Memories-Colorado 1972

It was June 1972, and we wanted to take our girls someplace special on a vacation trip. Tammy was five and Jennifer was two, so we felt they were old enough to enjoy going to Colorado. It would be the longest trip we had taken since Jennifer was born. Eva and I had been there in 1965, but we had not been back since then. I knew my parents liked visiting Colorado, so we asked them to go with us on the trip.

On our first day, we traveled to Amarillo where we stopped for the night. We had adjoining rooms where our girls could go between the rooms without going outside. That night, both Mom and Eva got sick from something they ate or a stomach virus, so we were later getting on the road that morning. Mom got feeling better that morning; however, Eva would have problems for most of the day, so we made many more stops than planned.

It was about noon when Jennifer could not find her Grandpa doll, and that moved quickly to panic mode. She loved that doll. When we found a place to eat lunch, Eva called the motel to see if they had found the doll in one of the rooms. They told her that it had been found and they could mail it to us. Jennifer was still not happy, so we told them we would stop on our way back to Houston and pick it up. That was not the route I had planned for the return trip, but it worked to calm down a red-headed two-year-old child. We made it as far as Trinidad Colorado that day before stopping for the night, a long day.

The next day was much better, and our first stop was at the Royal Gorge at Canon City. Tammy was not wanting to walk out on the bridge, but Jennifer wanted to see the river below from the bridge. Then we rode the Incline Railway that goes to the bottom of the gorge, and it was built at a 45-degree angle and drops 1,500 feet. From there we went to Colorado Springs where we would stay a few days to see many of the sites there. We went through the Garden of the Gods and stop at the Trading Post. We went on some of the walking paths to see the views from various places.

Later that afternoon, we went to Seven Falls to see the seven waterfalls cascading down the mountain in South Cheyenne Canon. Tammy and Jennifer got to feed the Chipmunks and get their picture taken while feeding them. They climbed the stairs that include 224 steps to get to the top of the waterfalls and they saw the Indian Dances down at the bottom of the falls.

The next day we went to the North Pole which is located at 7,500 feet above sea level at the foot of Pikes Peak. It is a Christmas Village with shops, eating places, rides, and Santa’s Workshop where the children can talk to Santa and get their picture taken with him. The rides are for smaller children, but they are nestled on the side of the mountain with million-dollar views. We saw many more places there in Colorado and were able to see snow still on the ground in several places. It was very chilly and we had to go to Sears and buy some jackets because we had not packed any.

On the way back to Houston, we stopped at the motel in Amarillo and got Jennifer’s Grandpa doll. I think she hugged it all the way back home. I was so happy that my parents went with us on the trip because it was obviously a trip, they enjoyed watching Tammy and Jennifer so excited. It was a good bonding time for our children to spend quality time with them. Making memories is so important and then passing them on so future generations can get a glimpse of those years.