Beginning Fall 2019 with a trip to Yellowstone Country

Woodland Park, Colorado to Red Lodge, Montana

Thursday 9-12-19

Colorado:

Woodland Park, Teller County Colorado to Wellington, Larimer County Colorado

We started off with Starbucks coffee at Woodland Park. At Colorado Springs we took I-25 north for a fast and convenient route to Wyoming. Unfortunately, we had heavy I-25 traffic from Castle Rock to Thornton, so we had lots of time, in stop-and-go traffic, to recognize all the landmarks of Denver and the other towns along the Front Range.

After lunch and shopping Cosco at Thornton, we entered farm and ranch country and took a campsite at the Wellington KOA Journey. Wellington is called “Colorado’s Northern Gateway”. The campground was close to a cattle feedlot but the view of the Front Range and Rocky Mountain National Park, in the distance, made it a nice campsite. We enjoyed a cool, clear evening and morning.

Friday 9-13-19

Wellington, Colorado to Casper, Wyoming

The morning drive into Wyoming was scenic with the mountains on the west and the Plains on the east. We passed Cheyenne as we are very familiar with the town and we didn’t need fuel.

North of Cheyenne, we entered the immense high-plains of Wyoming, with rolling hills and endless expanses of now-brown grassland, interspersed with a few of those green, pivot-irrigated, round agricultural fields. (Mostly alfalfa)

We Googled things along the way and found a few interesting facts:

·       We saw Pronghorns, which are native and are not antelopes.

·       Prairie Dog towns are prevalent and way too many to count.

·       Chugwater, on Chugwater Creek, is the site of a “Buffalo Jump” clearly visible along I-25.

Wheatland was our lunch and fuel stop. The Wheatland Irrigation District is still the largest privately-owned irrigation system in the country. Agriculture is king but oil, gas, and railroading are the largest employers.

Douglas, Wyoming served as a supply point, warehousing and retail, for surrounding cattle ranches, as well as servicing railway crews, cowboys and the troops of the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Fetterman. Douglas was the home of a World War II internment camp. 1867 Fort Fetterman was established to protect pioneers and commerce on the Bozeman Trail.

Casper, our first time to actually stop off, is a beautiful town on the North Platte River. Casper was settled on the banks of the North Platte River in 1880. As the point of convergence for all major westward trails (the Oregon California, Mormon, Bridger, Bozeman, and Pony Express), the community developed as a crossroads to the west.

Our campsite was Casper East RV Park, their web: “Casper East RV Park and Campground is located on the East side of Casper close to the state’s largest mall. Also close by are Sam’s Club, Super Wal-Mart, Albertson’s, and Safeway. We are a family-owned, Good Sam Park and open year-round. Casper is a place to explore in more depth, with lots of history and natural attractions.”  

Saturday, 9-14-19

Following a good night in Casper, we took US 20 to Thermopolis and a campsite at Eagle RV Park, on the Bighorn River, on the south side of Thermopolis. This route took us across Natrona, Fremont, and Hot Springs counties, all huge counties.

Along the way, we saw numerous herds of Pronghorn and for the first time ever, we saw Pronghorns foraging and lolling in the towns. We suspect that the biannual migration has begun. Each spring and fall, multitudes of pronghorns migrate 170 miles to and from their important summer range in Grand Teton National Park. For over 6,800 years, members of this indigenous herd travel back to the Pinedale region, a place rich in water and hardy forage that fosters the largest gathering of pronghorn on earth.

Along the vast Wyoming plains a few remote old towns appear but not much services available:

Mills- Mills was originally a boomtown that sprang up in 1919 following construction of the Midwest Refining Company, located across the North Platte River. The Mills Construction Company bought the entire section for the purpose of mining gravel with which to construct roads and tank revetments. Company employees purchased lots and built makeshift houses. The town was mostly comprised of tarpaper shacks, with one block of permanent houses, a hotel, and an amusement park. Mills has been “boom and bust” but now it’s booming again with the initiation of the new propane gas processing and transportation business.

Powder River- Site of “Hell's Half Acre” a geologic oddity - a craggy horseshoe-shaped gorge, actually about 320 acres, with jagged rock spires, naturally sculpted into nightmarish chaos by an ancient offshoot of the Powder River. You can see it from the highway!

Waltman- Some large, remote ranches and some large oil and gas fields.

Hiland- Was formerly the high-point on a railroad, now it consists of only a bar in the middle-of-nowhere.

Moneta- Located close to the geographic center of the state it has no attractions other that an abandoned, desolate place in the Wyoming high-plains.

