Travel from Amarillo to Colorado Springs

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Our journey from Amarillo, TX to Colorado Springs, Co was rather uneventful but we got a good taste of the wide open Spaces found in that area. There were several observations in this area of the USA that were noteworthy. We found that a lot of Ranchers and Farmers have learned how to supplement their income handsomely by installing large windmill farms generating electricity and oil wells supplying the rest of the world with fuel.

We saw a lot of large ranches where you were miles from your nearest neighbor. A concept which is very to most of the USA who live within cities and are within a few feet of neighbors they may not even know. We also saw that the roadside parks catered to horse owners with Corrals for their horses to stretch their legs at the rest areas along the highway complete with a watering trough.

The most interesting view was that of the Capulin Volcano National monument which rises from. the plains to an elevation of 8,182 feet above sea level. It is estimated to be 58,000 to 62,000 years old.

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Photos

Wide Open Spaces of West Texas and New Mexico
If you live in this area of the country you have to know the art of self reliance. You can literally be miles from your closest neighbor.

The Wind Blows Continuously on the Plains
You can use this natural resource to harvest the wind and create electricity. Who would have thought no too many years ago that the only use for a windmill was for pumping needed water oui of ground. Large wind farms are common in this area and really changes the landscape.

Another harvest of Natural resources
Oil and gas wells also are a great source of income for ranchers and farmers who have maintained the mineral rights on their land. They produce while most of the rest of Americans consume their product.

Ranches expand for miles
Towns and cities are very foreign to this part of the country. Small towns and occasionally gas stations pop up where railroads and highways intersect. You need to start looking for fuel when you hit a quarter of a tank or you may be walking.

Roadside Park Corrals
For the rare roadside parks we found that corrals were available for not only people but also horses. After all, when you have traveled for miles in a horse trailer you would lik.e to get out and stretch your legs, also

Capulin Volcano
Much to our surprise and delight we came across a Volcano in NE New Mexico. It has been extinct for tens of thousand of years but thanks to President Woodrow Wilson it was declared a National Monument in 1916