Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger. ~ Proverbs 29:8
We puttered around this morning, and that enabled us to sit and critter watch! Three deer showed up across the street!
And as we watched them, six more showed up on up the street! Something spooked the herd of six, and we got to watch them sproinging across our field. How fun! 😊
Sproinging = when an animal bounds across land, leaping with all four feet off the ground at the same time . . . . . like they’re on springs! LOL!
We also watched our neighbors, who seem to take togetherness to a whole new level. They’ve been here for a couple of days, but this morning is the first time we’ve actually caught sight of them. First, we spotted their two dogs. Schipperkes. It’s not a particularly popular breed, but I worked in a vet’s office for about 10 years, so that’s why I knew what they were. Here’s a picture – –
But then the couple took them for a short walk outside the pen, and we discovered how close they are. Not only do they have matching dogs, but they were also sporting matching white t-shirts (with some kind of Schipperke picture and saying on them), and matching pale blue and white striped elephant pants as well.
You know it’s a slow morning when we’ve got time to sit around in the coach and spy on our neighbors. . . .
To break up the monotony, Blaine suggested we go check out a museum he read about called “Magic Town”. It’s open. It’s practically free. It’s air conditioned. It’s close by. Sounds good! Grab those masks and let’s get outta here!
We had no idea what we were really in for! What an incredible place it was! It’s hard to even describe what we found here. The artist and sculptor, Michael Garman has been around for decades and many famous people own his work – people like politicians and Hollywood stars. You’ll see a few if you read the pictures. 😊
When you come in, they offer you the opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt, so of course we said yes! We received two tiny pencils, like the ones you sometimes find in the pew racks at church, and a small school bus yellow paper with the items you’re looking for printed on them. We each got different lists.
It’s actually a pretty good idea, because it causes you to really look at everything here, rather than just a quick walk-thru. It really was pretty magical! They apparently even change the graffiti on occasion, because the guy who looked at Blaine’s paper had to look up the proper answer. Blaine’s was right, but the guy said it was different than when he last worked just four days ago. When we asked how they change it, he replied, “It’s magic!”
There are mirrors to make it look like you’re looking down a long alleyway between buildings, and many of the room scenes change, which was also pretty magical! How do they do that?!? Of course, these things don’t show up in most of our pictures, but there’s one where we took pictures of both scenes. Oh. And there are holograms that you can listen talk, like you encountered them in the streets and businesses! If you’re paying attention, you’ll also find some of the same characters displayed in different scenes, so keep your eyes open!
Just ignore how moldy the food looks, and imagine it fresh. : )
Reminded me of how my mom used to do it! : )
He managed to find it on a carry-out pizza box one of the characters was carrying!
If you look close, you’ll see that woman at the window in several of the pictures we took. : )
We’re done with the tour now.
Below is the magical alley scene I mentioned above. One place, two scenes!
Besides the hologram, what other differences 
can you spot? We’re standing in the same spot!
In the lobby, there are tons of sculptures you can purchase for your very own. They’ll even custom make shadow boxes – like the one in the window) for you ($599), and can customize sculptures too – policemen, firemen, football players, etc.
After we finished up in the museum, we walked around Old Colorado City for a bit.
This one cracked me up!
This evening, around 5:30pm, we got to watch a thunderstorm!!! We haven’t had one of those in for – ever!! Lots of cool streaks of lightning, some thunder, wind and rain! Like, real rain! Not just a few drops!
Dinner was pretty delicious tonight. I tried a new chicken recipe that turned out wonderful! So were the sprouts!
CHICKEN BRAISED WITH MUSHROOMS
4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
Kosher salt
Black pepper
3 T. Dijon mustard (more or less as needed)
1 C. Italian (seasoned) bread crumbs
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
White wine, as much as needed (1 C.?)
Vegetable oil
Remove the skin from the chicken. Rinse, pat dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slather on the mustard. Coat both sides with the bread crumbs. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the oil for frying.
Fry 3-5 minutes until golden brown, then turn and brown the other side. Remove from the pan. Also, remove excess oil if necessary.
Fry the garlic for 30 seconds, add mushrooms and a splash of wine and fry for 1-2 minutes, just to get them started cooking.
Remove from the pan and place the garlic and mushrooms in a 9 x 9 pan. Place the chicken on top (skinned side up), then add enough wine to cover the mushrooms and just tough the bottom of the chicken.
Bake covered at 350⁰ for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 15-20 minutes to 165⁰.
The recipe calls for using a dutch oven for everything, but I no longer have one of those, so we had to fry in the electric skillet (outside, of course!), then transfer to a foil covered square stone. A couple of extra dishes, but that’s okay. : )
BRUSSELS SPROUTS
1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts, halved
¼ C. olive oil
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. honey
3 T. butter, melted (optional)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Toss sprouts with olive oil, salt and peppers. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake approximately 25-30 minutes, until caramelized.
Pour cooked sprouts into a serving bowl. Drizzle with vinegar and honey. Stir to coat. At this point, you can also add melted butter if desired.
Serves 4-6