08 August 2010

Postcard from Colorado

5-7 August 2010



Today was a l-o-n-g drive. It took us from Cheyenne, WY through Denver, which is never a good thing even  before the commute, and then south. But we plowed thru all the I-25 landmarks as we headed south of Pueblo to Colorado City. Once again Mr. Garmin had his head buried where the sun don't shine, but we eventually got it sorted and arrived at the KOA which is on the east side of I-25, not the west, thank you very much.


Not much here so a 2-niter might seem a waste. But we were tired after the ugly drive and we were stalling because of what was waiting for us in Santa Fe. But we did take advantage of the extra day and do some sight seeing around the spread-out town and West into the hills along CO-165. Nice drive. We even stopped at "the castle" which might have been fun if we didn't have to listen to the nut case that was the owner/builder. He spouted off in a constant diatribe about any axe he had to grind. But it's his place and we didn't have to be there. And the castle is a huge project for one person.

The scenery along CO-165 was great with some open meadow areas used for cattle. This is looking back toward Colorado City with the Great Plains beyond. For whatever reason I have a hard time realizing that Colorado (and New Mexico for that matter) border the plains. There's a similar view from Las Vegas, NM.


The local restaurant was fine and not expensive. Just don't order anything with green chile expecting it to be green because it's red. But that's their recipe and they're stickin' to it. Since I had my gall bladder removed in 2002 I've become less and less tolerant of spicey food and at this point I've given up. So I kept to run-of-the-mill diner food and was very happy with dinner.

05 August 2010

Postcard from Wyoming

3-5 August 2010
(Cheyenne, WY)


We had an easy though boring drive to Cheyenne, WY via the Interstate. The KOA in Cheyenne is a little east of town and looks very isolated. Needs some trees to break up the wind but fortunately wind was not an issue while we were there. One quick look around you is all it takes to recall that Cheyenne borders the Great Plains.

We stopped for 2 nites so we could have a chance to look around and get some rest before the next leg thru Colorado. I tried to like Cheyenne, but driving in the town was a pain in the butt. People drive like they're in LA except they aren't any good at it! Of course I need to remind myself that I'm an old fart now, so maybe that's the issue. My reaction to Cheyenne was immensely dissimilar from what I've felt in any other Wyoming town, even Casper which I've always thought of as an oil town. Of course it is on the Interstate, so maybe that has something to do with it.


Cheyenne had had a competition among local artists that required decorating an 8 foot tall boot. All are originals and some really interesting creations. The one Celia is leaning against used painted images while the one with the diamonds has recorded the names and dates of service of the former governors on Wyoming. And I doubt anyone is going to steal these multi-hundred pound behemoths!



We went down to the train depot which has been restored. We'd heard about the decorated 8' tall boots painted by guest artists so we had to have a look. They were fun and we got a few pictures plus I got a T-shirt at the depot. Then we stuck our heads into The Wrangler- a Western wear and boot shop. Fun to look but we're max'ed out on weight so there's no sense breaking out a credit card!

The KOA is located very near a truck stop, so diesel is no sweat. The trouble with truck stops, though, is that they carry cheap DVDs. So I had to have a look and once more I carried away a gem... along with another 2 that were a waste of $$$ and never made it out of Wyoming.

Off to South Colorado tomorrow.

03 August 2010

Postcard from Nebraska

31 July - 2 August 2010
(Gretna, NE)

We left Clear L and had a long drive to the KOA in W Omaha (Gretna), NE. It's an old KOA and we ended up under a beautiful old oak tree with about a 15% grade where we had to pull out. I'm serious as a heart attack: 15%. Yikes! Parking the rig wasn't bad as the site was level where the trailer sat. But at the point the truck was pointed down the exit path it was s-t-e-e-p. So when it came time to hitch up it was a case of backing the truck up under the overhang and hope I snagged the king pin.

We did the usual shopping thing here plus we managed to find a Starbucks. We'd been feeling very deprived so we needed a fix and some more Verona beans. Diesel was easy when that chore rolled around.

I managed to get connected without a problem. The B&W hitch articulates enough that I was able to connect with only a lot of worry and no real problem. Off we went to N. Platte.

2-3 August 2010
(N Platte, NE)

We stopped at Holiday RV Park in N Platte, our second stay here. It was a one-niter and, if you recall our previous whine, we definitely ate at home that nite!

The next day we were off to Cheyenne, WY.