Mueller State Park - Colorado Springs, Florissant and Victor

Mueller State Park -Divide Colorado

After leaving RMNP (and having the Elk herd come to within 100 yds behind our campsite!) we made our way East on US 36 and out to I 25 South. Our destination, Mueller State Park, located at 9000 ft above sea level 25 miles West of Colorado Springs. The temps in Colorado Springs, at 6000 ft, were in the low to mid 80's and up at Mueller - breezy and low 70's!! Perfect in our minds.

beautiful sites

Site 28 on Conifer Ridge loop was to be our home for 4 nights while we visited the area (and hopefully see golden Aspens). Our site and the Park as a whole are very well maintained, including a modern bath house with great hot showers (takes 4-6 quarters) and a nice laundry room. a bill changer is in the laundry area.

shower rooms at each end, laundry in the center

view from the camper center - that pink band is  Pike's 

Peak in the distance 

The weather here changes rapidly, and while sitting outside, the sky darkened from deep blue to dark gray and followed on with a light rain that drove us indoors for the remainder of the evening.

sunrise at 9000 ft

Our first morning started with a beautiful sunrise. We had big plans awaiting us 25 miles to the East on US 24 in Colorado Springs.  First stop of the day - Garden of the Gods! A beautiful and seemingly out of place cluster of red rock jutting vertically out of the earth. This has long been a special place for the Native Utes and later settlers and recently visitors to hike and admire. It is run by the city and there is no admission and pets are welcome. We got there around 8am and parking was plentiful (later after we were done hiking, the parking area was full).  There are nice wide concrete paths that loop through the rocks in addition to some gravel paths that take you back into areas that require a slightly bigger degree of dexterity/stamina. Rock climbing is only allowed by obtaining a permit. Signs are readily posted directing would be climbers as to how and were to secure their permits. 

allow about 1.5 hrs to hike around 

quite captivating

free of charge, but you need a permit to climb up there

While there, we were fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with a 74 year old Native American woman. She has spent the majority of her life in the immediate area, used to climb the bigger rock formations as a teen and young adult (before National Monument status required a permit) and visits there almost daily. She was very proud to state that she was " on top of the Camel's hump 3 times!). GREAT STUFF!

Our time at GOTG was concluded by 10:15 and we punched in our next destination - The US Olympic Training Facility. It took us 15 minutes to get across town to the location (site of the former NORAD base) . We pulled in at the gate and instructed where to park and get the tour. One was leaving in about 20 -25 minutes so we parked, hung out for a few minutes and then with Cindy and CJ hanging back under the shade of the trees, I proceeded to go in and pay up (Only VISA or cash!) Having just recently turned 64, I asked what is "Senior" for pricing - 65! Kind of like being 20 - almost but not quite. I paid up and went inside. There was a huge video room running a loop of US Olympic highlights and I enjoyed those while waiting for our tour to start. 

One of two US Olympic Training Centers

weight training, running track and rehab

Olympic Pool

Floor Exercise mat. 

wrestling room - not one of my favorite places in High School

Our group was relatively small, only 10 of us with our guide and we headed out after the 10 minute intro film. First stop - the wall outside showing the many corporations that sponsor the US Olympic team. No government money here. The annual cost per athlete is 30-50000 and on average athletes stay 4 years. Apolo Ohno was there 9 years! Then on to the first work out building - the indoor exercise track and weight area. The Grecco Roman Wrestling Team members were working our as well as a Woman's Javelin Thrower! The floor covering where they stretch, etc, is made of an antimicrobial material as are the grips on some of the weights.  This facility is like a small college campus and can handle 120-150 athletes. They must be at least 18 years of age to stay there (many women's gymnasts are 15-16) and it is accessible by invitation only, after the athlete has achieved a national standing in their sport. Training and rehabilitation centers on site include Olympic Pool, Shooting, Wrestling, Gymnastics, Basketball. The rehab area has sophisticated equipment to help get injuries healing sooner by supporting the body weight while muscle training continues.

