Farewell Colorado

One thing we are in awe of during this trip from Florida to Colorado is the spectacular beauty of this country. The diversity is amazing. The sunsets in Colorado are awesome as is the mountain scenery. I know I have said that before. I’m repeating myself. It comes with age, or is that maturity? The close of the days adventures here are spent just watching the sunset from our trailer.

We told you we would let you know of our adventures around Colorado Springs. We extended our stay at this campground so we could see a little more of the area. That’s the advantage of not having a schedule and being free to do what you like. In two days we took in some great attractions, those of a scenic nature.

We first went to The Royal Gorge, not far to the west of Pueblo. This is sometimes called the eastern grand canyon. It is the sight of the world’s highest suspension bridge, pictured here. It was built in 1929 for a cost of $350,000. In today’s money that would be more than $15 million. It is some 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River that runs in the canyon below. The bridge is only about ¼ mile long and 18 feet wide. The towers stand 150 feet high and hold the suspension cables made of 2,100 strands of No. 9 wire in each cable. The cables weight 300 tons, yes “tons”. There is 1,000 tons of steel in the floor. The surface of the bridge is Douglas Fir planks 18 feet long, 12 inches wide and 3 inches thick. The planks total 1,292. About 250 of them are replaced each year. One can walk or drive across the bridge.

We rode from one side to the other (in addition to walking across the bridge) of the canyon on the Aerial Tram, which we are told is the longest single-span aerial tram in the world. The tram cables weigh over seven tons each. Talk about throwing your weight around. It runs 1,178 feet about the river. We also went to the bottom of the gorge on the “world’s steepest incline railway.” A 100% grade at a 45-degree angle for 1,550 feet. It took five minutes each way. It kept us busy just moving up, down and across.

One attraction we did not do. It is called the Skycoaster. It works like this---one to three people are harnessed into a sling, face down in a prone position. The sling is pulled backward and upward to the height of 100 feet above the canyon edge. That sounds bad enough, right? When one gets to the top, then the sling is released, and like a pendulum swings out over the canyon at 1,200 feet above the gorge. One swings several times in this manner until the momentum stops. No thank you! We were brave enough to watch others doing it.

We next went to the ruins of the Pueblo Indian cliff dwellings in Manitou Springs west of Colorado Springs. You see a picture here of a portion of the ruins. These dwellings were built some 700 years ago. They were first opened to the public in 1907. The ruins can be explored room by room on a self-guided tour. We enjoyed wandering through the ruins, marveling at the architectural skills of the Anasazi Indian builders so long ago. Some rooms can only be entered from the roof by ladder. This was so that when under attack by others, they could retreat, remove the ladder and prevent entry. We spent a most interesting couple of hours exploring.

Our final excursion in the area was to the Garden of The Gods which is now a city park maintained by Colorado Springs. It is located west of the city at the foot of Pikes Peak. The views of towering red rocks of varying shape are magnificent. You see a representative photo here. You can get a little perspective of the size of the rocks by the people in the photo. No, we don’t know who the people are. One cannot get a photo in a place like this without having “unknown” stranger in them. I often wonder in how many photos I am the stranger.

The land comprising the park was donated by a rail-road baron with the specific instructions that “it would forever be free to the public.” No cost to witness this beauty of nature. The original donation was 480 acres. It has been added to over the years by the donation of others to its present 1350 acres. If one has a city permit to do so, the rocks can be climbed by those willing to take the risk. We saw several rock-climbers on our visit. Again, no thank you! Too bad I can’t share all my photos with you. I took some 130 pictures at these sites.

On Tuesday the 23rd we left Pueblo West and headed south to Raton, NM, just over the boarder from Colorado. The scenery on the drive down again changed to different shaped hills with trees and mountain peaks of a more flat nature. Raton is 6,680 feet in elevation. The air is thinner, and we began to notice it. When we arrived at the campground our campsite was up on a ridge behind the office, even higher. The campground is located at the famous Raton Pass on the Santa Fe Trail. The elevation here is over 7,800 feet. One thing we noticed in both Colorado and here in New Mexico is the constant breeze (or wind, depending on the intensity). It reminds one of the coastal areas in that regard. The wind at times is strong enough to rattle our trailer and cause the awnings over our slides to flap and make a racket that reverberates throughout the trailer. We at times wonder if they are going to rip apart. The winds have gusted up to 30 miles per hour. So far, everything is alright, but it does interfere with sleeping at night.