Sand Creek- A very obvious sandy creek-bed where Col. John Chivington led the attack that "surprised and murdered, in cold blood, the unsuspecting men, women and children of Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes, who had every reason to believe they were under the protection of the United States authorities," investigators concluded. Sand Creek Massacre.

Shoshoni- Established as a railroad and mining town, named for the Shoshone tribe of Native Americans, most of whom live on the nearby Wind River Indian Reservation. This was our lunch-stop and walk-around/look-around. Hard to believe a 2004 mushroom processing plant started-up here but failed due to illegal workers.

Wind River- The Wind River takes its rise near SE Yellowstone Park and officially becomes the Bighorn River at the Wedding of the Waters, on the north side of the Wind River Canyon. The canyon is a deep gorge, exposing millions of years of geology. A stunning drive along the river in the bottom on the gorge! Exiting the canyon on the north end enters Thermopolis.

Reservation- The west side of the canyon borders with the Wind River Indian Reservation.

At Thermopolis, on the Bighorn River, we explored the town and toured the Hot Springs State Park. The springs are open to the public for free as part of an 1896 treaty signed with the Shoshone and Arapaho Indian tribes. The park grounds are beautiful green lawns and landscaping, shaded by huge Cottonwood trees. It’s home to numerous natural hot springs, in which mineral-laden waters are heated by geothermal processes. You can take a contradictory dip in the nearby, cold, clear Bighorn River. The park has massive travertine terraces and cones, formed over the centuries by cascading hot mineral water. It’s like a “little Yellowstone”! Take a soak as “hot as you like”!

We ended our day with College football and a nice dinner at the campground. A peaceful close to a very diverse and scenic day in Wyoming.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

From Thermopolis, we took WY 120 to Cody and Montana 72-MT 308 to Red Lodge and took a one-week site at Red Lodge KOA Journey, on Rock Creek.

Meeteese is the only town on the route to Cody. Tiny Belfry is the only town between Cody and Red Lodge.

At Meeteese, on the Greybull River, it was a popular meeting place of Native Americans. The town retains much of its original character with wooden boardwalks, wooden watering troughs, hitching rails and many historic buildings from the turn of the century. It’s an authentic “Western town” with three bars!

The Greybull River is a cold, clear tributary of the Bighorn River, and is a premier fishing stream, especially for the Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Native Americans named it for a white buffalo in the area, a powerful omen that made it a sacred place to them.

The Meeteese area also has a colony of Black-footed Ferrets, previously thought to be extinct. The Wyoming Department of Wildlife is taking measures to protect and propagate the cute little critters.

Just north of Meeteese, we saw a spectacular Golden Eagle, feeding on road-kill. We were up-close and personal and clearly observed the majestic bird. With a dark brown body, and lighter golden-brown plumage around the neck, the sun reflected a picture-perfect image. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the picture!

At Cody, we replaced a tail-light bulb on our rig and had lunch. Cody is a favorite town, with nice parks, attractions, and amenities. Cody, Wyoming was founded in 1896 by the living legend, Colonel William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, who at the age of 41 was one of the most famous men in the world. “Buffalo Bill” is still bringing in the crowds! We drove around town, however, it was sunny and hot, so we continued north.

Heading on up to Montana, we followed the Clark Fork of the Yellowstone River, a beautiful valley, with the Beartooth Range on the west. The river begins in the Beartooth Range, by Yellowstone Park, then makes a horseshoe arc from Montana, into Wyoming, then back into Montana, flowing into the Yellowstone River, just above the confluence of the Bighorn. Hemmed in by 1,200-foot high sheer granite walls, the canyon section of the Beartooth Mountains is accessible only by expert climbers and kayakers. Today was another picturesque ride, from Wyoming to Montana!

Monday, September 16, 2019

We started talking about scary drives we have made so I decided to make a list of the ones that I remember.

Highest and scariest western mountain roads that we have traveled:

Mount Evans Scenic Byway Colorado

Pikes Peak Highway Colorado

Trail Ridge Road Colorado

Red Mountain Pass US 550 Colorado

Hogback Road Canyon City Colorado

Emerald Bay Overlook Lake Tahoe, California

Crater Lake Rim-road Oregon

Hogback on UT 12 Escalante, UT

Sherman Pass WA 20 Republic, WA

Hurricane Ridge Olympic NP WA

Going to the Sun-Logan Pass Montana

Beartooth Highway Montana

Cloudcroft, New Mexico

Gila, New Mexico

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Exploring and shopping at Red Lodge, we spent a cool, cloudy morning just doing our list of errands. At the Visitor Center, we got some good information and materials. The VC has an outside collection of artifacts and “Liver Eating” Johnston's cabin.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Yesterday, we drove the Beartooth “Top of the World” Highway from Red Lodge, Montana over to Cooke City and NE Yellowstone National Park. It was a clear, cool, cloudless day, with blue skies and excellent visibility. We stood on one mountain range and looked at a completely different, distant mountain range. Standing on the glacial-carved Beartooth Range we could clearly see the volcanic Absaroka Range.

