CO, KS, OK - Signing Off!

August 29, 2016

START:      Lamar, Co             TODAY:       415   Miles

END:          Oklahoma City      TOTAL:    4,922   Miles

CAMPGROUND:   Rockwell RV Park

Last night after dark we tried again to experience one more dark sky star gazing.  With no city lights near our campground we were able to see the Milkyway.  The locals must take these skies for granted, but only on a boat 10-miles out would it be dark enough to enjoy such skies.  

The landscape has changed again, with cattle ranches as far as the eye can see. Actually we didn’t even have to look for the farm, we could smell them.   

With bright blue skies, the wheat farms were peaceful and endless. 

Crossing into Kansas it was evident we were in cowboy country—the Old West.  Dodge City is a town of legends; Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and a reputation of the meanest town in the old west.  There were many road-side historical markers that would have been of interest, but we are in travel mode now. 

Unexpectedly, we discovered we were following the original Historic Route 66 through Oklahoma on I40.  We considered stopping in Clinton to visit the Route 66 Museum, but decided to keep on keeping on.  This is Sooners territory  - the locals have high hope for the team and Bobby Stoops this year. 

We have seen many farms on our trip, but the latest was the Wind Farms! Huge wind turbines, constantly turning, taking advantage of the high winds on the plains to generate electricity. 

Bricktown is a hot district in downtown Oklahoma City, but we were too tired after 400 miles of driving to take advantage of its nightlife. 

Tonight we are signing off the blog.  We are in travel mode - headed home.  We will log over 6,000 miles by the time we return home from this month-long trip.   

 Thanks for following along with us as we explored places we have never been, saw new sights and learned new facts about our great United States.  Next year - Pacific Northwest!

Ron and Jean signing off .  .  .  .  over and out!

The Sands of Time

START:      Alamosa, CO          TODAY:             236  Miles

END:          Lamar, CO              TOTAL:          4,507  Miles

CAMPGROUND:  Lamar Sportsman RV & Horse Motel

Feeling a little slow this morning we took our time having eggs and fruit for breakfast.  Then we readied the trailer to get underway.  As we headed East, the mountains surrounded us by 360 degrees.  We soaked in this sight knowing that flat land was ahead of us as we head home. 

We had beautiful vistas even before we entered the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

The film at the Visitor Center outlined the interdependency of wind, water, sand, mountains and wetlands to develop and maintain this unique area.  Many young people were carrying saucers and sand boards prepared for fun on the dunes.

Leaving the park, the land opened into the beautiful San Luis Valley of yellow wild flowers and distant mountains.  Shortly after that we drove through the San Luis Pass with mountains covered by evergreens and birch trees.

Heading East, we followed the Santa Fe Trail which has a rich history.  In the 1800s this was the major supply wagon route through five states; Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico and Oklahoma.  Meaning, of course the supply wagon trains rolled right through native American Indian territory.  Actually in the 1200s there was evidence of goods  being transferred from village to village along the same routes through the ancient tribes.

The western towns were few and far between today.  We pulled into the campground and horse hotel about 4:00 p.m. and plan to pull out early tomorrow headed for Kansas. 

On the Road Again!

START :       Cortez, Utah          TODAY:           234  Miles

END:            Alamosa, CO         TOTAL:        4,271  Miles

CAMPGROUND:     Great Sand Dunes RV

Ron registered for a ranger-led tour of the Cliff Palace dwelling.  I stayed at the trailer, cleaned a little then worked on the slide show of this trip.  Ron came back tired, but stoked from his morning adventure. 

Oddly the photos make these structures look like a clay model.  It is only with people in the photos that you can

understand the scale of the cliff dwellings.


Although it still seems out of place because the people of the 1200s were much shorter. 


 The round Kivas were gathering spaces with ventilation shafts to ground level and access to adjacent Kivas.

 The doorways were small and off the ground, but show remarkable stone work.  In this dwelling the tower building was three stories of living space.  The interior walls were plastered and some of the original floor timbers remain. 

A few samples of wall art are still preserved.

The Pueblo People used ladders within their dwellings, but climbed over the ledge to reach the Mesa above.  The National Parks have provided steps and ladders to traverse the 120 feet. 

A pleasant surprise, as we left the park, was a visit from the local deer—actually I guess we were visiting them. 

We passed through small rural farming towns as we traveled ESE along US 160.  We drove by the sign before it registered that we passed the Continental Divide again in the San Juan Mountains.

 Coming into Alamosa we crossed the Rio Grande River.  Both of us felt it was time to stop for the day so we settled into our campsite, glad to have strong wifi for blogging, and ice for a gin and tonic.

Tomorrow we head North to Great Sand Dunes National Park. 

Sacred Pueblo Ground

August 26, 2016

START  :    Moab, Utah               TODAY:         178  Miles

END:          Cortez, Utah              TOTAL:      4,037

CAMPGROUND:    Mesa Verde National Park

As we left town, the Moab fault line was clearly evident.  We drove along this 1,500 ft rise for 3-4 miles.  The LaSal  Mountain Range was on our East with puffy clouds obscuring it’s peaks.  The landscape along the highway could have been included in the Arches park.  Settling into driving mode with a Stone Barrington audio novel playing, we rolled down the highway. 

After the small town of Monticello, farmlands emerged with no mountains in sight.  Shortly thereafter we crossed the state line into Colorado—another first for us. 

 As we neared Cortez, the San Juan Mountain Range rose up on the horizon.  A pipeline across the road is a rather unusual sight.  By one o’clock we had checked into the campground in Mesa Verde National Park which is perhaps our best camp site yet. 

Unhooking the trailer we set off to explore this ancient and sacred area.  These are the lands of the Ancient Pueblo People.  For the next twenty minutes we traveled on an overhanging cliff road that spiraled upward, passing an elevation sign of 8,376, ft then we passed two bicyclist.  Wh-a-a-a-t? 

We were on top of the mesa looking down at a vast valley.  With all this valley land, we questioned why the ancients became cliff dwellers and evidently that still remains an unanswered question.  The cliff dwellings were discovered in the late 1800’s, and later documented and excavated by archeological teams. 

Built in 1260 AD, Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America.  The ravine   below this cliff edge is a sharp descent.  The inhabitants climbed up and over the ledge to the mesa above to hunt and tend crops of beans, corn and squash.  

The walls are stones shaped with quartzite hammers, the mortar is made of sand, clay and ash mixed with water.  There are 150 rooms; living, storage and common rooms.  There are also 75 open spaces and 21 round Kivas for ceremonial purposes.

There are over 600 documented cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde.  Spruce Tree House is one of the best preserved, but the hiking trail was closed.  With 120 rooms the archeologist estimate a population of 60-90 people.

 

The most impressive feature of Square Tower House dwelling is the four-story tower mortared into the curvature of the cliff.  Original floor timbers have been preserved. 

Based on the extra large rooms and central fire pit it is believed that Fire Temple was used for community-wide ceremonial gatherings.  There is no evidence of habitation. We found it interesting that hand and foot holes can be seen on the side of the ledge. 

What a difficult life these ancient people lived and why did they move from their pit houses on the mesa top to the cliff ledges below? 

Unable to post the blog tonight - no connectivity in the ancient lands.  As soon as it is dark, we are off to a ranger presentation on the night skies.  We are hoping to see the Milky Way, but the clouds seem to be rolling in so perhaps not.  

Spectacular!

START :                Moab, Utah                TODAY:        198  Miles

END:                     Moab, Utah                TOTAL:      3,859  Miles

CAMPGROUND:  Canyonlands RV Park

The rock formations and landscape of Arches National Park were shaped by violent forces over 100-million years, but none of that matters when all you can say is, spectacular!  

Sunrise was pretty special, although the clouds moved in and the lighting was not as intense as would have been nice. 

Windows Arch section provided a great start to our amazing day. 

While standing under the arch, Ron looked up to see these rocks wedged into a crack—we moved on down the line.

The entrance to    Sandstone Arch was a tight squeeze, then the area opened up.  It was   difficult walking in very fine sand that was the color of cinnamon.

Ron named this rock cropping the Easter Island Rocks. 

Our next destination was Devil’s Garden which was a 1 3/4 mile heart-pumping hike. 

By ten o’clock we had logged 9,000 steps and we were done!  Still in awe of Arches, we decided it was time to move on to Canyonlands National Park. 

The Canyonlands is the beginning of the Grand Canyon - it is the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers.  

The rivers are 2,200 feet below the rim. 

The blog does not due our day justice - there are so many photos and too little space!

Back to the camper early in the afternoon, we decided to sample some of the local Moab cuisine.  Tomorrow will be a short drive to Mesa Verde.