BootsnAll Travel Network



Archive for the 'Colorado' Category

« Home

Following the Santa Fe Trail (Old Fort Bent to Fort Larned)

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

August 30th

This morning we woke up early to a beautiful blue sky. I was actually too warm in my sleeping bag last night (the low was only around 60F.) We were on the road by 8:00 and arrived at Old Fort Bent around 8:30. Fort Bent was a trading post along the Santa Fe Trail (which connects Independence, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico via Kansas and Colorado.) It was actually fortified with walls on all sides and was constructed from adobe. European Americans, Mexicans and Native Americans all traded here. In the early days it was beaver pelts and later it was primarily buffalo hides. The original fort was destroyed in a fire so what we saw was a reconstruction that was completed in the 1970s.

From Old Fort Bent, we left Colorado and started the long drive across Kansas. As we got lower in elevation, the temperature increased to a high of 99F today. This was the hottest weather we’ve had so far on the trip. After four hours of driving, we arrived at Fort Larned, another point on the Santa Fe Trail. However, this fort was a military outpost built to protect traders on the trail from Indian attack. The style was completely different (this time the buildings were set around a square but with fortifying walls and resembled some of the other western forts we’ve visited. I marveled that these forts (now historic sites) serve some of the same purpose today, acting as a stopping off/resting point for travelers crossing the country. We were a little bit ahead of schedule and decided to continue driving another hour or so before stopping for the night. We finally stopped in McPherson, Kansas, an “oil town.” The only two campgrounds in the GPS were RV parks, so I called one, “the RV Ranch and Horse Hotel” and asked if they had a site we could pitch a tent. They let us pitch our tent in a big grassy field next to a lake for $10, a pretty good deal.

Posted from Williamsburg, VA

Manitou Springs, the Cog Railway and the Olympic Training Center

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

August 29th

We started the day with a quick visit to the cute little town of Manitou Springs. There were several accessible springs, and we filled up our bottles with soda water (naturally carbonated.) It was sweet and refreshing.  We were surprised that there isn’t a company bottling this delicious water today, but I guess the market for spring waters isn’t big enough to warrant it…a real shame.

We arrived at the railway station early to pick up our tickets and get some photos of the train and the railroad depot. The Cog Railway, the highest in the world, climbs Pike’s Peak to an altitude of 14,433 feet. We were unlucky with the weather, it was a cloudy morning. We had a knowledgeable and entertaining guide in the car who gave us plenty of facts and figures and amusing antidotes as we made the slow upward journey (it took about 2 hours.) We climbed through thick forest to sub-alpine forest and finally to the barren tundra. By the time we got to the top, we were completely in the fog and it was freezing. With my fleece and long pants, I still felt like an icicle. Fabien and I explored the “peak”, taking pictures through the clearing clouds and studying the various monuments, but we finally ended up inside the summit café with everyone else. It made me really appreciate the clear, sunny weather we had when climbing Long’s Peak. We arrived back at the bottom around 12:30. We found a greasy diner for lunch- just what we needed to warm up.

The day’s adventures weren’t over. Our next stop was at the Olympic Training Complex Visitor Center in Colorado Springs. This massive complex, funded solely by sponsors and private donors, is home and host to hundreds of athletes.  Our tour guide was a member of the women’s weightlifting team. She, herself, probably didn’t weigh more than 110 pounds. There were plenty of flags and small exhibits highlighting each of the Olympic sports and we saw some athletes training in the gym. We were surprised to learn that the team doesn’t receive any funding from the U.S. government. All of their funding comes from private sponsors.  I was inspired and bought an USA Olympic Team running shirt.

We drove a little bit south and stopped in a KOA campground with a swimming pool. We relaxed our muscles and played some nerf football in the pool until the storms came in again.

Posted from Williamsburg, VA

Boulder to Colorado Springs

Sunday, September 25th, 2011
August 28th We woke up early on Sunday morning, but both of us were feeling drained from our intense hike the day before.  We made pancakes for breakfast and then packed up camp. The drive out of Rocky Mountain National Park ... [Continue reading this entry]

Ascent of Long’s Peak

Sunday, September 25th, 2011
August 27th After months of hiking, we decided to challenge ourselves by climbing one of the famous Colorado fourteeners (mountains over 14,000 feet tall.) Long’s Peak in Rocky National Park is one of the most popular and most difficult hikes in ... [Continue reading this entry]

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Sunday, September 25th, 2011
August 25th-26th After a good night’s sleep (strangely, it wasn’t very cold at this altitude- we were camping at around 7,500 feet), we woke up the next morning ready for some good hiking. We took the shuttle bus (a welcome ... [Continue reading this entry]

Fort Laramie, Wyoming and the return to Colorado

Sunday, September 25th, 2011
August 24th We started the morning with a visit of another fort (it was becoming habit.) This time it was Fort Laramie, another Indian Trading Post. This fort was crucial during the Indian Wars and served as a rest stop on ... [Continue reading this entry]

Mesa Verde National Park and return of winter (Colorado)

Friday, May 27th, 2011
May 17th-May 19th Mesa Verde is unique among the National Parks because it is the only one fully devoted to archeology. The cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, built by the Ancestral Puebloans, or Anasazi, are spectacular. We had an”adventurous” time visiting ... [Continue reading this entry]

Rocky Mountain High: Ridgway, Ouray, Silverton, and Durango

Friday, May 27th, 2011
May 16th-May 17th As we left the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, we descended onto a fertile plateau, irrigated by Gunnison River water that had been piped through the mountain. We made a stop in civilization to restock our groceries and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Black Canyon National Park, Colorado

Friday, May 27th, 2011
May 14th-16th The weather was warm and sunny when we woke up, but there were black clouds and storms rolling in by the time we left. We could see rain falling in the distance, but managed to avoid it for most ... [Continue reading this entry]

Colorado bound: Great Sand Dunes National Park

Friday, May 27th, 2011
May 13th-14th We left Taos early in the morning to begin our journey towards Colorado. Neither Fabien nor I had ever been to this beautiful mountainous state. The road followed the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and was relatively flat despite its ... [Continue reading this entry]