Well, today was fun, but did we or didn't we?

I'm such a lucky girl - Driver ALWAYS asks me, where do you want to go today, what do you want to do today?  Well, today, I tried to make it all about HIM.  (notice the operative word, TRIED)  Apparently, we are in an area of the country that is famous for (what else..) Pueblo Chilis.  Peppers, that is.  And we all know Dick likes his hot stuff almost as much as he likes his ice cream!  So when I learned there is a "farm tour" of about 10 family farms, I thought, we can do that!  We got the addresses and figured out where they all were, and headed out.  At the very first one, there were a lot of garden art objects, as well as flowering plants and produce.  I just HAD to stop to admire flamingo corner!  They were all so tempting, luckily, they were all priced way over our budget, so none of 'em got adopted today.

This was also the business where I took a dive and face-planted right into asphalt.  That's the "tried" part.  One moment, I was looking for Driver, and the next I was sending Bailey to look for him, while I laid flat on the ground, trying to catch my breath and figure out exactly how I was going to stand up.  What did Bailey do??  That little hussy, she went about 4 steps, into the store doorway, where it was shady, and SAT DOWN.  And watched me!  I was hoping that SOMEone would notice a stray leashed dog walking around the store all by herself and come wandering out, but, nooooo.  She just sat down and watched me!  I guess, since she stayed by me, she was watching OVER me, huh.  Anyway, Dick heard me calling for help and came running around the corner.  A few minutes later, and I was able to get up and get dusted off.  They took me back to the restroom (no public restrooms, so I guess I should feel privileged) where I could wash my cuts and scrapes with soap and warm water, then they got me a bandaid and a bottle of cold water (since they had no ice).  Despite a black eye (didn't take long!) and a pretty bad headache, I wanted to carry on with our day.  This was supposed to be HIS day, and HIS adventure!

We programmed the next farm stand, and we knew we were at the right place when we saw this sign post.  We went down the dirt road, and then the next dirt road, but it was apparent that this particular stand was not yet open for business.

The pepper plants were still all in the ground, and they were loaded with peppers, but none had been picked yet.  We wondered about the next field (below) which seemed to be much more sparsely planted.  

Closer inspection revealed this to be a field of hemp.  We've seen lots of dispensaries, but this was our first time actually seeing a huge field of it being grown, legally, and out in the open.  There seemed to be a workamper trailer over at the edge of the field.  Hmmmm. not particularly a job I want to apply for!

This is the manner of irrigation.  They pull water straight out of the Arkansas River, pipe it up to the fields, then they flood the fields, letting it soak in and drain right back out to the river.  The new method is to bury pipe UNDER the plants, then fill the pipes up with water and let it soak UP.  It must be working; the fields were all full of healthy looking plants!  We did find out though, that because there was so much rain throughout the Spring, the farmers were late in planting, which made the pepper harvest a little late this year.  

 This was the field from the third farmer.  The green, in the back, is all kinds of peppers.  The front 10 or 12 rows were all dahlia flowers.  They were gorgeous!  There were dahlia seeds for sale inside, but, being on the road, we didn't see any point in purchasing those.

It was hard to resist the hot & spicy olives though!

At our final farm stand stop, we found the Ken Williams Studio right next door.  The photo below was taken at the end of the Riverwalk a couple of days ago.  Turns out, this beautiful installation was done by the very same Ken Williams family!  See the cement walkway?  Well, yes, the stone pillars too.  That was all done by the husband/wife team along with their 4 daughters.  One of the daughters was in the studio working, and she showed us all around and explained how they stack the soft bricks, sculpt them, number them, and take them all apart only to reconstruct them again at the final installation spot.  They are currently working on 2 double-sided 40 foot tall entrance markers for the town of Pueblo.  There was a scale model of them in the gallery, and they were stunning!  I found a sink, a lamp and a tea light candle holder, all of which I wouldn't mind having.  However.  I still live in a camper, and none of that would fit!

After we explored the 6 room house-turned-gallery, we went over to the hubby's side of the business, and our primary reason for being there...PEPPERS!  They had two long planter boxes full of various varieties of pepper, and Dick really enjoyed looking through them.

Inside, they were picked, cleaned, and ready for purchase!

Roasted chilis are a big thing here, and they will roast them with or without garlic, and right there while you wait.

There was a whole room full of everything chili pepper!

