PAGOSA SPRINGS, COLORADO

Jeanne wanted a stay at home day so Allan wanted to take a trip over Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs.  I had never been there before, but had heard from other sources it was scenic and a nice place to visit.  It was easier taking the Jeep rather than the motorhome especially since when we leave Del Norte we will be going to Santa Fe.  Wolf Creek Pass is well known for its long steep grades up one side and down the other.  Three days before my trip, Wolf Creek Pass had received its first snow of the year.  The highway was cleared and the snow had been melting.  There were some beautiful views from the summit and from multiple viewing areas.  I also took a trip up a snow covered dirt road and was able to look down on the ski resort.  On the Pagosa Springs side I stopped at a waterfall named Treasure Falls.  Pagosa Springs is famous for its hot mineral springs.  I passed on those.  It is a big tourist town and there were many people shopping and on their way to view the scenery.  At the Visitor's Center they directed me to some nice scenic drives.  I decided on the East Fork Road that took me 8 miles on an unpaved, very rough road, for high clearance vehicles only. (Jeanne was really glad she didn't go)  I had to continually dodge big rocks, potholes and rocks that had come down off the mountain.  I also had to ford a few streams.  I am glad the Jeep has four wheel drive.  I parked the car and hiked to the base of Silver Falls which was listed as 1/8 mile trail, but it seemed much longer especially because of its steep ascent.  It was worth the effort and I got some nice pictures, but was winded by the time I got back to the car.  Hope you enjoy the slide show.

THE GREAT SAND DUNES

Sunday after church we took a day trip to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. 

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No we are not at the ocean.  We are in Colorado near the Sangre de Cristos mountain range.  We were blessed as we made it to the National Park before the government shut down.  It is very deceiving how close the Sand Dunes appear as we could see them at least 40 miles away.  The dunes are such a contrast from the surrounding landscape. 

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These huge dunes (North America's tallest) are about 11 percent of a 330 square mile deposit of sand. (Information from the brochure).  It seems like you

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drive and drive and drive before you get to the park.  Then you drive a ways until you get to the Visitor's Center where they provide a film about seasonal cycles and how it affects the flora and wildlife.  Next comes a drive to a parking lot at the edge of the dunes where you have to walk a distance to the Medano Creek that runs along side the dune area. 

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There is no bridge crossing the creek.  Today it was puddle jumping.  Apparently in the spring the creek is much higher, but still crossable.  We happen to choose a day that was not too hot and very little wind which made a very pleasant day.  Hopefully, the pictures will give you some concept of the distance to arrive just at the first hill.  

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The small dots are people who made it much farther that us.  One couple looked like they were going to make it to the top.  I used my walking sticks which really made a difference.  We made it to the top of the first hill and watched youngster slide down the sand dunes using cardboard and many other devices.  They were having fun!! 

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This is a view of snow capped mountains we saw on our trip that day.

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TRIP TO LEADVILLE, COLORADO

Leadville was a mining camp which later became a town.  It is know, particularly, for the Tabor family who struck it rich and built many of the buildings during the "boom".   He was a very influential person of the area, but he was know for his trophy wife, Baby Doe.  His fortune disappeared due to free silver devaluation and poor business investments.  His dying wish was for Baby Doe to hold onto the "Matchless Mine" where she lived in a shack and died penniless and frozen.  There are countless mines in the area and are tourist attractions.  There is one mine that has reopened recently.  The countryside was very beautiful with the aspens turning color and the distance mountains showed early snow on their peaks.

Many of the buildings in Leadville were constructed in the late 1880's during the mining boom years.  The Tabor Opera House was the grandest theater between St. Louis and San Francisco.  Next door was the "Hyman's Place" which was a saloon where Doc Holliday worked as a gambler and bartender.  He was known as a gun fighter.

ASPEN AND MAROON BELLS

On Tuesday we decided to do a trip to Aspen to see the fall colors.  It was projected to be the warmest day of the week with no rain and Independence Pass was open after the snow that we had Sunday night. 

The trip up to the pass was very interesting with beautiful views and cool temperatures.  There was still plenty of snow on top of the mountains. 

We drove through Aspen on our way to Maroon Bells which is a national forest area with peaks at over 14,100 feet.  They remind me of the Tetons.  Cost to get in is $10 per car.  Cost to us 0 as we have an America the Beautiful Senior Pass.  The pass costs $10, but it has saved us so much money.  Although it was not peak season, the aspens were in full color in many sections.  Hope you enjoy the slide show.

