Colorado Pt.2

  This will be my 61'st blog post since starting this adventure almost four years ago. Now we are nearing the half-way mark of visiting the lower 48 states, sitting at 22 now counting Utah where we are currently. Idaho and Wyoming after Utah will get us to 24. We have seen some awesome sites and are looking forward to even better ones coming up.
  Colorado was great and we only traversed the southern portion of the state. While in the Mesa Verde area we took a day trip to Durango to ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. What makes it narrow gauge you ask? The tracks of a standard rail line are 4' 8 1/2" apart while narrow gauge is only 3' apart. Standard gauge is ideal for long distances and flat terrain. Narrow gauge is suited for short hard to reach areas.

                                               

 The route runs north along the Animas River from the Durango Depot terminating in the old mining town of Silverton. The route is about 42 miles and takes three and-a-half hours one way.

We were seated in the first car right behind the conductor's station:

The scenery along the way is something to see. The train was rounding a corner precipitously close to the edge:

If this view looks familiar it is where they filmed the scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when thy leaped from the cliff 

This is a great opportunity to see how a river flows from the source and shows it's raw power:

These shots show the prospective from inside the coach:

The old locomotive stops twice along the route to take on water for the boiler:

The railway was built 1881-1882 as part of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway to bring supplies to the miners in Silverton and of course bring the precious metals and gems back to Durango and Denver. 

The terminus in Silverton:

Silverton is a typical frozen in time mining town, even though the last mine closed in 1992:

The side streets aren't paved and the preferred mode of transportation is the OHV:

Tourists are everywhere and await the next train:

The return trip is fine but the pace of about 10-15 mph is a little tedious. We would have preferred the bus on the return trip but it was not accessible for Doreen. By the time it is over you have spent about eight hours on the train.

I took over 100 photographs and it was difficult to to decide which ones to post for this blog. Everywhere you look is a great photo-op. Little did I know but this was just the beginning because Utah would be more spectacular. 

The Centennial State Pt.1

    Colorado, the Centennial State is where we are now. We are on Mountain Daylight Time. Finally some purple mountain's majesty. Even tough I don't consider myself a flat lander I must admit that growing up in Pittsburgh, the city of inclines, hills and steep roadways pales in comparison to what Colorado has to offer. We departed the Great Plains on July 20 and our first stop was a KOA in La Junta Colorado. La Junta is in southeast Colorado and the terrain is relatively flat

  A nice shady site close to stores and the highway. The highway being US 50. We have not seen an interstate since leaving Oklahoma City several hundred miles ago. That has pros and cons. The pros are some great scenery and the cons, nothing but scenery. You had better make sure you fill the tank when the opportunity comes because you might not see a town for a hundred miles, and even if you do there might not be a place to fuel up. Like here, a virtual ghost town. 

  While in La Junta  we took a day trip to Pueblo. This would be our first chance to see some Rocky High scenery

  After some shopping in Starbuds we ventured to the west side of town to Lake Pueblo State Park:

I was thrilled just to see some terrain change after being in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

  Another side trip, this day to Old Bent's Fort Historic site:

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This was not a military fort but a commercial endeavour to capitalize on the natural resources of the frontier and keep the inhabitants safe

  We left La Junta for Mesa Verde National Park. As we drove west along the old Santa Fe trail we could see peaks rising in front of us on the horizon.

  The elevation is gradual and before you realize it, you are 5,000 feet above sea level and mountain peaks are all around surrounding lush green valleys of grazing cattle. As far as drives go this has to be one of the most beautiful I have seen.

  We arrived at our campground which is across the highway from Mesa Verde National Park

Here is the view from our campsite:

The park entrance is across the overpass about a quarter mile

The drive up the mountain to the archaeological sites is stunning

We took the Mesa Top loop and checked out the Pueblos pithouses and cliff dwellings:

We found the museum and I took a hike to the other side of the canyon

The museum:

I am going to post this in two parts because my Internet connection is painfully slow here. Hopefully I have a faster connection at our next stop in Moab Utah.

