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Travel Guide Of LIFE


TRAVELERS' TRIFLES OR WHAT I SEE FROM MOUNTAIN TO SEA M.A.C.

Hans Christian Anderson said:

To move, to breath, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote; To travel is to live.

Manitou Memorial Park has a Park and Ride lot next to it. You can park there and use Colorado Springs City Bus Route #3 to reach Old Colorado City and Colorado Springs. Or, you can hop on the Free Shuttle Bus that will take you to either Cog Railway Depot (which you will choose to ride up to the summit of Pikes Peak), or to the Barr Trail Trailhead (which you will choose to HIKE up to the summit of Pikes Peak), or to the Manitou Incline Trailhead (see my video page for MY hike up Manitou Mountain). This photo was taken on the Free Shuttle Bus. I also used the City Bus route #3 from Downtown Colorado Springs to first arrive at the Manitou Memorial Park to catch the Free Shuttle Bus. The city buses cost $1.75 and a bus transfer is available for using multiple routes.

Manitou Memorial Park has a Park and Ride lot next to it. You can park there and use Colorado Springs City Bus Route #3 to reach Old Colorado City and Colorado Springs. Or, you can hop on the Free Shuttle Bus that will take you to either Cog Railway Depot (which you will choose to ride up to the summit of Pikes Peak), or to the Barr Trail Trailhead (which you will choose to HIKE up to the summit of Pikes Peak), or to the Manitou Incline Trailhead (see my video page for MY hike up Manitou Mountain). This photo was taken on the Free Shuttle Bus. I also used the City Bus route #3 from Downtown Colorado Springs to first arrive at the Manitou Memorial Park to catch the Free Shuttle Bus. The city buses cost $1.75 and a bus transfer is available for using multiple routes.

Miramont Castle in Manitou Springs is very close to Manitou Incline. You can walk through the castle for free or you can have High Tea here for $45. The castle was built around 1895-1900 for Father Jean Baptiste Francolon and his mother. He was a french born catholic priest. The Sisters of Mercy ran a Montcalm Sanitorium here so the 14,000 feet of the property was not for only the priest and his mother. It is now managed by the Manitou Springs Historical society. High Tea is held in The Queens Parlor Tea Room and the staff members dress up in period costume. The castle has lovely garden areas with benches. I could have taken as long as I wanted to wander around and take photos but I took only four photos here.

Miramont Castle in Manitou Springs is very close to Manitou Incline. You can walk through the castle for free or you can have High Tea here for $45. The castle was built around 1895-1900 for Father Jean Baptiste Francolon and his mother. He was a french born catholic priest. The Sisters of Mercy ran a Montcalm Sanitorium here so the 14,000 feet of the property was not for only the priest and his mother. It is now managed by the Manitou Springs Historical society. High Tea is held in The Queens Parlor Tea Room and the staff members dress up in period costume. The castle has lovely garden areas with benches. I could have taken as long as I wanted to wander around and take photos but I took only four photos here.

This is the Old Colorado City Public Library. It is an Andrew Carnegie library that was opened in 1905. Almost half of the libraries in USA are known as Carnegie libraries because they were built with money donated from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. The library in this photo is one of the 2,509 libraries in the world that were built by the foundation and they exist in about 15 countries, especially USA, Canada, UK and Ireland; Andrew Carnegie was Scotish.

This is the Old Colorado City Public Library. It is an Andrew Carnegie library that was opened in 1905. Almost half of the libraries in USA are known as Carnegie libraries because they were built with money donated from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. The library in this photo is one of the 2,509 libraries in the world that were built by the foundation and they exist in about 15 countries, especially USA, Canada, UK and Ireland; Andrew Carnegie was Scotish.

Just read the sign. 🙂 Hall of Mosses is in Olympic National Park. This is just west of Tacoma Washington. We stayed at the Little Creek Resort in Kamilche Washington which is located at the south side of Olympic National Park. It took us three hours the next morning to drive to the entrance of the park. We had to park on the road after passing the pay booth. I paid $20 for a National Park Pass which is good for one year.

Just read the sign. 🙂 Hall of Mosses is in Olympic National Park. This is just west of Tacoma Washington. We stayed at the Little Creek Resort in Kamilche Washington which is located at the south side of Olympic National Park. It took us three hours the next morning to drive to the entrance of the park. We had to park on the road after passing the pay booth. I paid $20 for a National Park Pass which is good for one year.

Olympic National Park > Hoh Rainforest > Hall Of Mosses.

Olympic National Park is about one million acres. There is "old growth temperate rain forest" here that once extended from Alaska all along the Pacific coast to central California. This park still reaches the Pacific Ocean for about 70 miles of the Washington state coastline. Hoh rainforest must be named after the Hoh river that runs through here. This rainforest is on the west side of Olympic National Park and it has many trails, picnic areas and camping. Besides the Sitka Spruce Trees that I mention on my  "To Vancouver Page",  there are groves of Big Leaf Maple, Vine Maple, Douglas Fir, Red Alder, Western Hemlock, Black Cottonwood, and Western Cedar. The Hall of Mosses trail is a really easy loop trail so it will end very close to where it begins and it has very little change in altitude (just a few feet). It is just shy of one mile long; about 1.2 kilometers. 

