THE WHOLE TRUTH!!

I was going through some old posts and came across one from September 2008.

It was during the Walkabout '08 tour that T-Rob and I came across the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings near Colorado Springs.






We had picked up a brochure at the hotel and set out for Colorado Springs. They turned out to be pretty cool.

On my post I had mentioned the following:

"If you are in Denver it is worth the hour drive down south.
Interesting enough though...they somehow look TOO well
maintained and reminded me of a movie set more then
ancient archeological ruins."

It turns out I was not far off.

According to Wikipedia the cliff dwellings are a reproduction of the dwellings at Mesa Verde, Co!!!!

The ruins there now were built in the 1900s as a tourist attraction. The building stones were taken from a collapsed site in southwest Colorado and shipped hundreds of miles to Manitou Springs, Co. and assembled in their present form as Anasazi style buildings.

If you visit the website for the ruins there is NO mention that these are reproductions.




In fact the website calls them "a rare historical treasure" and "authentic Anasazi cliff dwellings built more then 700 years ago"!!

Further down in the opening page it does say "reproduction of a stone mesa top building and Anasazi baking oven" but it clearly mentions they are authentic in the opening paragraph. MISLEADING!!!



Judge for yourself. They are definitely worth checking out if you are in Denver as they are only about an hour away AND on your way to Valley of the Gods which at least looks real. I think.



For all I know they are chicken wire and plaster.

I'm out.

my original post on Manitou Cliff Dwellings:

http://gmcbuddlowdown.blogspot.com/2008/09/ancient-ones.html

www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com

PARTING SHOT: POPs 66

And so my birthday trip comes to an end.

First, there is one more stop on the road to Tulsa.

In a previous post I mentioned two icons on Route 66 that T-Rob and I visited. The first was the Round Barn c.1898 of Arcadia, OK.

The second, a more recent addition in 2007.

Pops 66, also in Arcadia, OK.



Pops 66 is an ultra-modern gas station and convenience store.



Futuristic pumps and a giant sleek soda pop bottle on the outside...




...on the inside, thousands of soda pops from all over the USA!!

A soda-holics heaven!!



I had a black cherry pop from some place called Chicago. Sweet and cold!!

After purchasing my share of t-shirts and chatzkis we headed to Tulsa and my awaiting aircraft. I was homeward bound.

Another great trip in the adventure called My Life.

I would like to thank T-Rob for being a great tour guide!!

Until next time friends...

I'm out.

www.pops66.com

...my last shot:

Like Any Other Day

This morning we took a drive around Hefner Lake.

It was a beautiful day.





Storm clouds in the distance. Tornado season was just around the corner.




But for the most part it was day like any other springtime day in Oklahoma City.

Like it must have been 14 years ago, almost to the day.







At 9:01 on 19 April 1995 that perfect spring day was shattered.






It was only fitting that my trip to Oklahoma City should include a visit to the tragic bombing sight.

Physically the scars of the devastation are gone but emotionally they run deep at this place. Today stands a beautiful Memorial Park with little evidence of what once happened.













There is more to this place though then a beautiful park. There is also the museum.



It is here, inside the museum that you will relive the events of that fateful day.

A day that starts like any other day. Images inside the first exhibit show you television reports, news paper reports, radio reports of everyday mundane topics like traffic and weather.

...until you come to The Door.

In the corner of the 'Any Other Day' exhibit is a simple door. Next to the door is a clock. A clock stopped at 9:01 - the minute the bomb exploded.

You know in your soul what is behind this door.

Already I want to turn away.

I debated whether or not to describe my experience behind this door to you. I cannot. The events that unfold in the next room are events that you as an American NEED to experience for yourself. They are emotional and personal.

168 people died that day. 18 of whom were children in a day care.

This is their story.

Outside on the memorial grounds is a special tribute - rows of empty chairs symbolizing the lives lost.








Another day that will live in infamy in American History.






It only took three seconds to vanquish 168 lives, but who knows how many lives have been effected by this. The wives, husbands, children and family members who continue to live with this memory cannot be forgotten either.

Ever.




For those who have served. Both on and off the field.

Let this be your last battlefield.

I'm out.

www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org

YEE-HAWWWW!

Oklahoma City.



Beautiful town.

Green. Rolling hills. Hefner Lake. So far away from the my local terrain.

But I digress.

On this day we visited the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. It's a beautiful museum paying tribute to an American icon - the cowboy - both real and in the cinema.

[www.nationalcowboymuseum.org]














The simple entrance to a feed and seed?

No, behind this door is lies another world, another time.

Take a visit to a western town at dusk.






Did you notice the ghosts in the previous picture? Take a closer look:







This whole town exists in good detail to give you a feel of what it is like on a quiet evening in the old west. Pretty cool.




















If you find yourself in Oklahoma City I definitely recommend stopping by for a visit.

I'm out.


UP NEXT:

A very special edition of Land of the Zia.