Solo to Denver
Having trouble getting this to post so trying this before adding all the text. OK. That worked but it doesn't want to let me post the whole report so I'm going to try one day at a time. Yahoo! It...
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DAY 4
I’d spent the night at John Martin Reservoir 50 miles into Colorado. Being late when I pulled in, it wasn’t until morning I was able to see the beautiful waterfowl area downstream of the dam. I’d tried to find the campground on the lake side in dwindling light the night before but had backtracked to the tailwater campground when the road seemed to go on forever. I was glad I did!
I took a walk on a trail around the waterfowl pond seeing beautiful flowers, insects, and birds. Tracks in the sand showed the area is also visited by larger animals such as deer.
Back on the road, I had turned off Hwy 400 and was traveling a country road when I saw this interesting mailbox. Very cute!
And the reason I’d turned off the main road was to find this, Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site. For many years, this was one of the busiest stops along the mountain route of the Santa Fe Trail.
In the parking lot was a beautiful blue roan gelding mowing the lawn. Also at the parking lot were some informative signs that I took the time to read before walking the trail to the fort.
Approaching the fort I passed a cemetery of 13 graves. Only one, that of Edward Dorris, is marked with a headstone. He was a stagecoach driver whose life ended here in this lonely corner of the west. I could imagine how welcome the sight of the mud walls of the fort, with Old Glory flying above, would have been to a dusty, weary traveler.
When the fort’s builders decided to relocate, they tried to sell it to the U.S. government. But when they low-balled him, they blew it up after moving out. So the fort seen today is a reconstruction. Inside its doors is a spacious plaza surrounded by separate functional areas such as cooking areas, a blacksmith shop, a trading store, dining areas, gathering areas, and sleeping areas.
In one place the outer layer of mud had cracked off the fort wall, revealing the underlying mud bricks which were used to construct it.
A window niche showed off the old-style wavy glass while from the top of the parapet wall I could see way off across the flat plain.
Another niche in the wall on the 2nd floor was open, possibly for defenders to shoot at attackers. And through the opening I could see a nearby wooded area blazing with brightly colored leaves. This calls for a walk!
After my visit to Bent’s Old Fort, I picked up the highway again in LaJunta, Colorado, only the 400 designation had been dropped at the KS-CO state line leaving it as Hwy 50. There I spied this extreme RV. It looked like the camper portion had beaten its way through the wilderness a time or two.
I followed Hwy 50 west to Pueblo then turned north on Interstate 25. I’d picked out Mueller State Park as my goal for the night. It ought to be about right there on that mountain where the storm cloud is settling down ;-) I made it there after the storm and before dark but barely.
DAY 5
Morning dawned bright and sunny, highlighting a beautiful view from my camper window. The brown plains were gone, replaced with mountains complete with a dusting of early snow.
Maybe one of the RV.NET Avion aficionados can identify the owner of this rig.
Packed and ready to roll, I was still in a “go slow and enjoy the trip” mode so I looked for a trail to walk before leaving Mueller SP. The Elk Meadow trail looked interesting at about 2 miles long and it was a loop trail. It turned out to be a good choice with beautiful fall colors and scenic mountain views but, unfortunately, no elk.
Leaving Mueller State Park, I traveled just a short distance to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. This monument is small at about 6,000 acres but has 15 miles of trails. I didn’t walk all 15 miles but did explore the 1 mile long Petrified Forest Loop Trail.
Other than the beautiful scenery, the most notable feature of the park are the fossilized tree stumps. I read they were formed when redwood trees were buried in a volcanic eruption 34 million years ago. Wow, those are some old stumps! And big ones too at up to 14 feet in diameter.
The exposed portion of the trees is long gone. The stumps are so well preserved I could see the wood grain. I could also see that once exposed the layers makes them highly susceptible to erosion.
I didn’t find any flowers here but did see some plants as pretty as a flower.
The trail led off to a rise where a sign indicated a lodge had existed in the 1920s, before the area became part of the national park service.
Back near the visitor center was the grandmother of all fossilized redwood stumps … or actually three grandmothers. And they even have girdles! They’re also under roof to protect them from weathering.
I did a better job of stitching together a panoramic view of the Petrified Forest Loop Trail area.
I could have gone back to the Interstate to finish my drive up to Denver. But instead I decided to make a loop through the mountains. So I went west on Hwy 24 a ways then turned north on County Road 9. It was a good choice as I had the road to myself and the scenery, accented with afternoon storm clouds, was spectacular. I didn’t average much speed as I kept stopping to take pictures.
I made it to my destination and picked out a site with a view at the Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood on the west side of Denver. The park was only 5 miles or so from the class site so each morning I’d drive over, attend the training, then return to the park. I probably could have boondocked at the training site but the nightly rate at the park was low and was paid for by my work. Besides, with such a beautiful view to enjoy, staying at the park was definitely more appealing. I even managed to get back early enough to walk some of the trails. I’d definitely stay there again!
The trip out on my own was very enjoyable. It was a nice taste of what I hoped to be doing when I retire in a few years. I might let my DH come along some then ;-) As noted earlier, he flew out at the end of the training course and we returned to Tennessee together, again with time allowed to make a few stops. Stay tuned for a separate report on that part of the trip.
