I've seem to have caught a fever lately. You might call it the "Spring Fever". I've been trudging around in several feet of snow for the past 5 months. It's been getting kind of old, and I'm ready for some new scenery.
Last week, I woke up at 3am on my day off to drive to Sand Dunes National Park. I arrived just in time to see the sunrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the dunes. The rest of the day was spent napping and reading a book in my hammock. It was nice to finally get a chance to relax and enjoy the peace of the wilderness.
The following day, I leisurely made my way back to Summit. My first stop was at the Alligator Farm, just outside of Alamosa. I had heard of the place for many years, and seen it countless times on my previous trips to the dunes. Fifteen years later, I finally stopped to see what all of the rave was about.
Alligator Farm is the ultimate field trip!! Yes, I am 29 years old, and yes, I was by myself. So, what? What did you do last week? Well, I got to hold an alligator named Capone, cause a feeding frenzy, hang out in the bio-dome, and I may or may not have gotten spooked when the gators thrashed around when I got too close.
Did I mention the UFO Watch Tower across the street?
Next stop, was a short hike to a waterfall outside of Buena Vista. Didn't get too many good photos there, but I still enjoyed the hike.
After the hike, I stopped by the Princeton Hot Springs. There are 2 pools on the upper deck, but I opted to hangout in the creekside springs. It looks kind of relaxing, doesn't it? That's probably because it is. This is the part where you become a little envious over my weekend.
While I was at the springs, I met some new friends. One of which was the head warden at the state penitentiary. After talking for a while, I learned from my new friends that my Joshua means "salvation" in Hebrew. My first name is also the English interpretation of Jesus. My last name Schutz means "protector" in German. So I guess that makes my name Salvation Protector. Sounds prestigious doesn't it?
Whenever I get the chance to do exciting things on my days off from work, I do it. And now that I've caught the Spring Fever, I'm more motivated to get out do these things. If you want to do something fun on your day off, let me know. I always enjoy company on my adventures.
The only catch is, you have to be willing to be my subject for some photos. No big deal really. Just a couple shots here and there. It will be fun, I promise.