DRIVE ALONG THE ARKANSAS RIVER

US Hwy 24 passes through Buena Vista on its way to Leadville running parallel to the Arkansas River at times.  On the other side of the Arkansas River runs a dirt road on the old train route.  As we traveled down this route we drove through 4 consecutive tunnels that still bear the smoke stains from the old steam engines.  This river is very popular in the summer time for water sports such rafting, canoeing and kayaking and there are many outfitters in the area.  After Labor Day the rafting business dies off, but there are still hardy kayakers that thread the rapids.  Another popular outdoor sport is rock climbing.  We had the opportunity to watch a man scaling a rock wall.  He looked like an ant crawling up the huge boulder.  A famous landmark along this road is called "Elephant Rock".  You can see the resemblance.  Many of the trees along the river were showing their fall colors. On Saturday we drove about 25 miles to Salida to visit Wal-Mart as it started raining. It was a very cool day with no sun peeking out. On our way back home we saw this in the distance.

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By the time we had arrived in Buena Vista we could not see the mountains because of the clouds and storms. The next morning we woke up to this. What a beautiful sight.

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ASPEN RIDGE

We wanted to see the scenery of the area and the aspens as they start to change color.  Jeanne spotted an interesting dirt road on our way in to Buena Vista.  Later we learned that this was a good area to investigate.  We are glad we have four wheel drive and high clearance or we would not have been able to take this trip.  The road took us to Aspen Ridge.  Words and pictures can not convey the vastness nor the beauty that we experienced.  Wish you could have been here with us.  Most of the trees had not turned their autumn color yet.  We saw an animal from a distance that was either a fox or coyote.  This area is open range and we found ourselves driving through a herd of cattle.  We did see a few people camping.  We discussed pulling the Jeep over and spending the night, but the night time temperature would have been in the upper 30's and we weren't prepared so we opted out.  Boy! that would have been fun.  From the mountain ridge we were able to view the mountain range on the other side of the valley.  

GHOST TOWN

Our first outing while in Buena Vista was to visit St. Elmo, Co.  It is a ghost town and way up in the mountains at over 9,000 feet,  By the way, we did not see any ghosts.  St. Elmo is an old mining town.  In 1880 it was named Forest City, but the post office would not let them keep that name as there was a Forest City in California.  The name was changed to St. Elmo.  As the mining industry there dried up so did the town.  People are in the process of rebuilding the town as it was back in the booming days.  There are quite a few modern houses that have been built just across the Chalk Creek.  The town is coming alive again with the general store renting ATV's and rooms to rent at the hotel. 

This is the Chalk Mountains probably named because they look like chalk.

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If you take in account the whole population of aspen trees in the area, very few are changing to their fall colors.  The locals are saying they won't be as pretty this year due to more than usual amounts of rain.  We hope they are wrong.  Driving up the road we did see some trees that were changing to their autumn clothes though. 

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One of the big attractions is the feeding of the chipmunks.  I could never get an accurate count as they were scurrying around so fast.  You can bring your own seeds or buy some at the General Store.  The little munks will climb all over the visitors.  While I was taking pictures, I had one crawl up my leg.  I heard a man say "you have a big chipmunk behind you"  To my surprise it was a huge dog and very friendly.  He was keeping an eye on the little rodents.

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This wagon was for sale.  It was an idea, but we are already 50 feet towing the Jeep.

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Here are some of the buildings in the town along with some beautiful scenery.

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Allan found another buddy.  It was a butterfly.  The butterfly was insistent on staying on his hand or his back.  We thought we would have to take him home.  Katie would have a buddy.

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We walked across the Chalk Creek by way of a bridge to see the school house.

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This is a flash flood area where water from higher levels cross the road.  There was a sign that warned people not to cross during heavy rains.

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Several miles down the road is a Hot Springs Resort that seems very popular.  They have a hotel, cabins, several pools, event facilities and of course hot springs. 

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Four wheeling is one of the most popular activities in this area.  There are miles and miles of trails for ATV's and Jeeps.

TRAVELING TO BUENA VISTA

We had a beautiful day with wonderful views on our travels to Buena Vista, Co.  We would like to share these with you.  After we drove over Trout Creek Pass we dropped down into a valley that gave us a view for miles.

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Here is the local prison as we are entering the valley.

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Much to our surprise, we could see the early change of color in the much higher elevations.

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This is a view of Mt. Princeton RV Park looking to the rear. Behind the cabins is the Arkansas River.

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We are not sure how long we will stay here but there are so many places to see, we will definitely be busy while we are here.

GARDEN OF THE GODS

On our last day in Woodland Park we visited Garden of the Gods.  This is one of our favorite places apparently, because we visit this park every time we come to the area.  One day I would like to ride horses here.  That will be put in the bucket list.  On this visit we stopped in at the visitor center which was a first for us.  Besides horse back riding, there are trails to hike, side walks to walk through a portion of the park, a gift shop, wildlife to see and, of course, the amazing rock formations.

