Colorado -2017

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Before we headed to Colorado, we stopped in Amarillo, TX for a few days to catch-up on wash and do a little shopping.  My brother, Wayne and his wife, Lois, stopped for a night on their way back from Arizona to Minnesota.  We had a great visit and probably one of the best burgers we have ever had at a burger joint called Blue Sky in Amarillo.  It is on our list of “would like to return to” places to eat.   It was great seeing my brother and Lois.  We don’t get to see them often.

We stopped in Logan, New Mexico at Ute Lake State Park for a seven day stay.  Not much of a park but it was quiet because it was almost empty and we had a view of Ute Lake.  I guess we were just trying to stay in a little warmer weather before we headed north to South Dakota.   We had a nice dinner in the very small town of Logan at a very unusual place called the Annex.  Great food and really unique in the inside.

We finally headed to Colorado and the mountains.  Colorado is one of my favorite states.  We climbed to 6000ft to stay at Trinidad Lake State Park.  Absolutely beautiful park nestled in the pines and valleys with the Santa Fe Trail running through the mountains.   A few miles out of the park was the town of Cokedale, a community of 129 residents.  In the early 1900’s Cokedale was a booming coal town.  The mining of coal started around 1906 but after several explosions that killed many miners it was discovered the coal was to gassy so they built 350 Coke ovens for coking of the coal (smelting).  The demand for coal and coke dwindled after WWII and the mines closed in 1947.  The history in this tiny town was very interesting and the town is still thriving because of its beautiful and peaceful surroundings.  Most of the homes have been renovated and new homes have been built.  There were still mounds of coal on the outskirts of the town.

We made a 5 night stop at Cheyenne Mountain State Park in Colorado Springs at an elevation of 6500ft.  A snow storm was predicted with wind gusts up to 75mph so we opted to stay put on the side of the mountain.  We were tucked into a pretty good sight with a beautiful view of the Cheyenne Mountains so we felt safe.  The winds did come and it was pretty intense for about 12 hours.  At times we worried about blowing over but it was another one of those storms we made it through.  We had a light dusting of snow that melted the next day.  We did end up with an unexpected guest.  One little mouse found its way into Lily’s dog food bag.   I guess it wanted to get out of the storm also.  A mouse trap took care of him.    We figured out where it came in and fixed that problem.  Hopefully that won’t happen again.   Colorado Springs is a spectacular area to explore.  It was a little too cold to do much hiking but we enjoyed the snowcapped mountains just from the truck window.  Twice a day we did a mile walk through the campground up and down hills.  We discovered very early on that it was very difficult to walk up much of a climb because of the elevation.  We would both come back breathless and Joe always had rapid heartbeat.  I guess we are low elevation and flat area hikers.  Could it be a sign of aging or just being out of shape?

We left Colorado with a two night stay in Sidney, Nebraska on our way to Box Elder, South Dakota to get our driver’s license.  We met a very nice couple from CA on their first two month RV adventure to see as many state’s as possible on their way to Florida.  It is always exciting for Joe and I to talk to other RVer’s about their travels.  We love to share our experiences and love to hear about other people’s experience and where they have stayed and what they have seen.  We seem to learn something new about our wonderful country.  We are so blessed in so many ways.

Off to South Dakota –

Stay safe! – Love to our kids, grandkids and friends.  See you soon in Minnesota!