Colorado 2004 Septemper

9/9/04 Got up at 6:15 a.m. said good bye to Char Mike and was on the road by 7:00 a.m. Drove a long 520 miles to Platte City Missouri arriving about 4:00 p.m. Linda snoozed most of the way feeling quite ill from the flue. We checked in to Basswood RV Campground which is just a few miles NW of Kansas City, Missouri. The pretty country side is wooded rolling hills with lots of little lakes. We ate in as we were both real tired.

9/10/04 Left about 9:30 a.m. for Chanute Kansas. We arrived at the Hitchhiker II LS plant in Chanute about 12:30 p.m. We checked in for the 1:30 p.m. tour and then had lunch in our 5th wheel. The tour was very informative and we were impressed with the 26.5 and the 30.5 5th wheels. We filled out a order form with a salesmen’s help so that we may present it to a dealer in Arizona or California. After the tour we drove about 100 miles to Wichita Kansas and checked into a nice USI RV Park in the city. Stocked up on a few groceries and diesel fuel before retiring to bed.

9/11/04 Left about 10:00 a.m. and drove 120 miles to Dodge Kansas. We took a short orated bus tour of the interesting and historic city. The extensive cattle feed lot industry is really something. We had dinner at a restaurant called the FREIGHT HOUSE. I had a rib eye steak that had been dry aged by a the DODGE CITY STEAK COMPANY which was definitely the best rib eye steak I have ever had. Their web site is www.dodgecitysteaks.com . This may be an excellent web site to buy Xmas presents from this year. Linda enjoyed her prime rib cut also. We did a short walk around town past Boot Hill cemetery and the Long Branch Saloon. We left town along the original Santa Fe Trail along the Arkansas River from Texas. Stayed at the Gun Smoke RV Park this night at a reasonable cost of $22.

9/12/04 Got on the road about 9:00 a.m. today after I had breakfast and ran Maggie for a ½ hour in a partially harvested wheat field. The remainder of Kansas had no rolling wooded hills, but was flat as a pancake. It was very flat farm land and feed lots with some scattered oil and gas wells. Linda now feeling better took over driving as we entered eastern Colorado around noon. This part of the state appears to be not so prosperous farm land. We arrived in Pueblo Colorado about 3:30 p.m. and checked into a nice desert style KOA campground. We stayed inside as it was 96 F. with gusty wind.

9/13/04 Got up early and took Maggie for a 2 mile hike/run on the desert nature trail adjacent to the camp round. Got on the road and stopped at an Albertson Grocery to stock up on staples. With Linda driving we stayed on highway 50 along the Arkansas River stopping for a break at the town of Salida. This is where the Arkansas River has extensive rafting and recreation parks. I want to raft in this area some day. We then continue on highway 50 going over the very beautiful 11,300’ Monarch Pass. The aspen and cottonwood trees where near the height of their fall vibrant colors. We picked up the Gunnison River and continued into the scenic town of Gunnison. We stayed at one of the most beautiful KOA campgrounds ever. The town had a water park with 3 man made rapids. We took a drive up to the Gunnison River head waters and then followed the Taylor River a few miles. I definitely want to raft some of the Gunnison some day. There’s nice easy scenic runs close to town in both directions. The heat and driving has exacerbated my MS symptoms the past few days. When I move or jerk my head forward I get electric shocks going down both arms.

9/14/04 Made a big breakfast of fresh hash brown potatoes, Schultz’s bacon, fried eggs, and jam for my bride Linda. Started out again on highway 50 along the Gunnison River. Drove past a series 3 huge dams making some giant reservoirs one being the biggest lake in Colorado. Arrived at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP around noon. We droved the 5th wheel up to the visitor site and did a short hike with Maggie. The park can only be seen from above with no trails going down as the canyon is too steep and narrow for trails. The river through the park is class 5+ and it is impossible to raft. I do not rate this NP high as it is basically high desert with metamorphic rock canyon walls with no access to do anything but to look at from above. The Gunnison River eventually drains into the Colorado River near Grand Junction. Continued driving on highway 50 west through boring high desert country to Fruita Colorado. We stayed at an excellent RV Park 2 miles from the entrance to the Colorado Monument and close to the Colorado River.

9/15/04 We got up early, had breakfast in 5th wheel, and then drove up to the Colorado Monument. Its approximately 1,000’ high and is similar to Canyon Lands NP with beautiful red rock, spires, ledges, and deep canyons. We spent about 2.5 hours going to the visitor center, campground, and a nature trail short hike with Maggie. One could easily spend one or two days driving the entire 25 miles of the park. I would not recommend trailers up the steep road because of narrow tunnels 16’ high in the center and 12’ high on the outside edges. We returned to Fruita, hooked up, and drove to Green River. Green River is famous for their melon crop, so we bought some excellent melons in season and then went to the very pleasant Green River SP for a picnic lunch. Then continued on to Richfield Utah and checked into the KOA taking the last spot as there was an ATV Jamboree going on all week in this town