We discovered some interesting history about the Santa Fe Trail and Raton Pass. The trail ran from Missouri to Santa Fe, then the capital of northern Mexico, in the early 1800’s. The trail divided into two trails, one going through the mountains (Raton Pass) and the other through the plains 100 miles to the south. It seems that the mountain route was more difficult than the southern, but safer with plenty of water.

Well now the interesting part. A certain entrepreneur by the name of Richens Lacy Wootten, later known as “Uncle Dick”, came to the area in the early 1800’s and saw an opportunity. He built a house on the Pass and began to improve the road, then put up a gate across the Pass and began to charge a toll. When some objected to the toll, he simply told them to take the other route. It was only 100 miles to the southwest. That seemed to settle the matter. He initially charged $1.50 for a wagon or buggy and 25 cents for a “horseman”, prices that he changed from time to time. But Wootten always allowed the Indians to use the toll road free of charge.

We are going to look around the area to see what might be of interest before moving on south to get out of the cold. So far, it has only dropped into the low 40’s at night, but it is scheduled to reach the 30’s before we leave. We want warmth and easier breathing. Our next stop may be Santa Fe, but that has not yet been decided. As you can no doubt tell, if you are keeping up with our moves, we are moving less than 200 miles at a time now. We are aiming for short moves and longer stays in our future. But of course, this may depend on the weather at this time of year. So far, in the last four months, we have moved 25 times through ten states.

It is now decided. We will leave in the morning, September 28, and stop next in Espanola, NM, 25 miles north of Santa Fe. It is about 200 miles from our present spot. It is an area of art and Indian history, both of interest to us. I read that 1 out of 8 people in Santa Fe work in the art community in some way. It is well known for it’s art and history.

Pueblo

The second week of our stay in Aurora was as busy as the first. There are more interesting sites in the area than one can take in. The scenery is terrific and the air clear and thin. We took a trip into Denver to the Museum of Natural History. The museum itself is interesting, but we were there to see the artifacts of the Titanic and the
IMAX showing of the discovery and retrieval of the many items shown. A most interesting movie. If you get a chance, you should see the exhibit if it travels to your city.

On entry, one is handed a boarding pass with the name, age, class of passage and personal data of one of the passengers. The guys got men and the gals got women. I guess that’s fair. Anyway, during the course of the exhibit one finds out the fate of their passenger, saved or not. Of the more than 2200 passengers, over 1500 died, as did the passenger on my boarding pass. The women, well they made it out alive, but I was in 1st Class and they were in 2nd. I don’t know what that tells you. A first class ticket cost $4,500 at the time, which is equal to more than $78,000 in today’s money.

Of course, one is not permitted to take photos so you will get no pictures of the exhibit. I do have a picture of the Denver skyline, which you see above, taken from in front of the Museum . An interesting bit of information was the legend on a 60 pound lump of coal. The ship carried 6,000 pounds of coal onboard. Sixty pounds of coal moved the ship forward 60 feet in the water for about 1.5 seconds. Imagine that! And we think gas prices are bad! Would you like a “coal” car?

Some of the time was spent doing odd jobs for my sister. You know how it is, I’m a sucker for anyone offering food. So, I replaced bathroom faucets and lights and hung chandeliers in the foyer and dinning area. Then, of all things, she bought a new laptop computer. You know what that leads to, don’t you? A little computer work and training. Anyway, I was glad to do it. After all, it’s family!

On Thursday, September 20 we left Aurora and headed to Pueblo, Colorado, some 120 miles south. The scenery changed again, from the close mountain views of the “mile-high-city” to the broad prairie grasslands with distant purple mountains. You see a picture here of the scene outside our trailer at the campground. The sunsets here are spectacular. The campground is nothing fancy, but will serve our needs as we explore the area.

