Song: Long Train Runnin'
Artists: The Dobbie Brothers
I went to...
the 2026 Cripple Creek Ice Festival...
at about noon today.
The day was clear and at just a handful of degrees below freezing...
and with but a light wind...
so it was just a perfect day.
I was just expecting a very small venue...
with but a handful of ice sculptures...
and just a couple of street vendors.
However...
I was pleasantly surprised once I got there.
On my way down my mountain towards the main road to the nearby town of Cripple Creek.
I was just down the road from home here.
Still just a short ways from home...
and going down my mountain here.
I was not even halfway down my mountain here.
I was not too far from the main road here.
I was just moments away from the main road.
I first dropped off my trash at the community center...
and I then went up the main road to Cripple Creek...
which from the main road...
was just four miles away.
I was about halfway to Cripple Creek here.
I parked on an adjacent street and first walked down one part of the main street...
and I then turned around and walked past my entrance point and continued on up
the longer section where most of the vendors and food trucks were.
The ice carvers were still busy working on their ice sculptures.
Judging will take place tomorrow.
Part way up the street...
they had this free warm up tent...
which had heaters and seats and tables.
The Two Mile High Club had taken a few of the Cripple Creek Donkeys
and set up a petting area for the festival.
The donkeys were very gentle and cute.
I will be visiting them in their winter pasture sometime later.
Almost 20 of them live there in Winter...
and near summer...
they are released in Cripple Creek to freely wander the mountains.
The head lady of this club (I am a member)...
is highly organized and ensures the donkeys are well looked after.
I had come across this Vietnamese food vendor.
She had a very happy disposition...
and I could tell she loved what she did.
I love seeing this in people.
She took pride in her craft...
and in spreading her culture.
But...
it was only after I had spoken to the Vietnamese lady cooking the food
that I decided to try her noodle with chicken and shrimp dish.
I could tell that she had spent a large portion of her life in Vietnam
by her hesitant English and native accent.
I was glad...
for I then knew that her food would be authentic...
and as it would turn out to be...
so delicious.
It turns out that she is a part time chef at the below restaurant and boutique.
She only cooks from Thursday through Sunday...
and from about noon to four PM.
She only cooks about four dishes on a particular day...
and then switches the dishes every so often...
perhaps by day or by week.
She sometimes cooks Pho...
or a variety of noodle and rice dishes.
But...
so far...
no Banh Mi.
However...
I will be stopping in every so often to eat her delicious food...
and I will pester her to make Banh Mi part of her normal menu items
(I love Banh Mi).
This was their inside seating area.
This lady knows how to cook.
Her sauces and spices were so well balanced with the acidic ingredients.
The pickled veggies added so much to the dish...
as they had just the right amount of vinegar...
so their fresh taste and crunchiness added zest.
Her chicken and shrimp noodle dish was so flavorful.
I felt so happy that I now have some very nearby Vietnamese food...
of which is but a short and pleasant country drive away (15 minutes from home).
I can hardly wait to try her Pho.
I also got a root beer float...
which was also very good.
The lady who owns the boutique...
also cooks Southern Comfort food as part of the menu.
I will also try some of her cooking as well.
I was almost out of the town of Cripple Creek in this photo
(to the left is where the Cripple Creek Donkeys' Winter grazing home is...
and to the right, the road intersects the main road leading back home).
The day was just so perfect...
I played the above included song all the way home...
as it just matched the buoyant and happy mood I was in...
and yes...
I sang this song all the way home...
with the windows open and with the wind in my hair...
and with my head and body bouncing to the lively rhythm guitar.
I felt so good...
a belly filled with delicious food...
and with the crisp and cold Winter air flowing throughout the car.
This is part of my view from my loft computer station.
Life is just so good here.
_____________
I have some work ahead of me.
But...
I will have to wait for the weather to warm before I can do any outside work.
A few days ago...
high winds ripped up some of my tacked down deck carpeting.
Some of the staples had not held...
and so...
I ordered some much longer and sturdier carpet tacks
so I may hammer them in at selected parts of the deck carpeting.
A few days ago...
the snow was blowing sideways...
and the highway from Divide to Woodland Park...
and from Woodland Park to Colorado Springs was closed for a short while...
as ice had formed on certain downhill sections which led to
multiple car pile ups.
Whenever the roads get icy...
I just stay home.
It is a rare event though...
as the snow usually just compacts.
But...
when it snows...
and then the sun melts it...
and then the temperature suddenly drops soon afterwards...
that is when the roads can get icy.
But...
life is all good here at home.
If I had to...
I could easily stay at home without ever having to go food shopping
for a couple of years if forced to by any emergency.
I have hundreds of pounds of stored dry foods and frozen meats and such...
as well as dehydrated veggies and sprout seeds...
so I could ride out any emergency...
and do so in complete comfort and safety.
