After hanging out with Joe Glyda in Oklahoma, our next stop was Colorado, where we were planning on spending a few weeks. Now the problem with this drive was that between Oklahoma and Colorado… is Kansas. So let me give you a little recap of Kansas in the following iPhone photo:

Ok, well that's about it for Kansas. Next stop: Colorado Springs! 

We stayed in Cheyenne Mountain State Park, which was absolutely beautiful. The front of the bus was facing the mountains and the back was overlooking the city. When we woke up in the morning, there were often deer hanging around the bus doing their little deer thing. 

One of the great things about staying in Colorado Springs was that we were within minutes of my longtime friend and wildlife photographer, George Lepp. It's always great hanging out with George and his wonderful wife, Kathy. We went to dinner with them one night and spent some time catching up at their place as well. 

George was also gracious enough to help me out with a custom printing project I had planned. Last year, when I was in Bagan, Miranmar, I shot a 14-image panorama where I tried to encompass the sheer saturation of temples in a small area. In the end, the aspect ratio of the image came out to be 17.5-to-1…  NOT an easy image to print. We worked on it for a while though, and eventually came out with a successful print, measuring 20 feet long. (If there was no software limitation, it would have printed at 40 feet, which would have matched the length of the bus!) It's an impressive print to say the least.

Me, George and Kathy Lepp, doing a test print of my Bagan pano.

An iPhone shot of my 20-foot print from Bagan, Miranmar. 

Another fun thing we did in Colorado Springs was eat in the Airplane Restaurant. This place is exactly how it sounds, too. It's a Boeing KC-97 that has been converted into a restaurant. The waiters even don airline attendant attire. The food was decent, and it was definitely a unique way to do lunch.

The airplane restaurant in Colorado Springs

After Colorado Springs, we moved on to the quaint town of Golden. We couldn't have parked in a better place. The little RV park was right on a river and at the foothills of some beautiful Colorado mountains. You can walk from the bus to town in less than 10 minutes and there are plenty of interesting places to explore. 

More on Colorado to come…