Today we drove through miles and miles of national grasslands. More enormous ranches, cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and anWl occasional pronghorn - two of whom crossed the road just in front of us.
This picture is near the Cheyenne River - one of many rivers Dick was happy to see personally, after reading about them for years.
Again today we were struck by the working landscape of procuring energy sources in this wide open country - mines, oil rigs, trains carrying car after car of coal. It made me think how we often talk about children (and adults) needing to know where their food comes from - this part of the country really makes you think about where your power comes from, and how it affects the natural landscape.
Just north of Douglas, Wyoming we got our first glimpse of the Laramie Mountains in Medicine Bow National Forest. And suddenly we were no longer in the grasslands, but instead looking at snow-covered mountains!
We stopped and had our lunch as we were climbing up to Morton Pass (elevation 7,169), on the side of the road near the Tom Thorne/Beth Williams Wildlife Habitat Management Area. We ventured onto this tiny road on the recommendation of a hotel employee in Wright whom Dick had chatted up over breakfast, with hopes of seeing some bighorn sheep. They all must have been hiding in the shade in the middle of the day, but we did spot a small group of mule deer who did some nice posing for us.
We finally arrived at the Antler's Inn in Walden, Colorado, with plenty of time to take a short walk around town, have a beer in the bar, and then sit on the balcony overlooking Main Street and read our books. We also chatted with two women at the bar who were biking and camping from Washington State to Arkansas on the Trans-America Bike Trail. That explained why we had seen so many cyclists on our trip today, as Walden is right on the route. We were so tired after hearing about their adventures, that's why we had to sit on the balcony and read.... They did give me a good tip for barbeque when Abby and I get to Hot Springs!
View from the hotel balcony
View just around the corner from the hotel
Sitting room at the hotel
Colorado is definitely different from the other western states we've been in. More diverse forms of recreation and a lot more people in general. Of course there are also these massive mountains which is different from the open range and badlands we've seen before. That and the sign in the hotel lobby saying that smoking marijuana is illegal anywhere in the facility. Oh, and good beer on tap.
ReplyDelete