With high switchbacks, shear precipices, and millions of years of exposed geology, it is a startling, fascinating, and extraordinary adventure. It was another good day in Yellowstone Country!

On our return, we took a side trip on the Chief Joseph Highway to the Clark Fork of the Yellowstone River which has carved a spectacular 1200-foot gorge between the granite Beartooth Plateau and the volcanic Absaroka Mountains. The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway is in the U.S. state of Wyoming and follows the route taken by Chief Joseph as he led the Nez Perce Indians out of Yellowstone National Park and into Montana in 1877, during their attempt to flee the U.S. Cavalry and escape into Canada. The plan didn’t work very well but they saw some beautiful country!

Sunday, September 22, 2019

After a cold, rainy Saturday in Red Lodge, we awoke to a cool, sunny Sunday morning. Our Saturday was a day of College Football, reading, and doing research. After Sunday breakfast, we hooked-up, hit the coffee shop, and headed south, back to Cody, Wyoming. We drove around town, had lunch and resupplied at Cody, then headed up the Shoshone Canyon to Wapiti, for a campsite at the Green Creek Inn and RV Park, at the south-side foot of the of the Absaroka Mountains. The RV Park is a neat, clean spot with nice trees and excellent views of the mountains and Shoshone River Valley.

The Shoshone River runs through the Absaroka Mountains, and a volcanically active region of fumaroles known as Colter's Hell. This contributed to the river being named on old maps of Wyoming as the Stinking Water River. Just out of Cody, we could see the geothermal features in the deep river canyon. Hydrothermal features spout to life discharging discolored water and Sulphur us gasses, roiling the Shoshone River downstream. I just read a fascinating book on John Colter, the first white man to enter the Yellowstone area, along this route. Also, the Buffalo Bill Dam and reservoir fill the canyon for a long distance.

Wapiti, Wyoming is situated along the North Fork of the Shoshone River in Shoshone National Forest, between Cody and the eastern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. On the south-slope of the Wapiti Valley, we saw the Smith Mansion, hand-built by Francis Lee Smith, from logs salvaged from a forest-fire. It looks more like a five-story mine-structure, possibly because it was never completed, due to the death of Smith, in a fall from the roof.

Wapiti is named for the numerous Elk that winter in the valley; we saw no Elk but it’s too early for them to come down to the valley. It won’t be long though, because new snow from yesterday is shining on the Absaroka Mountains. Yesterday’s snow was down to around 8,500-feet, so winter is coming. We hope that our visit to Yellowstone isn’t cut short by winter weather! Anything can happen in the high Rocky Mountains, this time of year.

Last of summer and Moving into Fall 2019

Thursday, August 22, 2019

We spent the morning in Ridgway and Ouray, for coffee, shopping, bench-warming, crowd-watching, and followed by lunch. It was a good morning and, on the way, back to Ridgway State Park, we stopped off at Cedar Grove Cemetery. It’s an old cemetery and lots of historic figures are interred there, but a thunderstorm and light rain preempted our visit. We decided it was best to return home for a nap!

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Today we returned from a two-day trip to Hinsdale County’s, Lake City (1873). Lake City, on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River, is just across the San Juan Mountains from us but we had to drive 180 miles to get around there. The four-wheel-drive road was not an option for us.

Today, the surface geology of the Lake Fork watershed is dominated by volcanic rocks that are part of the San Juan volcanic field. Between 23 and 34 million years ago, numerous erupting volcanoes threw thousands of feet of andesitic and rhyolitic rocks across the region. ​Even as novices, we could identify the huge masses of tuft, ash, pumice, basalt, and all sorts of rock from the basement of the earth.

Lake City- Prior to written history, the Ute people lived in this area of the San Juan Mountain Range (Shining Mountains), where they hunted and fished in the high mountain valleys, during the summers, and wintered on the western slope. When placer gold was found, hard-rock mining followed and a flourishing town grew up at the confluence of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River and Benson Creek.

