Attractions for Cross-Country Trip

I keep thinking of new things that you might be interested in, but you will obviously not have time for them all. You have probably been there before, but, if not, the Van Briggle Art Pottery store/plant in Colorado Springs is just a short distance off I-25. Haven't been there in years, but some of their early pottery has become a pretty valuable collector item. We occasionally see it advertised in estate sales and on-line.

If you decide to go south on I-25 from Ft. Collins, there are three very short side trips/stops you might be interested in. If you have visited them on previous Colorado trips, I'd be interested in what you thought of them.

The first side trip could even be done while you are staying in Ft. Collins. Greeley is the next big town east of Ft. Collins and is home to one of the largest model train layouts in the US. It has the rather long name of "The Colorado Model Railroad Museum at the Greeley Freight Depot." It was built by the former publisher of the Greeley newspaper and is a work of art, as well as a huge operating HO-scale model railroad. It is so big that it even had to have an upper-level observation "loft" to view the entire layout.

In Golden, just west of Denver via I-76, I-70, and CO 58 (all multi-lane freeways), is the Colorado Railroad Museum. Lots of Colorado narrow-gauge engines and cars, including 3 of the Rio Grande Southern's Galloping Goose railcars and several operating narrow-gauge steam engines.

Finally, since you like WW II airfields and aviation history, there is the Weisbrod Aircraft Museum at the Pueblo Municipal Airport. Located just east of Pueblo on US 50, it was once called the "International B-24 Museum" because Pueblo Army Airfield was a major B-24 training base during WW II. It has thousands of B-24 records and photographs in its files, including some that I donated from my father's collection. The museum's aircraft collection includes a B-29 just like the ones that trained at Wendover Field to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. I believe it is the only B-29 on display in Colorado.

Have a great trip and PM me if you decide to visit some of my suggestions. Just because I enjoy some place doesn't mean others will, so I'd be curious to know what to recommend and avoid recommending in the future!

This is great information again! I went to Eureka Springs to my sister's wedding (same sister) - apparently that's a big wedding spot for folks from Oklahoma - but didn't have time to explore it. DH says he's been to Mena, and that campground sounds like fun, if we get the schedule straight in time to get a spot there. Have a great time on your trip. We might end up crossing paths.

Sorry, repeated post.

We are leaving for Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas on Sunday. We are going to visit Mammoth Cave and Shiloh National Military Park and drive about 100 miles of the Natchez Trace Parkway between the two. Some trees will, hopefully, be flowering along the parkway, so it should be more spring-like than Colorado (snow in Denver tomorrow!). We have been to Nashville and Memphis before, so probably won't spend much time in either city.

In Arkansas, we are going to spend a couple of days at Hot Springs National Park and Lake Catherine State Park. They are not far from the Crater of Diamonds State Park's diamond mine, if you happen to be interested in playing in the dirt. From there, we will go to Mena in the Ouachita Mountains to visit a relative. On top of a mountain outside town is Queen Wilhelmina State Park, which has views of much of western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, and a mountaintop campground with hookups.

In the past, we have visited Fort Smith National Historic Site in western Arkansas. Historically, it was the end point of Major Stephen Long's 1820 Army Expedition to Colorado, the first with a scientist and an artist. For decades after that, Fort Smith was the administrative and judicial center for the Indian Territory. It also had an important role in the movie "True Grit," but John Wayne's famous gunfight was actually filmed near Ridgway, Colorado. However, Fort Smith and Mena are a little far from your planned US 66 route.

We have also visited Eureka Springs, near the Arkansas-Missouri border, in the past. Fascinating history and buildings, but definitely not an RV friendly town--steep, narrow, twisting streets and NO parking for RVs. It is, however, on the primary US 65/US 62 route into the very scenic Buffalo National River portion of the Ozark Plateau. A canoe trip on the Buffalo is on my bucket list, but not during this trip.

We haven't had an RV trip yet that we didn't enjoy. So, whichever route you choose, whatever you decide to see, and wherever you decide to stay, you'll undoubtedly have a great time.

Fanrgs - Thanks! This is all good information.

We could still use some tips for the Arkansas to eastern and mid Tennessee portions of the trip.

pompomgirl wrote:
My sister loved it. Of course, she has spent her whole life in West Texas and Oklahoma so maybe that explains it.

Yea, that's probably it! I also love to stop in the little towns along old Route 66 and visit museums and photograph old restaurants, motels, and gas stations. There is a museum in Elk City, Oklahoma, just north of I-40, that calls itself the "National Route 66 Museum." It has a rather hefty admission fee, but is exceptionally well arranged and presented for a small, relatively rural museum. If you haven't been there, it is worth a stop.

If you are really into out-of-the way-history (Wendover Field!), Google "Boggsville." It is located just off US 50 south of Las Animas, Colorado. You could stop at both Bent's Old Fort National Monument between La Junta and Las Animas and Boggsville in one afternoon. Boggsville was on the Santa Fe Trail Mountain Branch near Bent's "New" Fort (now called Fort Lyon), so became a retirement village for several 1840's mountain men. Most notably, it was where Kit Carson died. Only a few buildings are left in the town, but it has a very interesting history none-the-less.

Afterward, if you did decide to spend a night near Boggsville, I would highly recommend the Lake Hasty Campground (full or partial hookups) at John Martin State Park, located a couple of miles south of US 50 between Las Animas and Lamar.

Also, if you stay on US 50 into Kansas, you will drive right by another infrequently visited World War II site. Near Granada is the Amache Relocation Camp, where Nisei and Issei civilians from California were sent during the war. You can read the information signs and view photos along the short visitor's path and drive some of the streets. Not much else is left there except concrete foundations and trees. However, it is still a thought-provoking historic site, even for the son of a WW II pilot who bombed Japan.

In Oklahoma City, In addition to the Memorial, the National Cowboy & Western Museum and the 45th Infantry Museums are interesting.
In Fort Smith AR, the Trolley Museum, Miss Laura's Visitor Center and Museum.

fanrgs wrote:
After more than 50 years of living in Colorado, Bishop's Castle would not be even on the first or second page of my bucket list of scenic places to visit in the state. After all, I watched him build it over those decades of occasionally driving by on the highway. But that's just me!

Actually, we've spent a lot of time in Colorado and this time are only going to be passing through, but this sounded like fun. My sister loved it. Of course, she has spent her whole life in West Texas and Oklahoma so maybe that explains it. I'll check into parking at the campground. We won't want to spend the night so I don't know if that would work.