Out and About at Manitou

Well, I sure hoped to get in some historical post before now, but things just got a tad crazy. So, instead, I'll post a couple of photos from my (on-going) trip around Colorado. Right now, I'm in Manitou, and a tad Manitou/Colorado Springs obsessed. Mostly obsessed with trying to find out what was going on during the summer of 1880. My time is ticking away here, and even though I've found lots of good tidbits and intriguing pieces of history (and lots of reference books and resources), the questions keep multiplying.

So.

I took a break and tried to clear my mind a bit. (Well, I didn't forego history entirely. For one thing, I visited the Old Colorado City Historical Center and gathered more historical bits and pieces there for later.)

I visited Black Cat Books today in Manitou ... a really great bookstore! Met Natalie, the bookstore owner. Got her to stand still for a photo (see left ... in addition to books, there is a wine bar). I'll be at Black Cat Books on Saturday, August 1, from 1 - 4 p.m., to talk about Leaden Skies and the rest of the Silver Rush series ... I'm looking forward to it!

The bookstore used to be an dairy in the days of old, and down below (where most of the books are) is where they kept the cows. The whole building is very intriguing ... I plan to take more photos and see if I can determine the date of the building at some point.



Later, I went up Cheyenne Canyon to check out Helen Hunt Falls and Silver Cascade Falls (just a bit further up the trail). Helen Hunt Falls is to the left. This was a favorite place of 19th century author Helen Hunt Jackson. Hmmm. Looks slippery. Could be a good place for a little fictional mayhem.

It was a rainy, cloudy day ... bits of fog hanging about, the air crisp and cool. Thunder. Lightning. Wind. Rain. Great atmosphere. I'm going to try and hold on to my impressions of the weather and the canyon for possible use in book #4.