Click HERE to go to the report on our trip home.
I’d spent the night at John Martin Reservoir 50 miles into Colorado. Being late when I pulled in, it wasn’t until morning I was able to see the beautiful waterfowl area downstream of the dam. I’d tried to find the campground on the lake side in dwindling light the night before but had backtracked to the tailwater campground when the road seemed to go on forever. I was glad I did!
I took a walk on a trail around the waterfowl pond seeing beautiful flowers, insects, and birds. Tracks in the sand showed the area is also visited by larger animals such as deer.
Back on the road, I had turned off Hwy 400 and was traveling a country road when I saw this interesting mailbox. Very cute!
And the reason I’d turned off the main road was to find this, Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site. For many years, this was one of the busiest stops along the mountain route of the Santa Fe Trail.
In the parking lot was a beautiful blue roan gelding mowing the lawn. Also at the parking lot were some informative signs that I took the time to read before walking the trail to the fort.
Approaching the fort I passed a cemetery of 13 graves. Only one, that of Edward Dorris, is marked with a headstone. He was a stagecoach driver whose life ended here in this lonely corner of the west. I could imagine how welcome the sight of the mud walls of the fort, with Old Glory flying above, would have been to a dusty, weary traveler.
When the fort’s builders decided to relocate, they tried to sell it to the U.S. government. But when they low-balled him, they blew it up after moving out. So the fort seen today is a reconstruction. Inside its doors is a spacious plaza surrounded by separate functional areas such as cooking areas, a blacksmith shop, a trading store, dining areas, gathering areas, and sleeping areas.
In one place the outer layer of mud had cracked off the fort wall, revealing the underlying mud bricks which were used to construct it.
A window niche showed off the old-style wavy glass while from the top of the parapet wall I could see way off across the flat plain.
Another niche in the wall on the 2nd floor was open, possibly for defenders to shoot at attackers. And through the opening I could see a nearby wooded area blazing with brightly colored leaves. This calls for a walk!
After my visit to Bent’s Old Fort, I picked up the highway again in LaJunta, Colorado, only the 400 designation had been dropped at the KS-CO state line leaving it as Hwy 50. There I spied this extreme RV. It looked like the camper portion had beaten its way through the wilderness a time or two.
I followed Hwy 50 west to Pueblo then turned north on Interstate 25. I’d picked out Mueller State Park as my goal for the night. It ought to be about right there on that mountain where the storm cloud is settling down ;-) I made it there after the storm and before dark but barely.
DAY 5
Morning dawned bright and sunny, highlighting a beautiful view from my camper window. The brown plains were gone, replaced with mountains complete with a dusting of early snow.
Maybe one of the RV.NET Avion aficionados can identify the owner of this rig.
Packed and ready to roll, I was still in a “go slow and enjoy the trip” mode so I looked for a trail to walk before leaving Mueller SP. The Elk Meadow trail looked interesting at about 2 miles long and it was a loop trail. It turned out to be a good choice with beautiful fall colors and scenic mountain views but, unfortunately, no elk.
Leaving Mueller State Park, I traveled just a short distance to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. This monument is small at about 6,000 acres but has 15 miles of trails. I didn’t walk all 15 miles but did explore the 1 mile long Petrified Forest Loop Trail.
Other than the beautiful scenery, the most notable feature of the park are the fossilized tree stumps. I read they were formed when redwood trees were buried in a volcanic eruption 34 million years ago. Wow, those are some old stumps! And big ones too at up to 14 feet in diameter.
The exposed portion of the trees is long gone. The stumps are so well preserved I could see the wood grain. I could also see that once exposed the layers makes them highly susceptible to erosion.
I didn’t find any flowers here but did see some plants as pretty as a flower.
The trail led off to a rise where a sign indicated a lodge had existed in the 1920s, before the area became part of the national park service.
Back near the visitor center was the grandmother of all fossilized redwood stumps … or actually three grandmothers. And they even have girdles! They’re also under roof to protect them from weathering.
I did a better job of stitching together a panoramic view of the Petrified Forest Loop Trail area.
I could have gone back to the Interstate to finish my drive up to Denver. But instead I decided to make a loop through the mountains. So I went west on Hwy 24 a ways then turned north on County Road 9. It was a good choice as I had the road to myself and the scenery, accented with afternoon storm clouds, was spectacular. I didn’t average much speed as I kept stopping to take pictures.
I made it to my destination and picked out a site with a view at the Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood on the west side of Denver. The park was only 5 miles or so from the class site so each morning I’d drive over, attend the training, then return to the park. I probably could have boondocked at the training site but the nightly rate at the park was low and was paid for by my work. Besides, with such a beautiful view to enjoy, staying at the park was definitely more appealing. I even managed to get back early enough to walk some of the trails. I’d definitely stay there again!
The trip out on my own was very enjoyable. It was a nice taste of what I hoped to be doing when I retire in a few years. I might let my DH come along some then ;-) As noted earlier, he flew out at the end of the training course and we returned to Tennessee together, again with time allowed to make a few stops. Stay tuned for a separate report on that part of the trip.
Click HERE to go to the report on our trip home.