After leaving the Olympic training Center, we grabbed a quick lunch (TACO Bell was just around the corner) then back through Colorado Springs, up on I 25 North to the us Air Force Academy. Set back against a dramatic rise in the Rockies, this is an impressive institution. I checked out the visitor center (and of course watched the film on cadets four year journey)  while Cindy and CJ again hit the shade. There is a large gift shop and small museum. The famous chapel is undergoing major renovations and tours are not available at this time. Just before leaving the campus, we pulled over to check out the  B-52 on display. Diamond Lil - a Vietnam War veteran.

USAF Academy -Visitor Center in background

B52 Diamond Lil

this was quite a day with lots of walking and we were ready to make the 45 minute drive back to camp. Again a quick striking rain storm sent us inside, but it was short lived and we were able to take CJ for a nice evening walk shortly before dusk.

Our second day at MSP would find us enjoying a leisurely start, complete with a second mug of coffee as our destination was only 25 minutes away and doesn't open until 9am.

One of the handy tools to have along on an extended, somewhat remote trip like this, is a large scale atlas of the United States. There can be extended periods of time that you will be without internet and even possibly phone coverage. The atlas allows you to plan routes and excursions in off hours. If your version is like ours, the Rand McNally large scale road atlas, it will include valuable information on National and state points of interest, monuments, Historic sites and Parks. Our experience to date has been that all of these things are worth visiting.

lots of planning goes into a trip like this - Atlas is very handy

In the case of Mueller State Park, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is such a place. Located just twenty some odd miles West of MSP, Florissant (floor-a-cent) is the largest fossil bed in the world. Tens of thousands of plant and insect fossils have been discovered there over the past 170 years. Not to mention the fossilized remains of giant Redwood trunks, 10-15 ft in diameter from 34-35 million years ago! Created in 1969 just in time to escape becoming a building development, FFBNM, has a modern Visitor Center, Ranger led hikes, a small interactive museum, a twenty minute film and a small gift shop.

FFBNM Visitor Center

tree growing out of petrified stump

notice size of fossilized Redwood stumps!

Returning for lunch, we journeyed over to the MSP Visitor Center to check it out. Very nice, with numerous displays of wildlife in the area, including Back Bear, and Mountain Lion!  There is also a historical display with Native American, Railroad, prospectors (this is gold country), lumbermen, and ranchers. Outside, there are several nice sitting areas, a gazebo with mounted binoculars to view the Continental Divide and Pike's Peak.

inside MSP Visitor Center -very nice

The remainder of the day was spent outdoors, reading, walking CJ, relaxing and doing the laundry.
the Campers Service building laundry was very nice and convenient!

Our final day at MSP showed hints of Fall foliage, but certainly less than the 5% reported. We had planned to leave the Park and travel South to the Gold Mining town of Victor. this is the site of one of the largest gold strikes in the USA and today there remains an active gold mine! As you travel South on CO 67, about 4 miles from Cripple Creek, you take the left at the Y and after a few more miles you arrive at the outskirts of Victor and a nice hiking path in the immediate area of the abandoned mines. The small parking area on the right as you approach the area is at the trail head. There you begin you trek to several mine shaft heads, the magazine where the blasting powder was stored (s the igniters were stored separately) the walk is just a tad more than easy, but not strenuous. In the background, the enormous piles of rock taken out of the earth in search of gold are quite noticeable. After finishing our hike,, we continued on into Victor proper. Once a town of over 5000, today it is more like 500. Having burned to the ground in the late 1890's most building today daet from 1899 or slightly newer.  Downtown is quaint and there are several points of interest, including a mining museum and a section dedicated to the towns most famous resident - newscaster Lowell Thomas.  I went down to the German bakery for coffee and came out with that and Bee Sting Cake - yummy!

abandoned mine head -over 100 years old

Assay Office - late 1890's

refreshing, I mean refreshment site

Victor's most famous citizen

after enjoying our snack,, we continued on North, through Cripple Creek (once a mining town, now site of many Casinos).

this area is heavily populated with Aspen, and while we did see a smattering of golden yellow, the peak color is at least a week away. So much for trying to get here at the best time.



We would definitely return here, and if so, we would probably hold off until the last full week of September. We were in site 28 which was nice, secluded and level but did not offer any views of the valley. If we return, we will try for site 34, 36 or 40. Plan and book way ahead as this is a very popular park.