Blogs from Colorado, United States, North America - page 4

Cañon City CO has two claims to fame: it is host to the Most Maximum Security Prison in the US, current residence of the Unabomber, El Chapo Guzman, The Shoebomber, the Boston Marathon bomber, the Oklahoma City bomber, and a bunch of CIA and FBI officials who passed secret info to the Soviets, resulting in the deaths of many US operatives. While I only saw one facility, there are actually 13 prisons in and around town. Probably the safest place in the country to spend the night. The county also boasts the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas river, crossed by a sky bridge. It looked like fun, if a little touristy, but I felt like I had to cover some miles and left it for next time. The road to the Continental Divide follows the valley ... read more

Great Bend KS is named after the curve in a river which now runs dry. Route 50, and the Santa Fe trail, follow the course of the Arkansas River back to the Rockies, in search of the water now made scarce by the drought, and by the many impoundments along the way. The town grew up as a stop on the Santa Fe trail because of the water, the vista, and the buffalo. It was half way from Independence to Santa Fe, and it was comparatively safe from attack. I spent the early morning visiting Pawnee Rock and thinking about buffalo, Indians, wagon trains and water. I had been aware of the mythology, but this real place, with its view across the plains in all directions, seemed to bring it all together. The fracking of the ... read more

Eastbound from Salida, Colorado there is a very nice drive down the Arkansas River. There are a bounch of good pulloffs (on the North side of the highway) that are good free day use areas. East of Coaldale there are some one lane construction sites for adding guardrails, widening the road, and for adding fresh asphalt. Somewhere around the Town of Texas Creek there are many river rafter vendors that have services open to the public. That would be an enjoyable experience riding down the lazy Arkansas River, in a dramatic canyon. There were independant river rafters doing their own rafting also. The BLM (Bureau of Land Management) has a number of good pay day use areas suitable for launching rafts. The BLM has a number of very good pay river camping areas...with a paid entry ... read more

Andrew's parents met us in Montrose this morning to drop off the kids, and they continued on to their home in Montana. We planned a night here so the kids could get a break from long trips on the road. Montrose isn't the nicest town, from what I can see. We're staying at the KOA here, which is very nice, but it's in the middle of a fairly sketchy area. We drove by some empty lots and storage units before our final turn. Usually when we stay at KOAs, we're just outside of town. So, being in town was a bit of a surprise! We're still enjoying our stay, though. Our lodging is spacious, comfortable, and clean. We've spent our time swimming and checking out Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It's very hot and ... read more

June 21 thru June 25 Ft Collins I stayed in a rv park that was a kid resort. They had swimming pools, splash pads, miniature golf, huge playground, bouncy castle, bumper boats and several different styles of bikes to rent. My niece Jess brought her 2 kids, Abby almost 3 and Shea almost 1 to play and the kids had a ball in the pool. We had hikes, and lots of play time over the couple of days that I was there including a softball game that their dad Rob and uncle Joey played in. Fun to see Abby so excited about her loved ones playing on the field. She cheered, jumped up and down and gave her dad a thumbs up for a great catch. I was a little overwhelmed with all the activity and ... read more