave and downstream. It really capped of a great day at the park and is one memory we will never forget. Back to the car and all of to Ronald Donalds. I think Craig's words as we walked into McDonalds were "great". Miss Amy felt liked she had achieved a lot that day, especially getting dad to McDonalds.

We all slept well that night. We went to dinner at the True Grit steakhouse, a restaurant that idolises John Wayne, with memorabilia covering the walls and all the meals named after one of his movies. Great food and wonderful margaritas.

The B&B worked out well, we met nice people each morning at breakfast. We met a couple from Colorado who had just spent a year on an exchange teaching program in Bellingen, NSW. They were lovely and we agreed to keep in touch. There was another couple from Texas who were very American. It must have taken the wife 2 hours to get ready for breakfast, she was immaculately groomed. We were discussing Thanksgiving, turkeys, etc and the owner of the B&B made the comment that she didn't really believe in celebrating the demise of the native Americans. Anyway the conversation continued and as Julie went into the kitchen the lady from Texas said under her breath that she had read a book that said the Pilgrims and the native Americans worked together. I am not familiar with the facts but it was just the way she said it that made me laugh. It is so interesting to be on the outside looking in.

The main part of the house had the dining room where we would congregate and as it was a gallery as well there was plenty of local art work to look at. Kyle managed to keep his hands to himself and didn't break anything although there was an old fashioned type writer in our room that was very tempting for busy fingers. Our room or apartment had two bedrooms, a bathroom and a large kitchen. Very nice.

After breakfast on the second day we said our good-byes and headed back to Superior, this time through the San Luis valley. The weather wasn't as good as previous days and as we climbed one mountain range we passed through a storm and had snow falling. By the time we reached home it was warm and sunny again. It was a very enjoyable trip and well worth doing.

Back to work tomorrow and then on Tuesday the excitement of unpacking our belongings. We hope everyone is well and looking forward to the festive season. Till next time,

Other little differences (the things that make this country interesting):

A lady won $17 million in a lottery and took home only $4 million after tax.

You are encouraged to dob in a driver you think has been drinking, there is a special DUI phone number for you to call displayed on freeways.

We have now received six change of address confirmation letters for our visa cards, but the funny thing is, we are yet to receive our visa cards.

The "horses for sale" in the weekend papers are interesting. Prices start at $1000, with Arabs and Thoroughbreds averaging $3000, you can get a Hanoverian for $12,000. The prices of horse floats are bargains compared to the horses with 4 horse trailers selling for around $1,500.

The survivors of the Oaklahoma bombing lost a court case recently. They were suing the owners of a fertiliser company, the producers of a fertiliser that was used in making up the bomb. The judge said that the owners had no way of knowing that when they made and sold the fertiliser that someone would use it as an ingredient for a bomb and therefore could not be held responsible.

The Fosters Beer that is sold in the USA is made in Canada.

I brought some cream to whip and happened to glance at the ingredients list: cream, milk, mono and diglycerides, guar gum, carrageenan. Now I'm not really sure if we were eating just cream.

Our first phone bill came and it includes four taxes: federal, state, city and county.

A 300lb bear decided to climb into a man's car parked outside his home in Boulder. Apparently the bear saw some food wrappers on the front seat and opened the door of the car to get the food. The door closed behind him and he proceeded to chew the inside of the car instead. The man heard the car horn and called the police after seeing the bear in his car. The police opened the car door and fired rubber bullets into the poor bear's butt to give him some negative reinforcement. The police suggested to the man that he get a bear proof trash can and clean his car more often. (notice the good american speak….)

In looking for places to visit in New Mexico over Christmas we came across a town by the name of "Truth or Consequences", its true, look it up on a map.