One reason for stopping in Pueblo is because it is where my grandmother (Granny, the one who raised me) lived for a while as a young girl, age 10-12. The family lived here while my great-grandfather worked in Pueblo and in Denver doing cement contracting work, and then while he worked his claim in the gold rush of 1890 in Cripple Creek, CO. No, he didn’t strike it rich. He ran out of money and sold his claim in 1891, and the family moved on to Kirksville, MO in 1892 after some three years in the area. Do you notice any family traits here?

My grandmother told of how frightened she was when Indians came to the door looking for food. We tried to find some record of my family’s time here at the genealogical section of the local library, but all the records of the 1890 census had been destroyed and the local directories of the period showed no record of them. Pity! It would have been nice to have seen the street where they lived, if indeed they lived in the city proper.

You see a view here of the city of Pueblo which lies along the Arkansas River, in the foreground of the picture. It also shows the old and new structures in the city. We first crossed the Arkansas River as we made our way to Leadville, which we related last week. At that point, some 10,000 feet up, the river was only about three feet wide as it first made it down the mountain on its way through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas growing all the while, until it empties into the Mississippi River some 1500 miles away. Or did you already know that the Arkansas River began in Colorado? I’ll bet you remember that from your geography class. You did take geography, didn’t you?

We will be looking for more adventures here in the area and in Colorado Springs. I’ll tell you about those next week. Ciao!

Colorado

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore! The drive from Kansas to Colorado was easy and with beautiful scenery. The elevation continued to rise. Colby is about 3200 feet and we passed over altitudes of more than 5900 feet. We were surprised that the high plains seemed to go on forever, and the view changed little. We kept expecting to see mountains in the distance, but they never appeared until we were almost to our destination some 190 miles inside Colorado.

We made our first stop in Colorado at a Welcome Center/Rest Area in Burlington. We had driven for some two hours, so it was time for our customary break. We discovered that next door to the Rest Area was “Old Town” a section of old buildings from the past filled with artifacts of the period. A Bank, Drug Store, Blacksmith Shop, Law Office, Church and many others, some 21 buildings in all along with outside exhibits of period farm equipment and modes of transportation. We arrived at the Rest Area about 8:40 AM and the Old Town didn’t open until 9;00 AM. We decided to wait and tour it. We enjoyed two hours of discovery and reminiscence. You see a picture here of Everett behind the counter of the drug store soda fountain re-enacting his teenage years as a ’Soda Jerk”.

We arrived at our destination at Cherry Creek State Park in Aurora in early afternoon. As we pulled up to the entry gate at the park we saw signs saying, “Campground full.” “Reservations only.” Fortunately we had made reservations, but we were not prepared for the next bit of information we received. We told the gate attendant that we were staying for 13 nights. She said, “There is an eight dollar parking fee per day for your vehicle. That will be $104.” “What! You have to be kidding!” “Yes, the parking fee is separate from the campground and you have to pay eight dollars for everyday you are in the Park. You can pay by the day and buy each day from the Camp Host, if you like, or pay it all now. What would you like to do?” We had no idea that there was such a fee. “Give me one night,” I said, and handed her eight bucks.

We have to make other plans. We are accustomed to park fees for daily entrance, but usually it is only a one time fee equal to one day’s entry for the whole time that one camps. We drove on into the Park and found our campsite, a nice pull-thru with a concrete pad and full hook-ups (water, electric and sewer). The sites were placed well apart and very nice. The camping fee was reasonable. But the parking fee!? This will take some planning. I had no intention of paying $8 a day for parking my truck at the campsite.

After we set up the trailer and got settled in, I made a phone call to my sister, Carolyn Myers, who lives in Aurora, and let her know we had arrived. To visit with her was the whole reason for the rush to Colorado to get here before the snow flies. I related our parking charge situation and she had a solution. She would lend us her car to go in and out since she had a yearly pass sticker. Great! We have been parking our truck at her house and either she would drop us off at the trailer and would pick us up the next day, or we would keep her car over night and drive it back when she needed it.

