Final day of trip

We arrived home on Friday, Sept. 10th. It is great to get home. We travelled over 5200 miles in the west in our motorhome. We saw lots of terrific scenery and had a lot of fun, from the Badlands with Sam and Will to the 4 wheel hummer ride in the desert of Utah. The weather was great the whole time. When it was really hot in Utah, Idaho, etc, the low humidity helped a lot. Beth didn't like the low humidity as much as Bill did. So, who knows where the next trip will take us.

Camping in Kansas

We are really roughing it a state park in Kansas. It is Glen Elder State Park, on the Glen Elder Res. in north central Kansas. It is very quiet and we have a really scenic sitebythe water. Besides that they have WI-FI also. Pretty neat. We had spent most of the day travelling but did stop at Nicodemus National Historic Site in Nicodemus, KS. It is a community that was founded by 300 African Americans after reconstruction. I just learned from Blake that this lake is one of the best Striper Bass lakes in the midwest. Wow, here I am without a license and the proper equipment.

Pike's Peak

We decided to go up Pike's Peak via the cog railroad. Anyway it is 14100 feet high. We experienced some low oxygen symptoms at the top. The winds were 38 mph and the temperature was in the 30's and the wind chill was in the low 20's. What we didn't realize is that the startoff place for the railroad is on the edge of a community (Manitou Springs, CO>) Also, there was a huge art fair going on. So, it was crazy driving through the narrow streets with cars parked everywhere, with a full size motorhome. With help from the parking guys at the railroad we found a parking spot.

This is the Durango-Silverton Train going through our campground.

Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge RR

We spent the day taking a train ride on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. We left Durango, CO at 9 AM and arrived in Silverton, CO around 2PM. The scenery of the Colorado Mountains and the river gorge was fantastic. This railroad has been used in a lot of westerns. I had to add the picture of Lola'a Place, and old bordello in Silverton.

Bear Tooth Pass

In all fairness to Mary this was what we looked at before we drove down the pass to Red Lodge. There were lots of 15 mph switchbacks. Everyone except Mary, said it was a beautiful drive down the mountain. I had the steering wheel in a deathgrip and didn't bother to look at the scenery.

Will & Sam

I wanted to add this because according to these guys, the Badlands National Park is the best place of all, It is great for climbing.

Motorhome in Canyonlands

This picture didn't comeup in the previous blog. I was standing a long ways up ontop a huge rock.

Canyonlands Nat. Park

On Sept. 1st, we spent the day at Canyonlands National Park, near Moab, Utah. However the first couple of pictures are of our Hummer ride the night before. Canyonlands is huge. Some parts haven't even been explored yet. The last picture is of our motorhome when I climbed a Huge rock. The weather is very warm in the days but cool at night. It is typical desert weather. This trip has given me a new appreciation of the complexities of desert wildlife. Of course as we go along, I keep buying T-shirts. Todd would appreciate that. Tomorrow we head for Colorado to take a train ride on the narrow gauge railroad in Silverton, CO.

Hummer Ride in Moab, UT

Hi. on Aug. 31st we rode in a 4 by 4 Hummer in the LaSal Mountains. It was a sunset safari. The scary part was we came back in the dark. Anyway, the first hill of rock which is pictured is a 38 degree climb. We had no idea what a 4 by 4 ride in the desert would be. It was up and down steep hills at a slow speed. It ranks up there with white water rafting. Our grandsons, Will & Sam would have loved climbed those hills. More coming.