Colorado: Genoa Wonder View Tower

 Real quick before I forget (because I already did once), movie reviews.  The Avengers: loved it.  Good action, good storyline, no high pitching whining from Pepper and no fighting between her and Tony.  Liked seeing the interaction between Stark and Banner, even if Banner was Mark Ruffalo instead of Edward Norton.  Dark Shadows: we walked out.  Too dark and too much sex.

We really did have a relaxing, enjoyable time in Colorado, though it seemed we were always doing something.  Yes, we had a lot of errands to run and places to go, but we weren't controlled by the clock and that's what made it feel relaxing.  On previous trips, we've had our time scheduled out to the hour between friends, family and shopping.  We tried to see friends this time and succeeded with a few, and had some cancellations, but that's okay.  I think sometime when we go, we should just have a get together at a park with whoever feels like showing up and that way we can see a ton of people without spending all our time driving to them individually.

And so we had plenty of time to relax at my parents' house and play games.  Games are Tommy's new favorite thing.  I hardly see toys out all over the floor anymore, rather 2 or 3 games.  He's still figuring out that he can play with one, put it away and then get a new one.  But he and Ryan played their games with Grandma, and Shad and I played games with Jake, Amber, Ruth, Levi and Dan.  Lisa, Lori and Dad didn't get in on any of them.



 Jake and Katie fell asleep together, and Tommy was actually sweet and lovey with his Lori.  He really does love her--he always asks to call her, and walks around the house holding pictures of her and kissing them, holding them to his face, saying "Awwww, Waywee!" and even watching Mulan with them.  However, the last time we saw her, he didn't want anything to do with her.  He only wanted Grandma.  So this time it was nice to see him want her, and cuddle her, and kiss her goodbye.

 This is a Tickle Levi party that ended right as the camera snapped.  Tommy loves tickling!

The cousins! Tom, Katie and Ryan.

I've been wanting to stop at the Wonder View Tower in Genoa, CO on I-70 just 10 minutes east of Limon for over a year now.  We finally did.  It's a nice quirky place that only costs $1 admission.  There's a large museum with all sorts of antiques--art, glass bottles, rocks, arrowheads, etc.  Tommy liked practicing his counting on the many cash registers.

Ruth and Tom sitting in the cave in the Pike's Peak display.

Top of the tower.  We didn't let Katie come up.  That built in ladder just didn't seem like a good idea with her.

Looking down 6 stories.

Now, it's been proven by Ripley himself (Ripley's Believe It or Not) that 6 states can be seen from the top of this tower--Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wyoming.  Even the Grand Tetons can be seen.  I just didn't have the equipment for that.

Tom, Levi, Ruth, Shad, Katie and me on the 5th floor of the tower museum.

Hey guess what!  They have this cool 2 headed calf.

Um,...yes.  This would be the bathroom facility that I did use.  I really couldn't hold it.  And yes, it's falling over and supported on the wrong side.

Here's the tower from the outhouse.

They've got mammoth tusks and dinosaur bones and a dinosaur egg.  All right there!



The owners are quirky themselves and have a sense of humor.  I forget the guy's name, but he's a character in and of himself.  He likes to pull out artifacts and have you guess what it was used for.  If you're correct, you earn your $1 admission back.  I was actually pretty good at that game.  Most of them I guessed on, but one thing he pulled out was an old military uniform button polishing plate, and I knew that on site, thanks to Dances with Wolves.  We let him keep the money though.

This room is entirely built out of petrified materials.  Even Shad is petrified.

Lots of Native American art on the stones.

And here's the museum.

Most of the items in the museum are marked with prices, so you can feel free to leave with a souvenir. 

 



Overall, we DO recommend this for a nice, fun, cheap entertainment to break up a 5 hour roadtrip on your way to come see us from Denver.  We DON'T recommend this for those afflicted with acrophobia or claustrophobia.  Okay, the museum will be fine for you, but don't go too far up in the tower.  It's gets cramped and the stairs/ladders can be...scary.  We also DON'T recommend this for a bathroom/water stop.

On the way home, Tommy had fun trying out the glasses we got him at the thrift store.  We got them so that I don't have to share mine with him anymore, and because he's going to be Harry Potter for Halloween.  He likes them a lot.