  

Oklahoma and Kansas

  We are in the Great Plains where the wind is howling and the mercury hits the century mark every day. As you can see the thermostat is set at 77 degrees but it cannot keep up with the outside temp at 100 and the inside temp is 83.

  We left Texas on July 12 and drove to Oklahoma City. Finally no rain while breaking camp. There was rain each of the last few times and that makes for a miserable experience. Anyway we arrived at Roadrunner RV Park without incident:

Looks like we got the only tree in the park:

Oil wells everywhere:

  This is quite a contrast from our last stop where it was an hour plus drive to Dallas; we are only ten minutes from downtown here. Kind of like our place in Little Rock but this is nicer.

  The first site to see was the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum:

The museum cost $15 but the memorial is free and open 24 hours a day. The reflecting pool is where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building stood until domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh exploded a truck bomb on April 19, 1995 killing 168 people. The two large gates at either end are the Gates of Time representing the times before and after the bomb went off:

A chair stands for each victim and is arranged according to the floor they were on when they died:

Doreen is in the lower right corner. This is the south side of the building. The bomb was placed at the north side of the building. Part of the building's foundation:

This was the view of the south side:

West side with the gate of time in the background:

  The exhibits in the museum chronicle the history of Oklahoma City, the federal building, the event, the investigation, and aftermath of the explosion. 

                            

The license plate from the Ryder truck that held the bomb:

The creep was pulled over in this getaway car for not having a tag. He was well armed:

  There are so many artifacts in the museum that I could dedicate an entire blog to this visit. I remember watching the TV coverage of this tragedy of course but when we are so far away from something like this it doesn't seem real; like it is just another news story. But when you visit museums such as this and the Sixth Floor Museum you can feel the human suffering. The history is palpable. It fills you and those around you with emotion. 

  Now onto some fun stuff. We checked out the Centennial Land Rush Memorial. This depicts the opening of land by the federal government in 1889 for settlers to grab on a first come basis. All one had to do was stake a claim and work the land and it was yours free of charge. 

Huge larger than life size sculptures:

Note the detail of the sculpture. Here the contents of the wagon are falling out and a horse stumbles over a trunk.

This was conveniently located in town and next to the Bass Pro Shop. The temperature was 100 degrees so we popped in to cool off:

As we decided to go get a bite to eat but I couldn't understand why there was so much traffic and signs advertising $30 parking so we got out of town and went back to eat at the trailer. We then found out Garth Brooks was in town for four shows over the weekend. The place was going nuts since he is a hometown guy. 

  Of course we love to find the free attractions to visit and we found one here in OKC. It is the 45th Infantry Museum.

What a great find. The 45'th was only active for WWII and Korea but this museum is packed full of militaria. They house one of the largest small arms collections in the U.S and trace the use of firearms and weapons in general from the revolution to the present day;

Interestingly the museum houses some Nazi and Hitler artifacts such as Hitler's cape:

A personal copy of his own treatise, Mein Kampf:

His bath towels:

His personal standard:

Plus other Nazi artifacts:

  The 45th was in Munich at the time of Germany's surrender and was stationed there post-war. They were a highly decorated unit and saw action from North Africa to Sicily to Anzio and up through the belly of the Reich.

This is a must see for any military history buff such as myself. I was blown away when one of the historians struck up a conversation with me and took me up to see the library of the museum. He also gave me a set of DVD's for free.

  Next it was on the way to Dodge City Kansas and Gunsmoke RV Park:

We are only three miles from Boot Hill:

The old Front Street of the 1870's has been meticulously recreated:

Tourists are waiting for the gunfight:

I found this attraction to be a great bargain. The $12 admission ticket is good for two days and includes the city trolley.

The store fronts are real building housing exhibits related to the actual businesses that flourished during Dodge City's heyday as Queen of the cowtowns from 1872 to about 1884. 

The real Boot Hill:

The remains of thirteen individuals were transferred when an official city cemetery opened in the 1890's

Dodge City has a fascinating history as a haven for cowboys, gamblers, con-men, gunfighters, and law men who were quick to change sides for the right price.

Wyatt Earp was of those men:

The amount of artifacts here is amazing. 

  All in all Dodge City is a quaint town the survives on the past. 

Next stop is Colorado.