BUDAPEST LAST DAY 11

On our last day in beautiful Budapest we decided to head back to Castle Hill

.We headed back down to the Danube where we could see the Fishermen's Bastion,

and the rising waters of the Danube which were making the entrance to the restaurants there ever more difficult.

We walked across the Chain Bridge,

And took the funicular, built in 1870 to provide cheap transportation to Castle Hill workers.

We climbed down the stairs by the Turul bird where I exchanged picture taking with a young Japanese couple also on tour.

We headed to the Budapest History Museum.

The collections within traced the history of the city from prehistoric times, and the history and changes to the castle over the centuries.

In the cellar you can wander through the remains of old palace parts including this dismal entrance to the dark cells of prisoners.

Walking out through a door to a balcony, one could see portions of the old walls and foundation.

Tired and on overload, we retraced our steps from the Castle, once the top Renaissance Palace in Europe, but now a historically inaccurate post WWII reconstruction, to the funicular which took us back down the hill.

At the bottom we saw close up the "big zero" KM, the point from which all distances are measured in Budapest.

Passing the guarding Lion at the entrance to the Chain Bridge,

We walked across,

To find these young men in their tricycle vehicles enjoying the flood waters.

Tired and hungry, we stopped at the beautiful Four Seasons for a drink and bite of lunch.

Afterward we walked the short distance to the St Istvan's Basilica, or St. Steven's in English.

The church is only about 100 years old, built around the millennial celebrations of 1896. Designed by 3 architects and constructed over a period of 50 years, it's main claim to fame is the 1000 year old "Holy Right Hand" of St. Istaven, Hungary's first Christian king.

The Dome, reaching 96 meters, is visible from all over Budapest.



Now that we are home after this memorable maiden trip with VBT, "The best of the Danube" I feel a few final comments are in order. I am not sure that even our guides have ever had to deal with so many last minute changes due to weather, road conditions and closures. But even so, I never heard a complaint from any of the guests - just smiles and laughs. Maybe it was because 6 of us had reached or surpassed the 3/4 century mark in our lives and have come to realize that life in general is full of potholes and twists and turns in the road, and it is our attitude that makes it a success or failure. But also it must be attributed to the very able leadership that solved the problems and kept making it fun no matter what. They handled all situations with humor and grace, encouragement and a big smile. My compliments to all of you. We hope to keep coming back as long as our health, energy and finances permit.

GARDEN OF THE GODS

A day trip to Colorado Springs last week turned into an overnight due to high winds. Always wanting to see Pikes Peak from the top, having heard from my parents since childhood of their experience there in the 20's driving a Model "T" ford, I talked my husband into the drive. Unfortunately the road was closed because of the high winds but it led to our first trip to the "Garden of the Gods", hardly a poor second.

The variety of colors and formations in the park is amazing. Having been formed over the eons as one continental plate over-road the other the sedimentary rock was uplifted into fantastic shapes.

The view of Pikes Peak from the park was beautiful.

"White Rock" stands out against the red "North Gateway" rock.

These jagged darker rocks contrast with the more rounded spires of red rock below.

HARTMAN ROCKS

As we are getting ready to leave Crested Butte for New Jersey, I managed to get in a hike at Hartman Rocks in Gunnison.

Though spring comes earlier in Gunnison than in the mountains there were still patches of snow.

The shape of some of the rocks were reminiscent of Gaudi's rooftop creations in Barcelona.

Trees managed to grow out of solid rock.

It is interesting to me how the hole got in the round rock at the right.

PINK SNOW

As we are getting ready to leave beautiful Crested Butte and head for the New Jersey shore I wanted to show a few pictures of the "end of the season" phenomena. In the East we talk of March "coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb". Here that seem to be a good description of April. We frequently get big snows just after the ski area closes in early April, often accompanied by high winds which blow the red sand of Utah our way. The Result is pink snow.

It is easy to see the wind direction by which mountains have changed color, and the altitude of the "snow-sand storm".

The Pick Snow leaves interesting patterns on the mountain sides which, for a time, can be quite beautiful.

THE AL JOHNSON RACE

Every spring in Crested Butte the best of the local, talented, Telemark skiers participate in a race dedicated to Al Johnson. In the late 1800's, Al Johnson was a mail carrier who traveled between various mining communities in the Crested Butte area. He was known for his courage on skis and held himself to the principle that "the mail must go through." At roughly 9000 feet, the seventeen miles he traversed from Crystal to Crested Butte are some of the most treacherous winter terrain in the Gunnison Valley. Johnson would strap on mail sacks, which often weighed more than twenty-five pounds, and ski with this burden through snowy, rugged canyons and passes.

The race is a combination of up hill/downhill beginning with a mass start of approximately 200 men and women. The race course begins near the top of Mt. Crested Butte, climbs six hundred vertical feet to the top of a ridge, then plunges twelve hundred feet down through extreme skiing terrain. Following the start, there is only one control point - a gate at the top of the uphill section. After passing through this point, racers may choose any route to reach the finish gate which is located at the bottom of the "Last Steep." Another short uphill section brings racers to the finish line. A good many of the participants do this in costumes - some unimaginably difficult to ski in, let alone to manage the difficulty of the course.

The is the Hot Dog, complete with mustard, a fun home made costume.

The Gnome carried his feet in front.

The Flower in the Pot managed to keep the flower intact throughout the whole race, though climbing the last hill wasn't easy.

The Mad Hatter had more trouble with his hat, especially when climbing the hill to the finish

The Farmer followed.

The Cookie Monster was a hit, as he opened and closed his mouth.

Sponge Bob was one of the younger competitors.

But can you imagine skiing a steep hill in a Truck?

Or paddling your own Canoe?

Though some members of the Water Ballet lost their water, they still earned a 10.

ANTELOPE SLOT CANYONS

The other week on our way to visit our grandson at Northern Arizona U. we stopped at a place I have wanted to visit for years, the Antelope Slot Canyons of Page, Arizona. The canyons are on the Navajo reservation and were discovered in the 1930's by a 12 year old Navajo girl tending her sheep.

With a Navajo guide, you enter through a narrow slot in the red rock wall on the canyon into a magical world.

The canyons are made from Navajo sandstone, mainly by erosion from flash floods, and are not a place to be in a rainstorm,

Ambient light coming through holes in the roof turn the walls into an endless variety of colors.

The floor of the canyon is a very fine red sand which creates havoc with the shutter release of your camera, especially mine.

Occasionally you come upon pieces of debris left over from a recent flood.

And looking up there are a few logs wedged between the walls at the high water mark.

Our Guide, Verne, besides being a great help in seeing formations and visualizing photos, also entertained us with beautiful flute music.

As we neared the exit of the canyon the light playing on the formations guided our way. It was a memorable 2 hours.