Lake Fork of the Gunnison River- The Lake Fork, which is located south of Gunnison along Highway 149 near Lake City, is the least known of the Gunnison River’s major tributaries. The Lake Fork of the Gunnison River, locally called the Silver River, drains the northeastern portion of the spectacular San Juan Mountains and is one of Colorado's most underrated and intriguing rivers, with dizzying canyons and stunning landscapes.

Historic Buildings- Lake City was well laid out with wide, shaded streets, and boasted a number of substantial buildings constructed of frame, brick, and stone. Today, the historic old buildings house shops, restaurants, and various other businesses, but it still looks like 1873. Lake City remains the county seat and sole town in Hinsdale County.

Hinsdale County- Hinsdale County, Colorado, is the most remote area in the United States' lower 48. The high-country county is covered by mountains, including multiple 14 and 13,000 ft. peaks, and contains one of the most roadless areas in the country. The continental divide crosses the county twice, along with the Continental Divide Trail.

Jagged peaks pierce deep blue skies while wildlife teems in rocky canyons and on high valley floors. Crystalline rivers flow from high altitudes while unique geology promises adventure and spurs endless exploration. And continuously, within this wondrous dreamscape, whispers from the past mingle with voices of the present in the cool, rarefied air of remote Hinsdale County and its historic town of Lake City.

Encompassing more than 1,000 square miles of untamed beauty, “ah factors” are a constant in this northeastern corner of Colorado’s mystical San Juan Mountains. From climbers, fishermen, hunters, 4-wheel enthusiasts, and hikers to bikers, horseback riders, birdwatchers, and Old West history buffs, magical moments are spun into heirloom memories passed on and recreated generation after generation. In town, the rustic cabins are occupied by tourists from all around and their OHV’s are seen cruising around town. The area is a popular off-road vehicle region, with hundreds of miles of high-mountain trails to ride, providing great vistas and scary thrills.

Lake San Cristobal- Lake San Cristobal was formed about 700 years ago when the first Slumgullion Earthflow, a natural landslide, created a dam across the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. The earthflow is plainly visible from above and it is still slowly moving.

Slumgullion Pass- At 11,530 feet elevation, we could clearly see five fourteen-thousand- foot mountains in the northeastern San Juan range. It was a clear, cool, breezy day and some of the quacking Aspens were beginning to show gold.

At the foot of the Pass is the Alferd Packer cannibal massacre site. Alferd Packer, "The Colorado Cannibal," and five fellow prospectors tramped into the snowy San Juan Mountains on February 9, 1874, got lost and Packer was the only survivor.

We took a cozy,1940 cabin on the river at the Texan Resort. We enjoyed some nice dining, shopping, hiking and exploring in and around Lake City!

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Labor Day weekend was a very busy time in the park and it was our last weekend of the season to work. It has been a great summer and we have made lots of new friends and experienced lots of new things.

My final notes of the season are on “Observations of Nature and Wildlife” in the park; 

In the park, every day, among abundant nature and wildlife, there’s an infinite observation of change. The trees, birds, animals, insects, vegetation, and seeing bears during the day, all reflect the approaching Fall and Winter. It is a grand opportunity for nature and wildlife observations. One of our main responsibilities is to be the “eyes and ears” of the park. From many hours at the Pa Co Chu Puk gate house, I have observed the season;

The Plum Trees have bloomed, leafed-out, and made fruit

The angle of the sun has run its summer course

My daily bird visitors have nested, hatched, fledged, and many have begun migration

The trees have budded, produced new foliage, and are now turning to Fall colors

The Bears are eating night and day, preparing for winter hibernation

The Elk and Deer have slicked-off, raised young, and the new bucks are now in “velvet”

Numerous wildflowers have come and gone during the season

Day and night have traded hours

The fat little Chipmunks are gathering nuts and storing for winter

The native grasses have gone from green to brown

The summer insects have disappeared

The winter snow-melt and runoff, swirled and swelled the streams now they’re wadable becks

The sounds of kids in the park are hushed with their return to school

The Mountain Lions are garnering the weak and lame

This summer has taught me some new lessons:

These changing seasons teach us to appreciate change in our lives and see it as a natural process. Just as mother nature is not constant, neither are our lives. They're full of twists and turns, highs and lows.

