Exploring Alamosa, CO

October 2 – I was up early and once I got my coffee made and did my daily solitaire I decided to type on the blog since Dell was sitting on the table where I left her.  I finished up yesterday. I posted yesterday’s blog while drinking my coffee.  So peaceful and quiet with no TV blaring!  Then Bill got up!

I had already seen on my phone about the massacre in Las Vegas so when Bill got up we turned on the TV and watched while we ate and watched some more.  How tragic and sad that someone can be so deranged. 

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When we finally got ready to go we went to Ft. Garland to the Ft. Garland Museum, which is 5 of the original fort buildings and 1 reconstructed building on the original site.  The fort was completed in 1858 with thick adobe brick walls.  The buildings are staged to look as they did during the 25 years it served as

Soldiers' barracks

an active military facility.  The exhibits were very good with information about the Civil War in the west and stories of the Buffalo Soldiers, as well as life in the fort for soldiers and officers with families.  Kit Carson and his family lived here while he served as Commandant for 17 months.  The only problem was the wind was really bad today!

We had lunch 2 blocks up from the fort in town.  It was recommended by the lady running the shop at the fort.  We both had taco salad and we ordered a slice of homemade apple pie to go for dinner tonight.  They were swamped when we arrived but things died down shortly after.  The lunch was good and the pie was excellent!

Getting to the dunes

Dune back dropped by snowy mountains

From Ft. Garland we visited Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, about 20 miles away.  We’d been before but didn’t remember the visitor center.  We started by going directly to the dunes.  There were a few people who crossed the slightly flowing Medano Creek to walk on the dunes.  It was windy and the sand was blowing, like a bad day at the beach!  I had just put lip gloss on and it was covered in sand!  People were taking off their shoes to walk across but we decided since we’d been there, done that, it wasn’t necessary.  There was no water the last time we were there.  It’s amazing to see the range of dunes and on one end the backdrop is a snow topped mountain.  We stopped at the visitor center and watched the video and checked out the exhibits.  The view from the deck is fabulous!

We took a different route back to Alamosa which was rather boring, primarily farmlands.  We

I want to take her home!

went into town so I could get my picture with the Matryoshka tile doll we saw on the corner of the main street.  Then we stopped at a liquor store……

We had some time to relax and not much prep for dinner.  I put a small pork loin in the crock pot this morning so we had pulled pork for dinner with kale salad and mixed rice.  Then the pie!

I did some computer work while Bill read.  We watched more of the massacre which was more depressing than anything else.  I didn’t get to my photos for today so no post until tomorrow!

Time to watch “Scorpions”!