Day 10 - Santa Fe & Colorado Springs

Last night's adventure - just viewed Saturn as clear as you would from the Starship Enterprise!

Between Santa Fe and Taos - the famous Rio Grande

The 1,000 year old Taos Pueblo - still has residents (USA's first condominiums!). Residents need to climb ladders to reach each floor

Anne in Taos Pueblo, New Mexico

Cooking oven in Taos Pueblo - made of mud!

At the entrance

The Rocky Mountains in beautiful Colorado

Found this along the main street in downtown Colorado Springs - in front of a ballroom dancing studio (it was closed). It appears to be a lady's boxed four step?

In downtown Colorado Springs - an iron buff!

Many statues are in Colorado Springs - this one represents dancing in those good olde years!

One of the fine buildings in Colorado Springs, Colorado

The Colorado Springs City Hall

Currently we are in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Last night we spent two hours until 11 pm viewing the stars from a professional astronomer. We had to travel 40 kilometers out of Santa Fe in the desert to view the stars. We saw a spiral nebula, beehive galaxy, and other objects in the night sky, however the best was viewing the planet Saturn. It was as clear as the moon!. Even its major moons were seen. It was the highlight of the activity. Apparently Saturn only comes into view at specific times of the year and last night was the best viewing time. We left Santa Fe early and headed for Taos, New Mexico. This large town is the location of one of America's famous pueblos - a community belonging to the Pueblo Indians that survived the Spanish, US Civil Wars and other unrests that the Americans have endured over the years. The buildings are believed to be over 1,000 years old and are still used by the local Native Indians. They own the property and the surrounding mountains. It took them many long years to secure this from the Government, however, now they are reaping the business of tourism and other associated revenues. The main feature of the adobe brick buildings is that each floor is reached by a ladder - no spiral staircases & no elevators. After Taos we headed for Colorado and reached Colorado Springs at 3:30 pm. Since our road trip we have seen many police cars booking speedsters and other drivers who have flaunted the road rules. We have kept to the speed limit so far and have seen many drivers travelling above the speed limit that it would be inevitable they will get caught. It appears to be a state trooper's paradise on these roads for collecting fines! Colorado Springs is our overnight stay - not far from Denver and in fact is Colorado's second largest city. It is at the base of the Rocky Mountains, which are still snow-capped, and is a clean place. We had a great dinner in a local cafe in downtown and Neil had a local beer - still taste like "weaselpi#&". Amazing one particular beer had a banana taste to it - weird! Tomorrow we will explore Colorado Springs and then continue north to Cheyenne, Wyoming. This is a 2.5 hour trip and will pass through the centre of Denver. We should arrive early in Cheyenne - so we will take our time. So until tomorrow - cheers to all.