There is definitely a tapering off but we have not yet returned to the real world. It really is a challenge to change pace and attitude from what has become our "normal" life. Our version of home has become the road with motels as sanctuary and diners/cafe/restaurants as kitchen. We really have grown accustomed to the realities of our long and winding road. Anyway, we are spending a few days with friends in various locations in Colorado. This does mean that there are some Oddasee site/sight-free days.
Day 101 -- was only the second or third day of our entire journey in which I took no/zip/zilch/nada photos. We wandered around Salida, Colo. and, though it was a pleasant and fun day, there really was not much found of an Oddasee nature. Salida was refreshing in that many, if not most, of the shop operators were friendly and feeling good about their summer season. Nice to be in a place where so many people were so positive and not whining/bitching with the Fox "News" paranoid fear-based blaming of current administration for their bad hair day, loss of their car keys or friggin' neighbor.
That said, part of our Salida time serves well to describe the challenge of finding a place to lay our oft weary heads at the end of the day. The normal process was to pull into town or commercial zone between 6-8pm. We would use the GPS to get enough info to aim us in to the right part of town where there might be a concentration of sleeping structures. We would ALWAYS drive around looking for a non-chain motel or small hotel first. As mentioned, the small Mom & Pop motel is an endangered species. Few places have options like Manitou Springs. We rarely found any small non-chain motels and, in very few cases, were they interesting. In Salida, we followed our routine by going to 4 or 5 small motels. S. goes in and asks about prices, amenities etc. In these places in colorful Colorado in a lovely mountain resort-ish town, she was met with cranky and rude owners or clerks. Others were obscenely over priced and/or scary with one having nowhere to sit, another a droopy bed and one that was audacious to claim that this was "the last motel before downtown" (note: I could see at least 6 from the truck window). The end result was that we were all but forced to succumb to spending another night in one of the chain Motel 6/8/Inns/Suites.
Day 102 - The next night we spent in Canon City. After finding adequate accommodations (the Polish owner and R. discovered that they have a few friends in common through the Pentathlon - small world) we walked around town and peeked in windows. There are quite a few beautiful commercial buildings for sale and/or lease. Like many towns we have visited, Canon City is a shadow of it's former self. It was appealing on some levels and sad on others. Hmmm.
The following morning we made a beeline to an Oddasee site - "The Prison Museum". We really needed a fix after all that happy happy kayak people world. Well, we found it..... Like the other prison and asylum museums we have visited, there was the expected combination of the macabre and learning. There was much to see and ponder about the prison life -- "What if I were living here? What would my cell be like? What would I have been like had I been here for years." In addition to the depressing realities of touring what was once the women's prison, there is a bit of kitschy humor. Like the Glore Psychiatry Museum in St. Joseph, MO, the topic is very serious but some of the displays are kind of humorous. The mannequins from an old Neiman Marcus store had apparently committed some sort of felonious act and were thusly sentenced to the big house. Loved the glamorous poses and "night on the town" make up that made for a strange version of the hardened criminals. And, check out the hot babe guard (I think she might be related to Joan of Arc at the Torture Museum).
Some of the most fascinating items on display were the art and craft pieces created by the inmate. There were toilet paper chess sets, leather work, pottery and numerous drawings and paintings. Quite the range of skills and subject matter. One of my favorites was a scale model of the convicts cell with every detail.
You'll also see some weird cells; one from the 40's when the women were allowed to have many things to decorate and make their cells more "homey" (we're thinking that is not going to be featured on the History or Discovery Channel) and another was a re-creation from a riot. Then there was the actual Gas Chamber for our viewing pleasure.
Not a destination for everyone but we truly did enjoy it and we learned a lot. As has often been the case on our Oddasee journey, we had a long conversation as a result of our visit. Below are a few photos; some scary, some interesting and some kind of funny.
So, our adventure continues with a slow winding down......
Love and bad fashion choices,
Rodney #3475227 and Susan #8834799
No comments:
Post a Comment