On day three of our epic father-daughter Colorado trip, Dad and I tried to get over our disappointment of not being able to go through Rocky Mountain National Park. Dad's favorite part of Colorado is this park that I may never see. As I'm terrified of heights, I'm not feeling too bad about my apparent lack.

When we woke up this day in Glenwood Springs, Colorado - at an ungodly hour as my father is an early riser - we plotted out what we were going to do. We decided first on the list was to go see Doc Holliday's grave. Doc Holliday was a dentist turned gambler who had tuberculosis. In his final span, he spent time at the Glenwood Hot Springs in the hope that the miraculous medical water would help heal him. Instead, it is thought that it may have done him more harm than good.

When you hike up the trail on the side of the mountain to the Linwood Cemetary, you see some beautiful views of the town below and the mountains on the other side of the valley area.





When you get to the top and enter into the cemetary, you learn that they aren't entirely certain where John Henry 'Doc' Holliday is actually buried. He died in the winter when the ground was frozen and they lost track of where (and if) he was actually reburied properly in the cemetary. They say that they figure he's probably buried within twenty feet of where they placed the monument.



While walking around the cemetary enjoying different views and thinking heavily about the history that is acquired in the graveyard, we noticed a nest in a bush. Nearby was a tree whose bark had been stripped in order to make this nest. It's amazing how life continues. I remarked to Dad, as I'd heard somewhere or other, that the beginning and end dates on the tombstone mean nothing. Instead, I am endlessly curious about those dashes.



There were extremely beautiful flowers all over the trail.



We went back down the mountain and then had breakfast before we went on a cave tour (which I'll talk about tomorrow). It made for a very nice thoughtful start to our morning, and put me back in mind that Colorado wasn't settled by farmers trying to get a start on their life. Instead it was settled by people mining gold and other precious items, and that it had a very rich history with folk lore and stories. I think I'm going to have to add a book on the history of Colorado to my bookshelf.

And some John Denver tunes.

Last, I learned that while I am still not in very good shape, I'm getting there. I was, after all, able to hike up that (not so very steep) trail without dying or falling off in exhaustion.

Labels: traveling