IN THE TOWER OF BASILICA DE LA VOTA NACIONAL, WE WERE ABLE TO RELAX AND SNACK A BIT. I DO NOT KNOW IF ALL THE TOWERS HAVE  CAFES IN THEM. WE CLIMBED THE TOWER THAT IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF THE CHURCH. I DO NOT KNOW IF PEOPLE WERE CLIMBING THE TOWER ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE BECAUSE WE DID NOT SEE ANYONE IN THAT TOWER. WE DID SEE PEOPLE CLIMBING THE THIRD TOWER WHICH IS NOT AS HIGH AS THE TWO FRONT SIDE TOWERS. WE ORDERED TWO HOT TEAS, A TEA WITH MILK, ONE HOT CHOCOLATE AND TWO HUMITAS. I CAN NOT GET ENOUGH OF THOSE HUMITAS. 

THIS VIDEO IS A RATHER LONG WALKING TOUR AROUND THE AREA OF THE HOTEL WHERE WE WERE STAYING. I WAS LOOKING FOR THE BAKERY WHERE I HAVE SHOPPED A COUPLE OF TIMES ALREADY AND FOR A DESSERT PLACE CALLED GELATO MIX. I FOUND THEM AS WELL AS A COUPLE OF OTHER INTERESTING PLACES. WE CAN SEE HAPPY PANDA CHINESE RESTAURANT FROM OUR HOTEL WINDOW. 

THE BAKERY IS NEXT TO THE HOTEL; PANIFICADORA AMBATO. GELATO MIX IS LOCATED ONE CITY BLOCK FURTHER DOWN AVE. 12 DE OCTUBRE. CAFÉ QUITO IS AT THE SWISSÔTEL QUITO WHICH IS ACROSS THE STREET FROM OUR HOTEL. THERE IS ALSO AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT CALLED LA BRICIOLA AT THE CORNER OF AV. ISABELLS CATÓLICA AND FRANCISCO   SALAZAR. SAN HONORÉ AND MUSA RESTAURANTE ARE ALSO GOOD SOUNDING PLACES IN THEIS AREA.

OH, AND WHILE AT CAROLINA PARK, WE TRIED THE ESPUMILLA. WE DID NOT REALLY LIKE IT. THE TOP PART WAS RATHER FUNKY. THE TEXTURE IS ODD AND THE FLAVORS DID NOT STAND OUT ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR THE STRANGE TEXTURE. WE DID LIKE THE BOTTOM PART THAT CONSISTS OF SEVERAL TYPES OF FRUIT PIECES SOAKING IN A DELICIOUS RED SAUCE. ESPUMILLA IS A TRADITIONAL ECUADORIAN DESSERT. IT IS A FOAM, NOT AN ICE CREAM, WHICH IS WHY IT IS NOT MELTING AS VENDORS SELL IT IN THE STREETS. IT IS MERINGUE WITH EGG WHITES, SUGAR, AND PUREED FRUIT. THE FRUIT IS SOAKING IN A RED BERRY SYRUP. THAT LAST PART IS GOOD.

WE SPENT SUNDAY IN SHOPPING CENTERS AND PARKS. WE FIRST WENT TO PLAZA OF THE AMERICAS. IT IS REALLY SMALL WITH FEW SHOPPING OPTIONS. IT DOES HAVE A FEW NICE CAFES AND A LARGE CINEMA. THE PLAZA OF THE AMERICAS IS SMALL BUT COZY. IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE A SQUARE PARK WITH SHOPS, CAFES, AND CINEMARK SURROUNDING IT. AFTER WE LEFT PLAZA DE LAS AMERICAS, WE WALKED DOWN TO PARQUE CAROLINA. WE STOPPED TO TAKE A PHOTO AT A FUNKY STATUE. I COULD NOT FIND A NAME FOR THIS STATUE OF FOUR CHILDREN SITTING ON A BENCH TALKING TO EACH OTHER. IT IS IN A TINY PARK AND MAY BE CALLED DESCANSO. WE THEN CONTINUED WALKING UNTIL WE REACHED THE VERY LARGE PARK. IT HAS A VIVARIUM HERE.  IT IS A SMALL SAMPLE OF REPTILE SPECIMENS INDIGIONOUS TO ECUADOR. THERE IS A SUPERMAXI SHOPPING CENTER ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE SOUTHERN END OF CAROLINA PARK SO WE WENT THERE TO BUY COLD MEDICINE FOR RENO WHO MAY HAVE GOTTEN A HEAD COLD. WE RELAXED AT A SPECIAL PLACE CALLED REPUBLIC DE CAFÉ. THERE IS A VIDEO HERE ABOUT JUST THAT. IMMEDIATLY ON THE SOUTHERN END OF PARQUE CAROLINA IS A METRO STATION. ONCE I SAW THE STATION ENTRANCE, I DECIDED WE SHOULD TRY IT OUT. IT IS GREAT. IT IS STILL NEW AND MADE TO BE EASILY USED BY THE MOST UNITIATED PERSONS IN METRO USE. IT ALSO COSTS ONLY .45 CENTS FOR ADULTS. I AM HAPPY TO HAVE USED IT. I TOOK A VIDEO OF IT WITH MY CELL PHONE SO I MAY UPLOAD IT HERE ALTHOUGH VIDEOS FROM MY CELL PHONE COME UP SMALLER HERE. WE GOT OUT AT PARQUE EJIDO METRO STATION. AFTER TAKING A COUPLE OF PHOTOS OF WRITERS (THERE ARE MANY STATUES OF POETS AND NOVELISTS HERE), WE WAKED THE REST OF THE WAY TO THE HOTEL.