I made a list of new things and new places that I wanted to see and do shortly after I started on this birthday journey of “60 new things before I turn 60”.

I had deemed today as adventure day and I went on the hunt for a wild west cowboy.

I headed out alone today, mainly because I knew there would be a gift shop involved and it doesn’t matter how nice the dog is or how kind the shopkeeper is, its not for my dog. She is a clepto. Last time in a store, she helped herself to a rawhide stick and I felt obligated to pay for the $15 rawhide stick that littered the living room floor and backyard for the next few days.

My dashboard robot gps thingy wasn’t sure about me not following it’s directions this morning. But I needed a Diet Coke for today’s adventure. The robot eventually got the hint. I hope I didn’t push it over the edge and tonight it plots with other robots on the demise of humans.

I headed to Golden, Colorado to drive up Lookout Mountain. Apparently, Denver and Golden were in a railroad competition in the mid 1860s, back when Colorado was a territory and not a yet a state. There are various historic sites in Golden and made note of the things I want to be sure to visit.

The Denver Metro area is currently under a Winter Storm Warning and that storm is supposed to bring a bunch of snow with it and I wanted to get my adventuring in before it got nasty. So, a rainy day drive it was and it was still pretty great.

I had downloaded an app called Autio because it is supposed to give you cool historical facts and anecdotes about the area you’re driving through. And its GREAT but, I was in areas that didn’t get that great of service, so it kept buffering. But if you are taking a little daytrip, or a longer vacation road trip and you like to learn about the area you’re in or if you love history, this is an app you’ll like.
(I don’t get paid for that, I just like the app)

Driving along, I try to be observant and not let my mind wander. I was in awe of the landscape around me and listening to the Autio app and learning about Buffalo Bill (William Cody) I had no idea that he was with the Pony Express for a while. And growing up in Missouri, you learn about the Pony Express – a lot!
Honestly, all I knew of him was being in a wild west show and that he killed a lot of buffalo. If you had asked my mother, the flower child/minister’s wife, you would have received a long lecture on the westward expansion and the struggle of Indigenous people. (She was a ministers wife/flower child/activist).

There were road closure warnings starting to pop up and it made me very glad that I left early enough that my trip home was not going to get me caught in the mess.

As you enter, you’ll see a gift shop, cafe, museum, observation deck (with the binocular viewers) and the grave of Buffalo Bill.

I took pictures of the views and enjoyed watching little families trying to pose children for pictures when they had just been let our of their car seats and were full of endless energy. I heard threats of no more ipads if they don’t stand still and smile. I wanted to take the young parents aside and tell them not to punish themselves along with the kids. Don’t take away the entertainment of a child during a car trip because you’ll be the one that sorry. But, I just smiled thinking of myself in their situation, because there were threats to my children, behind gritted teeth, if they did not smile or stop hitting one another.

After taking pictures from the observation deck, I made my way to the gravesite. It is said that Buffalo Bill wanted to be buried on Lookout Mountain because he wanted to see the Plains where he spent much of his life. He was born in Iowa and moved to Kansas before taking a job at the age of 11 on a wagon train.

I have usually been with a group of friends or my kiddos or other family when going to historic areas or touring mansions or museums, so doing all these new things by myself is a pretty new thing for me too.

Don’t worry, I didn’t climb on the buffalo!

As I walked up the the grave, I thought of all the trips I took as a kid and my dad took us to anything that had to do with cowboys. I guess as a city kid, who lived in the projects in the 1950s in St Louis, cowboys must have seemed like freedom. We stopped at just about everything with a “Jesse James Stayed Here” or “Jesse James Hideout” in Missouri. We also saw Wild Bill Hickocks grave and where he was shot. We also saw Calamity Jane’s grave. It’s next to Wild Bill’s up in Deadwood SD. My dad loved things about the “wild west” and cowboys and John Wayne. Because he loved my mother, he would smile and nod when she lectured on “what really happened”.

His wife, Louisa, is buried here as well.

On the walk back down, I found 2 memorial stones.

Johnny Baker Cody was the foster son of William Cody and is the person who partnered with Denver and the state of Colorado to create the museum and offer tours.
The other was a commemorative stone for the Pony Express and the historic trip from St Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA and how it was done in just 10 days.

I stopped at the gift shop and saw lots of cute touristy souvenirs, as well as some games. I opted for some salt water taffy. (Heads up, the taffy did not made it back home intact)

When I left Buffalo Bill, I turned right instead of left and found another new thing I want to see. A few things were closing up ahead of the storm, so I was unable to go in to poke around, but I will be back for sure.

On the way back down, I stopped at Windy Saddle Park. It is a trailhead, or so it seemed to be to this non-hiker. To me, it seemed to be a vista point with a public bathroom and so, I stopped to take a few pictures. (Not of the bathrooms though).

On this trip, it was more the unexpected that made me smile.
There was this iconic name in Colorado.

And then there was the skydiver person, just floating in the clouds.

Now, I am sitting in my living room. The fireplace is doing it’s thing. My dog is enjoying the fireplace. And I’m listening to the rain hit my windows and it will soon be sleet and then snow. I thought about this little adventure today. It was a good day for a trip and to see new things and take way more pictures than needed.

The goal is 60 new things and I have 56 more to go!