FLOODING IN COLORADO

Saturday, September 7th we left the Fort Morgan project with me driving to Denver for an oil change for the motor home.  We then proceeded through Colorado Springs and up the mountain road past Pikes Peak to the town of Woodland Park and pulled into our new home for a few days at the Diamond RV Park.  We have stayed at this RV park several times and have enjoyed it.  The weather is usually cooler.  The elevation is about 8500 feet.  I forgot to deflate the Sleep Number mattress and it was full as a tick.  We had some nice walks in the park watching deer.  The bear has not returned this year and since we are parked near the front across from the club house we have not seen the fox this year.  At the pot luck, one gentleman told us he had seen a bull moose a week before in the field next to the park.  The pitter patter of rain drops on the roof lulled us to sleep and we slept in for several mornings, late for us. (We are not early risers usually)  Between the rain and the cooler weather, it has been a welcome relief for Allan after having to work on the roof of the church in 95-100 degree weather.

One day we drove the road to the Rampart Reservoir which was dirt/gravel most of the way.  There were a few spots where we could look down on the town of Woodland Park.  I never knew there was a road up there.  The road was closed to the reservoir, but we were able to see the burned area from the Waldo Canyon Fire.  We were told the fire got within four miles of the town and evacuation preparations were being made, but the fire was contained short of the town.  Unfortunately we forget to bring our camera.

 We made the right decision to come to Woodland Park at this time because of the deluge and flooding of the front range from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins.  It seems like everywhere we have traveled along the front range there is now devastation from the flooding.  If you recall our post about our trip to Rocky Mountain National Park where we had pictures of bighorn sheep in the canyon. This is called Big Thompson River Canyon.  There was a terrible flood in 1976 where 145 people were killed here.  It has experienced another flood this week.  People are being evacuated by helicopter because roads and bridges have been washed away.  You have probably seen pictures on the news.  Even the town of Fort Morgan where we last worked has flooding and evacuation in some areas.  The church is on higher ground and has not been affected.

One day last week Hwy 24 between Woodland Park and Colorado Springs was closed due to flooding and mud slides.  This is not the first time it happened this year.  The Waldo Canyon fire of 2012 has left the mountain sides with little vegetation to hold back the rain and mud.  The next day they had two of the four lanes open and we drove down as far as Manitou Springs.  They were working on the other two lanes trying to divert the water and mud.

Today we drove to Colorado Springs to do some shopping.  The sun came out at times, but we still have thunder storm warnings.  We drove into the town of Manitou Springs today.  Two of the three exits are closed.  One road is totally washed out in areas.  They were still busy cleaning up the mud and debris.

Saturday, Allan went to the "Cruise Above the Clouds Car Show" in Woodland Park which is know as the town  above the clouds.

I just had to add a picture of Katie sun bathing and wanting a tummy rub.

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We were introduced to "goat heads" while working at Fort Morgan.  I kept wondering why they were called by this name until I took a much closer look.  They do look like goat heads and cause great discomfort if they get in your shoes. 

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Thursday is predicted to be a sunny day which is good as we plan to leave for Buena Vista then. 

NEBRASKA TRIP AND SIGHTS AT FORT MORGAN

On one of our off days Allan and I drove to Nebraska. You ask why Nebraska? Allan's dad was born and raised on a farm near Dalton, Ne. The farm is no longer in our family, but Allan wanted to just drive by and see how the old house was doing. This is the house where Allan's dad was born and lived until he left for college.

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The room on the far right on ground level was the birthing room. Looks like a large house, but they did have 6 boys to raise. This looks like an old barn but still standing. This was not on the Webster farm.

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Another pretty sunset from Fort Morgan, taken just outside our RV.

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We now have four MAPS RV's. One MH is behind ours and just to the left.

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The following pictures were taken a day before we left the project.

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This is the shop and where "Earl", the cat, lives.

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This is the house on the property. The portion on the right is where the church office is located.

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They have built a Memorial Garden in front of the house. This is a portion of a tree trunk that was washed down from the Big Thompson Canyon flood of 1976. This flood destroyed many homes and well over 100 people were killed. The road going to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park is in this canyon.

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The guys are busy at work.

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They have been on the roof in 95 to 100 degree temperatures. Hopefully, the temps will start heading down some as we are in September. Plentiful water and Gatorade have been downed by all. This is Rod who is the caretaker of the property which consists of about 85 acres. He is a hard worker and his job is not 9-5. This is Earl's master.

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The Fort Morgan Library also has a museum. Artis and I visited the museum one afternoon and even got a personal tour of the wing that was under construction. Aren't we special. I had to get a picture of the soda fountain. I have lots of memories of what goes on behind the fountain.

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Glenn Miller attended high school here in Fort Morgan so they have a portion of the museum set aside in memory of him.

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This engine was sitting out in front of the old Fort Morgan Power Plant.

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If you have followed our blog for some time, you may have noticed I take pictures of road signs. Although in this picture you can not read the sign, it is warning of possible strong, high winds. Note the wind sock.

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I am almost caught up on our blog. Stay tuned for further adventures of the Dream Reachers.