Ivywild Walkabout

Mona was washing the clothes and it was a sunny day at only 80 degrees and comfortably not humid so I asked her if I might be excused to take a little walk. An hour and a half later she called to give me her 5 minute warning to return and I had to tell her I was two miles away.

The phone went silent for a few seconds, then cautiously she said, "Where?"  Or maybe "Why?"  I can't quite remember which. But I said, "They had a Netflix DVD kiosk and would you follow your GPS and come to me?  I'll be outside the south entrance."

Mona had never used a GPS on her own before.  Well, maybe a long time ago.  Once. But she readily admits that technology is a bit daunting for her and technology added to driving in a strange location (I've done all the driving here in Colorado Springs so far except when she is tailing the coach as I am taking it to the shop) is more than daunting.  Its distracting, which translates into scary.

But she did it!  And I drove the rest of the day.

Now the reason I told you all of that was to tell you all of this...


I left the laundromat parking lot and headed north in the general direction of the Redbox at Walmart. And the first thing I saw was RAMONA AVENUE!

I had to follow this yellow brick road.





And it took me into IVYWILD.

Ivywild is not on any tourist 'must see' list I've ever seen but every step I took into this 1880's pioneer town, then suburb of Colorado Springs, made me smile.



Modest homes built a century or so ago were surrounded by some of the most creative gardens, full of color and delight enough that I began thanking God these folk didn't charge for this walkabout.

Quiet streets, nice neighbors, and a babbling brook.

Who could want more in a neighborhood?

Well, Phil said his Concord Grape vines could have done without the hail a while ago.



But he has a good spirit about them. He's sure they'll come back next year. Meanwhile I had to admire his impressive pot gardens.  I told Phil about Tom. He seemed surprised and was pleased that I had not yet killed the little guy.






Seriously, some of the decorating and gardening going on in Ivywild should get some major House Beautiful attention.  I mean, do all their featured homes have to be in the millions of dollars and thousands of square feet of tile and hardwood?



This one really took the cake. Literally. In fact, I think it is made of cake dough and icing!

And my photo of the left side of the house, beside that babbling brook, that included the just-as-beautiful backyard didn't make the cut.

So when you get to Colorado Springs next time check out this village in the midst of all the historic and tourist stuff on your own.




And while you're here, say hello to Jim.

Jim's got something I've NEVER seen in anyone's front yard before.

A parking meter. A for real Colorado Springs city  parking meter.


Jim had just come out of the house to go have lunch with his sister when I caught him and asked if he could take a minute with me.  He smiled and said , "Sure." Then he told me he was a retired CSPD officer so I began to get real careful about how long I held him up- no pun intended.

He had bought the spring wound meter when Colorado Springs went electric. And he said he's kept the receipt all this time just in case some guy like me shows up and questions him about it.  Well, he's had dozens do that!  In fact, he says over the years he's earned over $3.00 in nickles with it.

Sadly it no longer works. The spring has sprung. There goes the rest of his retirement planning!

Speaking of retirement planning, just around the bend from Jim's was this little beauty, showing off her back bumper for all to see.

This one's for you David & Margaret Hickson!!!  No classic tags.  These folk RIDE this pretty machine.

I walked out of Ivywild and back into open space again and was actually shocked at the proximity of one to the other.

I'd walked about a mile and a half and seen that tourist motel, the center of old Ivywild, a lovely community of modernized homes, and suddenly, the foothills of the Rockies.

And the Garden of the Gods, just a couple of miles farther north.

The last time I remember feeling such an environmental shift was years ago when I walked out of the natural and wild 'Ramble' in New York's Central Park almost straight onto Central Park West and the huge New York Natural History Museum with our son, then maybe 6 years old, Jim DeWalt





And that hail Phil was talking about?  I found proof of its behavior here, and elsewhere.  You Reading, PA area readers will definitely know what I mean!





Well I made it to the Walmart and rented my flick. Noah, with Russell Crowe and Anthony Hopkins. Two of my favorite actors in a movie I swore I would ignore.  But in blu-ray and at only $1.88 I can enjoy being cynical as I watch it and complain out loud, to the disdain of anyone watching with me (Ramona) how un-biblical it is.





Mona made it to the Walmart and picked me up and we had a WONDERFUL vegetarian Tibetan Vegetable meal at Adam's Mountain Cafe in Manitou Springs. With sauteed tempeh on the side.

TY Jen C and Jim D for teaching us to enjoy VEGGIES.  We'll have meat for supper!






-Ken


 PS:  Look for pics of the Manitou ALMOST walkabout this afternoon.  It POURED, thundered and lightninged on everyone up there after lunch.  We probably won't head back though.  Been there a few times since the sixties.  And its pretty much the same Jersey Boardwalk scene without the surf, sand, or rides. Cute, but not again.

-K