These changing seasons show us how to let go and wait patiently for the next best thing. As fall marks the conclusion of summer, and spring marks the end of winter, there are chapters in your life, laid out on a timeline, that are meant to be enjoyed until they pass on. The loss doesn’t have to be negative, though, for you never know what amazing things are to occur in the next chapter of your life. The best is yet to come back around.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

This morning, we said goodbye to the San Juan Mountains and Ridgeway State Park and headed over to Woodland Park, for a visit with friends, Dave and Diane. We drove north to Montrose and a Starbuck coffee, then east on US 50. At Parlin, we took a new route SE to Saguache, and a campsite at the San Luis Valley RV Park.

The first part of our travel today was over familiar terrain, and the last part was a new landscape for us. This new path was Colorado 114, a scenic drive, from US 50 down to US 285. The route follows up Cochetopa Creek, crossing the Continental Divide at North Pass (10,149’), then down Saguache Creek to Saguache.

Several highlights were especially scenic;

Leaving US 50, we crossed Tomichi Creek, at the confluence with Cochetopa Creek. 71-mile long Tomichi Creek receives the waters of several creeks including Cochetopa Creek, and flows into the Gunnison River at the Town of Gunnison. It’s a picturesque trout fishery and provides lots of agricultural irrigation. The best way to really understand a creek is to wade right in.  It can be very calming to get away from the busy main streets of town and wander through the tall grass and dense Aspen trees to Tomichi Creek. Tomichi Creek is a tributary to the Gunnison River that flows from the Continental Divide and Monarch Pass Area.

Cochetopa Creek- A beautiful trout stream and irrigation source with attractive cattle ranches and green hay fields, with the cold, clear creek meandering through the valley. It takes its rise on San Luis Peak in the La Garita Mountains. It merges with Tomichi Creek near the town of Parlin, Colorado, along Highway 50. The creek flows through the Cochetopa Caldera in the San Juan volcanic field and through Cochetopa Canyon along Colorado State Highway 114.

Cochetopa Valley- With occasional traffic, we slowly drove on the very winding road, we had our windows down, enjoying the cool mountain air and the magnificent scenery. Daisy loved “flying her nose” and the sights, sounds, and smells of the valley. The narrow valley was an active scene, with ranchers, cutting and bailing hay.

Cochetopa Canyon- Rivers have always been a special topography attraction to me but now I’m adding canyons to the list. We enjoyed a picnic lunch, beside the creek, under the Aspens, Pines, and Spruce trees. The road is narrow with many curves, and the steep canyon walls were massive volcanic deposits.

Canyons tell a story- Like pages in a book, the rock layers of canyons tell a story of past environments, ancient animals and dynamic processes of change. But unlike a book that we can read in a short time, this geologic book has to be read from a different point of view. Time is thrown out of balance here, and we need to see the land from a very different perspective. Just like a calendar is divided into months, weeks, days, and so forth, the geologic time scale has its own unique set of time divisions. We’re talking eons, or billions of years. Very impressive stuff!

North Pass- At (10,010’ feet elevation) the pass is below tree-line but has good views of the east and west slope. We were impressed with the contrast of variation in tree species. The west slope is predominately pine and spruce, while the east slope is predominately Aspen and juniper.

Following Saguache Creek down the east slope toward the San Luis Valley, Aspen gives was to Juniper at the lower elevations, then desert Rabbit Brush, Salt Bush, and Artemisia.

We saw a large forest fire in the Rio Grande National Forest, on the east side of the pass. We also saw Pronghorn on the slopes of the east valley.

At the little town of Saguache (1891), we toured around and admired the old buildings and giant Cottonwood trees. The site has lots of history from the Native Americans to the Spaniards, then Anglos. Along the old Spanish Trail, Saguache saw all the pioneers and characters of early American history. It’s an attractive little town invoking visions of yesteryear life.

At the San Luis Valley RV Park, we made chicken pie, outside in the convection oven, while we admired the magnificent Sangre De Cristo Mountains, with the Great Sand Dunes National Park, at their western base. My personal name for the Sangre De Cristos is the “tumultuous ocean mountains”, due to the hundreds of peaks in the range, appearing like a rough seascape.

The Rio Grande Canal is a puzzling observation that requires investigation. Initially, I assumed that it was taking water off the Rio Grande for the San Luis Valley, but it’s vice-versa. Actually, it takes water from mountain drainages in the north San Luis Valley and dumps it into the Rio Grande, to meet Colorado’s growing water demand downstream.

San Luis Valley- the valley is bounded on the east by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and on the west by the San Juan Mountains. The valley has predictable wind patterns, with morning upslopes, as warming air rises up the mountains, and evening downslopes, as the cool air descends down the mountains. We experienced it two days at the north part of the valley. The high valley is 8-thousand square miles of desert, containing huge, rich agricultural fields, resulting from irrigation. Also, the north part of the valley contains enormous grids of those round, ground-water, pivot irrigation plots. 

