Jason needed to return to Georgia for the start of school. He posed at the airport at the end of his trip. Denver International Airport at rush hour wasn’t very crowded. There were 32 TSA agents to handle a total of four travelers. Unfortunately, this airport is all but shut down.Cathy and Jason waited in line in Denver. Cathy returned that night, after escorting Jason to Atlanta. On Saturday we went to the Bronc Day celebration at Green Mountain. This celebration was the 85th in a row but even the event organizers did not know much in advance on what would be offered or what was going to happen. COVID has restrictions, you know!The traditional pancake breakfast was canceled, along with several other events, but the parade did go on. The parade was the shortest parade, on the shortest parade route we have ever seen, but we enjoyed it. I really like small towns! It started with a marching ban – jo.This is the children’s entry.Following the children were the horses.Due to the length of the parade route, there was no need for the traditional pooper scoopers! But there were almost a dozen horses. Cars were not allowed for the first time in many years. There were several small, red convertible sports cars staged but they could not enter.We did get to meet the local law enforcement. Unfortunately we got to see both of these guys in action on our way back from Cripple Creek. They had the town entrance blocked off and were in rescue mode as apparently a car had gone off the cliff. They were heading down the mountain as we passed.After the parade we drove out to Cripple Creek. There was a Corvair car show going on so I had to take a look. The Corvair is my favorite Chevrolet. I met and had a long conversation Ken Schifftner of the Pikes Peak Corvair Club (his was the yellow beauty pictured below).Cripple Creek is know for it’s wild donkeys freely roaming the streets yet we have never seen one. I guess that is a common concern so the local museum rounded up these two in the morning to show at the museum entrance. Apparently only the young’uns are easy to catch, the older ones are too smart!On our way to the sandwich shop for lunch we stopped at the graveyard to continue our search for Pearl’s gravesite. We finally found it! Pearl was the madam for the local brothel in town and gave ALL of her money to local needs. She charged $325 a night (today’s equivalent of $19,000) to her clientele and everyone that stayed at her establishment was thoroughly checked, including their background and bank account. There were a lot of very wealthy clients coming through Cripple Creek in the late 1800s. When she died, an anonymous donor sent a substantial check for her burial. There were over 5,000 townsfolk in attendance at her service.We got a chance to visit the only “Gated Community” in Cripple Creek,The homes were pretty nice with excellent views of the town.My sister Barbara posed at the summit of Pikes Peak on Sunday morning. The clouds were forming overhead and the incredible view was vanishing.This is the view of the Bottomless Pit, an area that is seldom hiked (there are no trails here). A Pikes Peak Hillclimb car went off the road at this turn but the driver was relatively unscathed when he was rescued. It is kind of hard to believe but there was a rock down the hill that must have caught the car before it plummeted to the bottom.Here is a closer-up view of the bottom of the pit.This is a view of the summit from the trail that Cathy, Jason and I previously hiked.I stopped to looked for the mountain goats that we had seen a couple of days earlier at this spot. This time I walked off trail over to the cliffs to see if they were heading our way. (I did step on rocks all the way over, avoiding the tundra). I waited several minutes because they are hard to spot unless they are moving. There were none heading up this morning.
It was good to have Jason there. Good memories for him I am sure. Good to see Barb too! Been hot here. Had 2 hundred degree days in a row. Last time we had 2 in a row was 2017. We had one in 2018 and it then it skipped a year!!
Travelling with the Schinglers 
It was good to have Jason there. Good memories for him I am sure. Good to see Barb too! Been hot here. Had 2 hundred degree days in a row. Last time we had 2 in a row was 2017. We had one in 2018 and it then it skipped a year!!
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