And crickets.  Crickets! Nope, we didn't buy any of these either!

Outside, there were lots of varieties of watermelon, yellow, seeded, seedless, you name it.  We did buy one of the seedless green ones, and it is DELISH!  Of course, we only kept half of it; the other half went to the park owner to share with her husband and grandson.  

After that, we hurried home, because we wanted to get there before the rains came.  Our campground is located directly in the path of that sheet of rain on the left.  We made it home in time, but somehow, we only got a few drops of rain and a bit of wind from the storms.  We are truly blessed.  Monument, several miles to the North, and where we were oringially SUPPOSED to be staying, got hit hard.  Really hard, with lots of hail and wind.  We are truly blessed.

Oh, but wait a minute!  You want to know all about our visit to the hot springs, don't you!  I bet you are dying to know if we went skinny dipping too, don'tcha.  Pervert!  😄😏  Well, let's see.  I checked all the reviews and found Desert Reef was the more favorable option.  On the way to the spring, we found this sand and gravel operation.  

It got bigger and bigger, and we finally found a company logo - Holcim, the largest cement manufacturer in the world!

And exactly how is this product transported?  Why, on the Rock & Rail, of course!

The little town of Florence, CO, where the spring is located, and where we ate a quick and tasty lunch, has some interesting architecture and bills itself as the antique capital of the state. 

But, you didn't read this far to look at buildings, did you!  See that little bitty sign?  THAT's how we knew where to turn!  We had been warned that the GPS may not be accurate...it was, but we were relieved when we saw the sign at the entrance to the dirt road.  Relieved not that it was a dirt road, but that there was a sign, since the road was dirt!

A mile and a half down this dirt road, and after one slightly wrong turn (yeah, can you believe that?  There were lots of people living on this dirt road, and at one of the turns in the road, there was a driveway, so, naturally, we went straight.  Straight into the front yard of some random family.) we came upon this wooden bridge.  And another sign saying "Yes" so we knew we should proceed.  Slowly.

Another quarter mile, and we passed through the gate to the spring and found this little building.  Sort of non-descript, eh?  Well, we were here, so let's go see!  Not you, silly, YOU didn't pay your entry fee!  Yes, we went in.  Yes, there were lots of sights to see.  Most of the visitors this morning were ummm....tan-line free.  Take that any way you want, but, yeah, most of the bathers were nekked as jay-birds.  Us?  Well, we kept our suits on and took the plunge.  No recording devices or phones were allowed in the swim area, so you'll just have to take my word for what we saw and what went on.

The pool was really pretty, and the view was breathtaking, as promised.  There was a shaded area right by the pool and a Quonset hut that served as a party room.  It had tables, a 'fridge, microwave, towels and a fan.  It was lighted, too, for evening events.  The water was warm and comforting, and there was a manmade (of natural rocks) waterfall, where they filled the pool with the hot water from the spring.  The deepest part of the pool, by the waterfall was the warmest, about 90 degrees, and about shoulder deep.  We just kind of kept to ourselves and chatted about our adventures so far.  A younger (!) couple came, and they also kept their suits on.  So, that made about 6 of us, total, with suits, and probably 8 or so without.  We relaxed for about an hour, then went on into Florence to grab a bite to eat.  When we returned, we were the ONLY ones with suits on, but that's OK.  Some things just aren't meant for public viewing, and it didn't seem to bother the others either.

Doggie was waiting for her dinner, back at the camper, though, so we knew our remaining time there would be short.  We were talking about leaving when all of a sudden, we saw a bolt of lightning on the horizon.  Yup, it was time to leave!  Once people found out we were exiting the pool due to the lightning, everyone else hopped out as well.  Chickens!  

On our way back down the dirt road, we stopped to take this picture of the spring.  Yes, the water here was warm too. All in all, a very relaxing day, wooden bridge excepted.  heehee  So, tomorrow morning (Friday), we move back up to the Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs.  Now that we have toured the actual Academy, we will have lots of time to concentrate on the features and sites of the area.  We do plan to visit Cripple Creek (no mine tour for us; Fed regs prohibit doggie, and I darn sure won't go without her!), Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Wind, and Manitou Springs.  Funny story - when the dude first told us about Manitou Springs, I thought he had said MANATEE Springs.  LOL, we had a good laugh at him, thinking there'd be manatees up here!!  Guess he had the last laugh though.