Howdy, Camp-folk!
(written Sunday... posted Monday...
make that Tuesday... went two nights w/o internet!)
Well, you can call us the “High
Plains Drifters”. We spent most of the day on the high plains.
We left Cedar Bluff with the
expectation of a day that would be hotter than Bill Clinton's
unpublished “My Greatest Days in the Oval Office”. You may recall
we were wrestling with where to land tonight since the campground we
had booked was in the hottest part of Colorado and (according the the
reference material) didn't have sufficient electricity to run the AC.
So I booked an alternate in a Kommercial Kampground (that would be
Kampgrounds of America in Limon, CO). Upon further research and
consideration we realized that the KOA in Limon was for klowns. It
was a trailer park only worse... they rented the land by the hour...
the trailer people there hadn't even made the simplest of commitment
by signing a lease on their corner of paradise. If I had wanted to
live in a trailer park in Colorado I would have dropped out of high
school and followed Horace Greely's advice. So I called the
originally planned State Park and asked if they had any spots that
might have more modern electricity. In fact, they said all of their
campsites do! Well, that's not what their reservation system says but
the day was solved and we are in Jackson Lake State Park as planned
near Greely, CO.
As forecast, the trip was hot, hot,
hot. If you ever long to actually see the “amber waves of grain”
this is the drive for you! Stuff is growing everywhere and there is
hardly a town or person to be seen tending it. I came away with a
sense that the corn and wheat may grow themselves... at least at this
stage somewhere between planting and harvesting.
As those of you who read the news may
know, Colorado has liberalized its stand on recreational marijuana.
It's legal here. As we were approaching and entering Colorado, Mrs.
C' was doing on some jewelry making to pass the time. She hit on a
business idea! Soon the novelty of a simple “dispensary” (I still
think they should be called “head shops” like in the 60's and
70's) will wear off. People will want to have one stop shopping for
their mood altering and hobby needs. In Arkansas we saw a liquor
store that was attached to a gun shop. I'm thinking the State
required a wall between them inside... but from the outside they
looked like one business. It probably wasn't the most encouraging or
inspirational landmark to American commerce that we've see on the
trip thus far. Anyway back to Colorado and jewelry making... how
about a chain of dispensaries that also sell jewelry making
supplies?! We'll call it “Weeds and Beads”. What do you think?
For a motto, how about “Wow, did I make that?” We may be looking
for investment partners.
The trip across the last 160 miles of
Kansas got flatter and flatter and higher and higher. When we reached
Kanorado, Kansas we were at about 4,000 feet. There were some minor
ups and downs but almost no appreciable hills that got us from 2,400
to 4,000 feet along I-70. Just a steady climb averaging about 10 feet
per mile. No ear popping whatsoever.
In the Western Kansas/Eastern Colorado
section of I-70 almost every exit and entrance from the highway has
barricades in place. There are signs with flashing lights that tell
drives when and where to exit if the road is closed. If the road
is closed???? What the heck?
Things get so rough here so often in the winter that the State DOT's
of both states spent beaucoup dollars so the highway could be closed
anywhere at any time. We Floridians came away with the feeling that
we came here in the right season. Maybe the heat isn't that bad after
all!
Eastern Colorado is truly high plains.
We were above 4,000 feet continuously and reached the mile high mark
near Arriba. We topped out at about 5,600 feet before turning North
to get to Jackson Lake.
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