We drove to the south-land of Colorado on Wednesday and parked our rig about a half hour south of Pueblo, CO. While in transit we took a diversion to see the tourist attraction, Royal Gorge.
A Royal Gorge it truly was. The suspended bridge crosses sheer cliffs that plummet down to the Arkansas River, and it was a very impressive achievement to build. But we did not go to the tourist fun park. Instead of paying $40 to walk the bridge, ride gondolas, and more to go bungee jumping, or ride on zip lines, we drove up the nearby hill to the county park picnic and viewing area. There we saw a magnificent overlook and admired the original gorge with some other people we met there from Arizona.
After setting up camp on Wednesday night we loved seeing the Giants pull out a victory over the New York Mets in the top of the 9th inning. It is an even year after all!
On Thursday we did a day trip to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, a National Park that we’ve never been to before. It is more and more impressive the closer you drive to it.
The dunes are nestled against the San Juan mountains and go on for miles and reach as high as nearly 800 feet. It is most interesting that two creeks naturally surround the dunes, and a third one goes under it. As the wind blows sand up toward the mountains, the creeks return it back to the dunes in a wonderful cycle of life.
We also enjoyed visiting the streets of some really small towns: Colorado City, Rye, and Walsenburg. Trump signs are everywhere (as they have been since Idaho, supporting anyone to the right of Hillary) and American flags seem to be located every half mile on the freeway around here. Along the way we have met genuinely nice people. The needs of small towns are different than big cities.
This afternoon is windy again (+40 mph) and I’m glad I’m not pulling a trailing with these gusts cutting across the freeway. Tomorrow we leave our beloved Colorado and head south to New Mexico!