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.