The name of the Sangre De Cristos may refer to the occasional reddish hues observed during sunrise and sunset, and when alpenglow occurs, especially when the mountains are covered with snow. The Sangre De Cristo Range rises abruptly from the east valley floor and consists of a jumble of 13-14-thousand-foot peaks. This is a special place!

Friday, September 6, 2019

On a clear, cool morning, we decided to make a day-trip visit to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Alamosa. From Villa Grove, we took Co 17 to Moffat and then east to the park.

Our last visit to the Great Sand Dunes National Park was 30 years past but we enjoyed this visit even more. Nestled against the rugged Sangre De Cristo Mountains, the park hosts majestic scenery. The tallest dunes in North America are the centerpiece in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, conifer and aspen forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. The Visitor Center presented an interesting film, exhibits, a nature trail, and scenic overlooks. The park offers many ways to experience the dunes and the mountains, from campgrounds, picnic areas, hikes, trails, wildlife, 4WD adventures, fishing, swimming, wildflowers, and stunning night skies. We had a wonderful visit and were glad that we visited the park.

From the park, we took CO 150 south to Alamosa, on the Rio Grande River. We had lunch at Emma’s, a fine traditional Spanish cuisine. After looking around the old town, we headed north, back to our San Luis Valley RV Park. A huge storm was moving in from the west and the dark clouds looked ominous. The wind increased and a light rain fell but it amounted to very little. Oddly, a storm is southern Colorado can reveal streaking rainfall at a distance but it simply evaporates before it reaches the ground.

Saturday, September 8, 2019

Heading north to Buena Vista, we crossed Poncha Pass (9,010’), from the San Luis Valley, over to the Arkansas Valley. Poncha Pass had spectacular views of the Sangre De Cristo Range to the east and the Sawatch Range to the west.

We shopped at Salida and then headed up the Arkansas River to Buena Vista for lunch at K’s Dairy Delite, the best hamburger in town. We made it a picnic of lunch, under the huge Cottonwood trees, at the nearby park. We always enjoy Buena Vista for its splendid setting, between the Arkansas River and the Collegiate Range.

We took campsite at the Buena Vista KOA, for a relaxing BBQ and college football. Tomorrow, we head to Woodland Park to visit Dave and Diane.

Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019

Amidst a cool, clear, Rocky Mountain morning, we resumed our ride on US 285/US 24 over to Woodland Park and the Bristlecone Lodge RV Park. Our four-day visit with Dave and Diane was loads of fun and we really enjoyed the visit.

From Buena Vista, we crossed Trout Creek Pass into South Park, where we saw Pronghorn and a cattle herd with Buffalo intermingled. We wondered how they get along together. We stopped off at Wilkerson Pass for a walk and overlook of South Park. It was clear and we could see the mountains ranges of SW Colorado. We talked to the Visitor Center hosts, a pleasant couple from Starkville, Mississippi.

At Woodland Park, we had some delightful dinners and adventures with Dave and Diane. On Monday, we drove down to Colorado Springs and visited the Old Courthouse grounds and gardens, followed by lunch at Suggas’s. We spent the afternoon at Fort Carson and the May Insect Museum, a grand collection of insects and an interesting story of the May family.

On Tuesday morning, we visited Manitou Lake, in the Pike National Forest, and walked around the lake, across the boardwalk, and through the Ponderosa Pines. We saw Yellow Warblers, a Golden Eagle, and numerous other birds and wildflowers. It was a pleasant morning and we enjoyed being out with Dave and Diane.

In the afternoon, we drove to Sedalia for a visit to the Cherokee Ranch. We took Colorado 67 north through the Pike National Forest, down West Creek to the South Platte River and then followed down the river to Deckers and Sedalia.

Cherokee Castle and Ranch, a 34-hundred-acre estate, raised Santa Gertrudis cattle, the first distinct breed of beef cattle produced in the United States. We enjoyed the visit to the ranch and the castle was a real showplace, with extensive art, furniture and furnishings collection. The castle, perched on a high mesa, commands an expansive view of the ranch, the Denver skyline, and the distant mountains of the front-range.

Following our visit to the castle, we returned to Sadalia for dinner at, PieZanos Pizza, a popular pizza joint with great food and atmosphere. Finally, we returned to Woodland Park via Colorado Springs. Another great outing with Dave and Diane!