Random Roadtrip ~ Glenwood Springs

Last year, our children gifted us at Yule with a trip to Glenwood Springs. Hubby and I took our trip  in May of this year. Over the coming weeks I'll be sharing some of the many sights we saw and experienced.

looking south over residential area of Glenwood Springs 

Glenwood Springs is located at the confluence of the Colorado River and the Roaring Fork River in western Colorado. The town sits in a valley carved by these rivers.

Sunlight Mountain

For a 'small' town, Glenwood Springs has quite the history. President Teddy Roosevelt spent an entire summer vacation at the historic Hotel Colorado. Doc Holliday of OK Corral fame spent the final months of his life in Glenwood Springs. And serial killer, Ted Bundy was held in the Glenwood jail until he escaped on the night of December 30, 1997.

Glenwood Springs pool and spa

The area was originally inhabited by the nomadic Ute Indians. The various Ute tribes would visit the area for the health effects of the hot mineral springs and vapor caves located here.

Hotel Colorado

In the early 1880's the area was settled by white men and the area rapidly became a center for commerce. When the railroad arrived in town in 1887, the area became an early 'tourist' destination. And it wasn't long before a grand hotel and spa was built to capitalize on the tourists coming to see the various attractions.

Colorado River seen from eastbound Interstate 70

Today over a million visitors from around the globe come to Glenwood Springs to hike the scenic mountains, to raft the mighty Colorado River, or to simply enjoy the hot springs. We tried to cram as much as we could into the three days we were there. I can see a return trip in our future.

Hyper-realism

The incredible graphite drawings of Paul Cadden

Cat Tales ~ Cat Village

Recently, Mommy found an article about a village in Taiwan where CATS are worshiped like We should be!

Houtong is a small mining town which produced an enormous yield of coal. During the town's prosperous years, the population of the town grew to more than 6,000. But as the coal mining industry began to decline, Houtong's development slowed and people began to move away. Houtong began to fall into ruin. 

But in 2008, a cat lover organized some volunteers to give the abandoned cats a better living environment. They posted the cats' pictures online and received an overwhelming response from other Cat Lovers. Visitors began to show up and soon Houtong became a hotbed for Cat Lovers who liked to photograph the Cats and fondle and play with them.

Today, Houtong welcomes thousands of visitors on the weekends and the residents are cashing in on the tourists with souvenir shops and cat shaped food items.

Click Here to read more!

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez