June 7, 2009

The Loneliest Road

We left our surprisingly nice casino RV camp spot about 8:00am and headed west.  We had filled up the night before just before parking so we were good to go.  A word of advice, NEVER leave Ely with less than a full tank of gas.  Both east and west it is a long way to the next services.  If you are headed east on US-50 from the Reno area, fill up in Fallon.  US-50 across Nevada has been called “The Loneliest Road in the Country”.  Life magazine once did an article on it and told its’ readers to be very sure of their survival skills prior to traveling on this road.  The residents of Delta, UT (about 60 miles east of Nevada/Utah border) say they live on the eastern edge of nowhere.  In some ways they are right.  With the exception of Ely which is a decent sized town with many services, there are few people and no services between Delta, UT and Fallon, NV.  Because of this there is not much traffic on the road.  Truckers use the interstates and there just is not much for locals to travel to.  It may be lonely but it is not boring.  The road goes around and over a series of small mountain ranges.  They may be small but they are not short.  We went over several summits higher than Donner Summit.  There are also a lot of them.  We lost count of the number of marked summits but there were at least eight or nine.  The scenery is outstanding.  Mountains and valleys, mountains and valleys.  Long straight stretches of road mixed with curvy parts as you go over passes.  Right now every thing is green although we have done this road in late summer and it still was pretty.  The day was partly cloudy which added shadows to the views.  With a full tank of gas and time to enjoy it I would definitely recommend US-50.

We got to Reno about 3:00pm.  We had thought we would stop in Truckee to spend the night with friends.  But, home was less than 100 miles away and we had lots of day left.  We pulled up in front of our house before 5:00pm.  I do not know yet how many miles we traveled in our eight plus weeks but I do know that the stretch of road between the California/Nevada state line and Colfax is far and away the worst we were ever on.  Parts of it are being refurbished but I doubt it will ever be as good as some of the roads we traveled which also have heavy traffic and extreme weather.

We have several things to do while we are home but not much of note so blogs will be somewhat sporadic over the next few weeks.  We will work on pictures and add a few to previous blogs so you might want to review them from time to time if anyone cares.

June 6, 2009

Long Drive

There is not much in the way of destination stops along I-70/US-50 across Utah so it is just go and go and go some more.  I will say though that this section of I-70 and the small portion of US-50 that branches to I-15 is some of the most picturesque road you will ever find.  There are no destinations along the way but there are constant views that change as you move west and change elevations.  And not one single billboard.  The southern freeways are so cluttered you can hardly see the landscape.

We made it all the way across Utah and stopped at Great Basin National Park just inside Nevada.It was cold and windy and just starting to rain so we just did the visitors center and decided to move on to Ely for the night rather than stay in a NP campground.  An hour later we were settled in a casino RV park sipping our complimentary margaritas.

June 5, 2009

Colorado National Monument

Short travel day.  A little over two hours.  In Grand Junction we parked the carbus and did some sight seeing.  First was a hike around Dinosaur Hill.  A large nearly intact dinosaur was unearthed here nearly 100 years ago.  It has been on display in Chicago almost that long.

Local resident on Dinosaur Hill

Most of the afternoon was devoted to touring through Colorado National Monument.  Rim drive with vistas of stunning red rock canyons and eroded formations.

Picture of picture taken on a better day from a better vantage point

 

Overcast day made it difficult to get good pictures.  Don’t know what Sue is pointing out.

See the window rock in picture on the left?  Picture on the right is same rock from a little different vantage point.

After the drive we found a post office and mailed a modified shirt to Sue’s friend Portia.

Last thing of day was a wine tasting.  This area has lots of wineries including one that specializes in Meads and fruit wines.  So you all will be a bit more educated, Mead wines are made from honey not grapes.  They can be blended with juices from fruits or berries for different flavors.  In addition to lots of grapes the Grand Junction valley also grows fruits, especially peaches which we were too early for obviously.

June 4, 2009

Continental Divide (again), John Denver Sanctuary, Maroon Bells

We left about 8:15 and headed north – and up.  You know you are going up if the river next to the road is flowing downhill and it is going the opposite direction you are.  The climb was pretty gentle but it was relentless.  Eventually we went through Leadville, CO.  Welcome sign said elev. 10200’.  Decent sized town and gas was cheaper than Pueblo which is a huge city on two major highways.  Leadville is right about tree line.  Don’t know why people live there.  Our climb was not over.  Several miles north of Leadville we crossed the Continental Divide at Tennessee Pass.  10424’ above sea level.  There is a monument there to the Tenth Mountain Division which trained there and was very influential in many conflicts in the Alps in WWII.

 

From there we headed down, and down, and down.  Road not bad but more twisty and steeper.  Glad we came the way we did.  We joined I-70 in about 20 miles and kept going down for another 30 miles.  Part of that went through Glenwood Canyon.  Amazing feat of roadway engineering  and very scenic. At Glenwood Springs we headed southeast and started climbing again slowly.  We parked the carbus at a campground in Basalt and drove 20 more miles to Aspen.  Basically an upscale resort town.  I would guess that most of the people who work there live elsewhere.  The major road to town has a carpool lane that is active in the morning for traffic into Aspen and active in the afternoon for traffic leaving Aspen.

Our goal in Aspen was to visit the John Denver Sanctuary.  We located it without too much trouble, took pictures and contemplated for a short while and then headed out of town.

Sue read about a scenic area called The Maroon Bells.  Not far out of Aspen so we headed that way.  It has been called the most photographed area in Colorado and that probably is true.  We got there on a bit of an off day (breezy, scattered clouds) and it still was outstanding.  We hiked, took lots of pictures, and then headed back to carbus to rest, edit, and compose.

June 3, 2009

Gooseberry Patch

Long drive through western Kansas and eastern Colorado.  In Pueblo we went to Sam’s and got gas and a few groceries.  Then west to Penrose, CO. home of an excellent restaurant called The Gooseberry Patch.  We happen to have a small connection to the spot – the proprietors are our daughter-in-laws’ parents – but even without the bias this is a great place to eat.  People actually frame their trips and vacations around stopping here for a meal.  If you are in south central Colorado make an effort to go through Penrose and stop at the Gooseberry Patch.  You won’t be disappointed.  There is also a geocache in the front yard.  What could be better?  Good food, nice conversation, and a cache.  We have a connection to the cache too.  Our son, Ken, placed it.  Had to find it :).  We did.  Pretty clever though.

From Penrose we headed west on a very scenic highway to Buena Vista, CO.  We are parked in a campground with an outstanding view of the Rocky Mountains.

June 2, 2009

Travel and Nostalgia

We left the lovely Iola Elks lake after 8:00 and headed east.  Only real goal for the day other than travel was Wichita, the place we spent the first four years of our marriage.  We got there in late morning and quickly located our first home.  We lived in a basement apartment under a house in a quiet older neighborhood.  It is all still there.  Same quiet neighborhood, same house unchanged except for some landscaping.  We parked the carbus and took a few pictures and then did a bit of reminiscing. 

Front of house.  Appears to be occupied by family with small kids.

 

This is back of house.  Entrance to our basement apartment was around corner just to right of small window in center of picture.

Pink spot is window in door to basement.

Ground level windows were what we had for light.   As you can see we were pretty much under ground.  During tornado warnings our landlords would visit :).

 

 

When we lived there, there was a Dairy Queen four and a half blocks away.  When Sue was pregnant with Ken, several times a week we would walk by the DQ as part of the exercise thing.  We would each get a small cone to eat on our way home.  It has been over 40 years but the little Dairy Queen is still there.  We walked the few blocks, took some pictures, and each got a cone to eat as we walked back.

The older parts of Wichita are pretty much the same but the city has grown a great deal and is very busy.  There used to be one cross town highway and some county roads leading north and south.  Now there are three or four freeways and several expressways crisscrossing the city.  We found a Sam’s Club, got gas, and got outa Dodge.  Actually we headed toward Dodge (City).  As we headed west the sky got darker and darker.  For a while it looked like we would go around the weather but about ten miles east of Dodge City it hit.  Rain so heavy that wipers don’t work and streets are flooded in minutes.  We pulled over for a few minutes and then crept along as things lightened up some.  We had rain and wind for the next two hours.  When we reached the campground we were totally out of any rain and almost had clearing skies.  The camp owner was actually hoping that it would rain as they had not had any for some time.  He got his wish, it is raining now.

June 1, 2009

George Washington Carver, Precious Moments, Fort Scott

We left Branson taking back roads.  Actually pretty fun.  Have to stay alert in a carbus but the roads are neat.  Narrow roads that follow the ridges and once in a while go down into a holler and up to another ridge.  Lots of little farms and tiny towns.  Real Ozark feel instead of speeding along on a four lane highway.

First stop, George Washington Carver National Monument.  Picture a little tiny town on a narrow little road in the middle of nowhere.  Now go two miles outside that town on an even more narrow road and turn onto basically a paved wide path.  Another mile and you reach the entrance.  Suddenly things open up.  A manicured park in the middle of a forest.  Lots of parking for even the largest of rigs as well as cars.  The visitors center is outstanding. 

Many displays and much information on George Washington Carver from birth to early adulthood.  There is a lot on his adult life also.  A recent addition to the center added a number of rooms with many hands on exhibits. 

There is even a full sized college science lab from his time.  There is a trail that goes by the cabin where he was born and winds through the woods.  Very peaceful.  Would be a great place for a young boy to grow.  We were glad we made the effort to find this place.

Local inhabitant.

 

Trail and bridge across small stream

Pond

 

George Washington Carver’s owner lived here.

A few miles (literally) up the road and down another little road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, is the Precious Moments Chapel complex. 

Another park in the middle of the woods with an even larger parking lot.  Gift shop, restaurant, museum, vast grounds, and of course the chapel all dedicated to and themed by Precious Moments images and figures.  The whole site is the culmination of a dream by the creator of the Precious Moments artwork.  The chapel tour alone took nearly forty minutes of description of the stories behind the artwork that covers the inside of the chapel.  I can’t describe all we saw.  A web search might help to explain some of it.

 

These last two are for Hank, Dan, and Liz.  We think of you.

 

Last stop was Fort Scott NHS.  The fort which had many uses over more than a century has been restored and almost all of it is open to give visitors a glimpse of life of the military men and their families who lived here.

Note the flag.  Does something look different?