We have enjoyed family visits, just “hanging out” and visiting some of the interesting sights in the area. We took a day trip to Leadville, CO. West on I-70 from Denver, then before getting to Vale, go south on US 91. The trip was 128 miles each way but well worth it. Leadville is an old mining town from the 1800’s with a lot of history. A picture of a church with the mountains as a back-drop is above. It is typical of the street scenes. We took in the History of Mining Museum and then took the train ride up the mountain. A three hour round-trip. We rose from 10,200 feet at the Leadville Depot to 11,100 feet near an old mine.

We got on the train early. Boarding began at 12:30 and we were to leave at 1:00 PM. We were a little late leaving, waiting on some latecomers. A large tour bus from Montana unloaded a group of Seniors. They were not the late ones. When the train started up the mountain, I noticed one lady on the opposite side sleeping and one on our side knitting. So much for keeping interest. The train had seats facing the windows instead of front or back. Some cars were open and some had a top and windows, which could be opened. We were in one of the windowed cars. As luck would have it, we chose the side that faced only the shear face of the steep mountain. The other side faced the valley and all the scenery. “Parsons Law“, again. We were, however, able to stand and move about to catch the view. But at times, all one could see was the forest of Aspen, Pine and Spruce trees marching up the slope on one side and cascading down the mountain on the other, so close one could reach out and touch them. We were warned to keep our hands inside.

You see a picture of the train above as it rounded a loop curve. You see the Caboose and some of the cars. The train was pushed up the mountain by the engine with the Caboose leading, then pulled down the mountain. The track was only 11.5 miles long, which is all that is left of the service to Denver from the last century. We were told that when the mine closed and the track was no longer needed, the city of Leadville bought the length of track and it’s right-of-way, 2 engines, 3 cabooses and 7 rail cars all for the grand sum of $10.

This finishes our first week in Aurora. We have another week to go. What we will do after that, we haven’t decided as yet. We may spend a little more time in other parts of Colorado, weather permitting, or not. We’ll let you know next time.

Last Days of Summer

Wow! was it ever different when we arrived in Illinois. From Florida to here we had been used to hot, hot and hotter. You know, temperatures over 100 degrees. When we got to our first leg of the R & R (that’s “run” and “rest”) on our way west, Edwardsville, IL which is about 20 minutes from St. Louis across the Mississippi, we were pleased to find a bright sunny day in the 80’s with a mild constant wind. Very pleasant. The first night was in the mid-50’s. Can you believe that? Sorry to rub it in!

The location is the Red Barn Rendezvous RV Park, a small campground of only 30 sites but with very nice roads and camping areas and nicely landscaped. It is surrounded by corn and soybean fields---and flat. Not a hill in sight. It is owned by two very nice people called Connie & Rusty. They made us feel welcome and invited us to help ourselves to the garden of tomatoes and peppers next to our camper. We did.

The park is on a frontage road next to the Interstate Highway but we are about 100 yards from the road. The noise is not too bad. Much better than the park we had just left which had us a mere 30 yards from the Interstate. Many campgrounds are located like this next to a major highway for easy access. They are fine for short stays, but I don’t know about an extended time. We are off again tomorrow, September 1st for our next stopover in Booneville, MO.

The terrain changed again from flat to rolling in central Missouri. More corn and soybean fields lined the route. We were amused by noting the road signs and billboards along the way. We are not accustomed to highways designated by letters like “Y”, “NN“, “E” instead of numbers. Some billboard examples are “Frumppy Joe’s, some kind of eatery, and “We Cover Your Aft”, for marine insurance. It takes little to amuse some people.

It is pot luck choosing a campground determined only by the distance one wants to drive. Which is what we are doing on this quick segment. The present campground (Booneville, MO) is a prime example of what not to do. It was hard to find, behind a Conoco Truck Stop, down a rough gravel road and with sites on grass up to ones calf. We had to search for the sewer connection in the tall grass but finally found it under a flat rock that was covering the hole. The outside isn’t appealing, but at least when we get inside we’re at home, and its only for one night. We had to unhook, setup and look for a place to purchase diesel fuel that we wouldn’t have to take out a mortgage to buy. Diesel in this part of the country is 20 cents to 30 cents higher than regular gas.

