Bidding a reluctant farewell to Custer and the Rocket Motel,we head south thru yet more beautiful South Dakota countryside to Hot Springs,a wonderfully funky old town.Back in the mid-70's,a developer was preparing a site for homes.The bulldozer came up with bone fragments which proved to be from mammoths.Work was stopped and the city bought the land from the developer for what he paid.The excavation continyes today and is the only in situ site of it's kind.Only about 24 feet have been exposed and there is 65 feet left to excavate.Stunning.
Next up ,Nebraska.An error was made in map reading but the real error was going to Nebraska at all. We wanted to see the fossils but the road didn't veer off like it looked on the map. Leaving as soon as possible,we hit Wyoming and we were back in heaven.Thru Cheyenne and on to Colorado.Beautiful day with snow-capped Rockies to the west,rolling golden hills with antelope grazing to the east.Into Ft Collins and the wonderful Mulberry Inn. We unpacked and went into town to do laundry! Much needed! Had a great lunch and back to the motel. Sammy watched his first football game! Gators vs. Auburn. Great game except the Gators lost...When checking in,the desk clerk asked"What kind of room would you like?"Being in an exuberant frame of mind,i replied"first floor,2 queen-sized bed,pet friendly and a hot-tub."She didn't even blink-"Smoking or non-smoking?"says she.A real change from a fleabag in Nebraska.
Daughter molly was working in denver till late so we were on our own. Sunday Molly and room mateMichael took us to breakfast at a New Orleans style eatery that served GRITS,the first since Arkansas.We moved in with Molly and passed a most wonderful few days. Molly works a lot but loves her job with a regional publishing company.She tookus to Mishawaka,a roadhouse on the Cache de Poudre River up the canyon.Breathtaking beauty.Molly made us dinner and next day it's off to Estes Park a charming little town in the mountains next to Rocky Mountain Park.Couple more days soaking up Ft Collins culture and laughing with Molly and we bid sad farewell to the baby of our four,just don't get to see her often enough.
Made it as far as Royal Gorge and fell down for the night.Up early and off to see Royal Gorge,a very impressive piece of engineering and spectacular-still the highest Suspension bridge in the world at a little over 1,000 feet.And the floor of the bridge is freakin planks!!!we of course drove over it and back in Flossie since the exit from the park on the far(south)side was closed for the season.Lots of the park facilities and services shut down around mid-late Sept at all the parks this far north.Take heed,Louie.
On to Santa Fe which seemed a short hop on the map of the whole country which was the only one we looked at.Duh!Realizing our error,an intense discussion ensued revolving around stopping for the night or pressing on to Casa de Bart&Shelley.The discussion ended with our pressing on and not speaking.This mode transitioned into darkness,rain,steep hills ,one working windshield wiper (passenger's)on a 75mph freeway in a strange countryside.Lotta second gear,cursing,smoking Pall Malls,writing a short story in my head about a guy who knew he was gonna be a traffic statistic and his coping mechanisms and Perky asking me where is my sense of humor"This is an adventure"We arrived alive at the casa thanks to cell phones.And there we still are while Flossie gets some R&R and preventive maintenance.More on Santa Fe and the Casa later.
Next up ,Nebraska.An error was made in map reading but the real error was going to Nebraska at all. We wanted to see the fossils but the road didn't veer off like it looked on the map. Leaving as soon as possible,we hit Wyoming and we were back in heaven.Thru Cheyenne and on to Colorado.Beautiful day with snow-capped Rockies to the west,rolling golden hills with antelope grazing to the east.Into Ft Collins and the wonderful Mulberry Inn. We unpacked and went into town to do laundry! Much needed! Had a great lunch and back to the motel. Sammy watched his first football game! Gators vs. Auburn. Great game except the Gators lost...When checking in,the desk clerk asked"What kind of room would you like?"Being in an exuberant frame of mind,i replied"first floor,2 queen-sized bed,pet friendly and a hot-tub."She didn't even blink-"Smoking or non-smoking?"says she.A real change from a fleabag in Nebraska.
Daughter molly was working in denver till late so we were on our own. Sunday Molly and room mateMichael took us to breakfast at a New Orleans style eatery that served GRITS,the first since Arkansas.We moved in with Molly and passed a most wonderful few days. Molly works a lot but loves her job with a regional publishing company.She tookus to Mishawaka,a roadhouse on the Cache de Poudre River up the canyon.Breathtaking beauty.Molly made us dinner and next day it's off to Estes Park a charming little town in the mountains next to Rocky Mountain Park.Couple more days soaking up Ft Collins culture and laughing with Molly and we bid sad farewell to the baby of our four,just don't get to see her often enough.
Made it as far as Royal Gorge and fell down for the night.Up early and off to see Royal Gorge,a very impressive piece of engineering and spectacular-still the highest Suspension bridge in the world at a little over 1,000 feet.And the floor of the bridge is freakin planks!!!we of course drove over it and back in Flossie since the exit from the park on the far(south)side was closed for the season.Lots of the park facilities and services shut down around mid-late Sept at all the parks this far north.Take heed,Louie.
On to Santa Fe which seemed a short hop on the map of the whole country which was the only one we looked at.Duh!Realizing our error,an intense discussion ensued revolving around stopping for the night or pressing on to Casa de Bart&Shelley.The discussion ended with our pressing on and not speaking.This mode transitioned into darkness,rain,steep hills ,one working windshield wiper (passenger's)on a 75mph freeway in a strange countryside.Lotta second gear,cursing,smoking Pall Malls,writing a short story in my head about a guy who knew he was gonna be a traffic statistic and his coping mechanisms and Perky asking me where is my sense of humor"This is an adventure"We arrived alive at the casa thanks to cell phones.And there we still are while Flossie gets some R&R and preventive maintenance.More on Santa Fe and the Casa later.
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