Look at the photo of the little orange trailer. The trailer must be about 15 feet long, if that. It seems to be the permanent home of a family. See the little boy, maybe 6 or 7 years old, coming out the door? He came out with a large fork in his hand and went to the water source in the tall grass that you see to the right. When he saw me he said, “What are you doing?” “Nothing, What are you doing?” “Nothing. I had apple pie!” The orange trailer had large letters on the front saying “Home Depot”. Maybe that is where they got it. It would have no facilities. They are close to the “rest rooms”, which are in great disrepair. The park looks more like a permanent residence for the economically deprived than an RV Park.

We landed at the Crossroads RV Park in Lyndon, Kansas on September 2nd. The park was nice, but the town could be missed with a blink of the eye. We had to drive to the next town to find a place to grocery shop. On Labor Day we roamed around Topeka the Capitol of Kansas, as you no doubt remember from your history class.
It is the third largest city in the State. Topeka is about 25 miles north of Lyndon. We spent the evening resting before moving farther west.

It is now September 4th and we are in Russell, Kansas the home of former Senator Bob Dole. The town again is small. The downtown streets are all brick, and as brick streets will be, rather bumpy. The drive over was a beautiful one. We enjoyed the scenic view of wide open space. The terrain is rolling and the altitude rising. One can see for miles in all directions on the high plains. Since we had not passed this way for thirty years, we forgot what it looked like. Alternating cattle ranches and farm crops, some we could not identify. We saw one sign repeated along the highway at various mileage points that said “ 1 Kansas farmer feeds 128 people + you.” It is not hard to tell what the State industry is.

We kept seeing numerous vehicles that were filthy with gray-brown dirt. We wondered if everyone in Kansas had a dirty car. We found the reason for this when we noticed that all the county roads were gravel and dirt. Only State and Federal highways were paved. Every vehicle was followed by a cloud of dust like the wagon trains of old. I soon noticed that the wheel-wells of our own truck was becoming gray with gravel dust.

We left Russell the next morning, September 5th on a short drive (135 miles) to Colby, KS. As we drove, it kept getting higher in elevation. We know these things, not only on visual inspection but by our faithful GPS. We kept looking side to side with nothing blocking our view but the sky. We kept looking ahead expecting to see some distant mountains come into view, but no, our view ahead just disappeared into the sky once again. We found another source of income to the people of west Kansas along the roadway….oil. Numerous pumps were operating near and far accompanied by storage tanks spaced here and there.

We arrived in Colby soon enough and found our campground near the Interstate. I should say, alongside the Interstate, next to a Wal-Mart, in another grassy field. Disappointment. We had expected better. And the WiFi wouldn’t reach to our RV, just six spaces away from the office where the antenna is located. Bummer! But we do have cable. And wind! As the song from Oklahoma goes, “…and the wind comes sweeping down the plains.” Constant wind at 25 miles-an-hour (info courtesy of the local weatherman). We have found Kansas to be a very windy place. No wonder it is known as tornado alley.

We found one bright spot in Colby, The Prairie Museum of Art & History. We were introduced to the early history of the plains with exhibits inside and outside. You see a picture here of a barn, the largest barn in Kansas, measuring 66 feet wide, 114 feet long and 48 feet high. Inside the barn is 100 years of agriculture history and artifacts, a most interesting collection.

Of the several outside structures was a church, a 1930’s family home, a one-room school house and a typical sod house of the prairie, also pictured here. The house was made of sod blocks 1 foot by 2 feet by 4 inches deep. The inside walls of the “soddy” could be plastered or newspapers used like wallpaper. Muslin was usually stretched across the ceiling to catch the dirt, bugs and an occasional snake. The indoor part of the Museum has a fantastic collection of items from the late 19th Century and the early 20th, toys, dolls, clothes, glass, furniture, etc. etc. Well worth the two hours we spent. We got there at 3 pm and they close at 5 pm.

That was today. Tomorrow, September 7th , we leave the land of OZ and head to Colorado. To end your read of the blog today, do me a favor. Click on the “comment” link at the bottom of this message and let me know you are reading. In the Name place, put the city were you live and in the comments space, just tell me how many in your location are reading the blog. That’s it, a simple place and number. You don’t have to write anything else unless you wish. To paraphrase Charles Osgood, See you on the Blog!