Day 47 : August 12 NEBRASKA TO COLORADO
Away at 7.00am for another long day’s travel. The weather promised to be hot again but after so many lovely mild days we cannot complain.
We headed down Route 71 out of Scott’s Bluff, passing some magnificent rock formations, some of which are known as their Monument. A quick call into the look-out at The Wildcats Visitors’ Centre just out of town gave panoramic views across the hills and valleys. This is a truly beautiful part of the country and the rock formations are really unusual.
Where crops are planted on the prairies, many are grown with irrigation and giant boom sprays can be seen on some farms. Once again the wind turbines were seen just out of Kimball, but not in the large quantities seen previously. A stopover for morning tea at Kimball gave the local press the opportunity for an interview with some of the team.
The prairies are flat to undulating and at times quite steep. The GPS registered us as being over 5,000 feet above sea level on two occasions. By the time we crossed the border into Colorado at 10.30, the elevation was becoming quite high and some of the hills fairly steep.
A highlight of the day was a stop at Stoneham where a local makes whirlies – wind operated wooden toys of every description from a coyote to tweety birds to a stockman on his horse – all very well made and presented. Inside his display area we also saw lots of garden ornaments and gaily painted tulips. This was a welcome distraction from the heat of the day.
The Route 71 continued on to our overnight stopover at Limon and another press interview – it is amazing how quickly word spreads about the tractors coming to town. After the very hot conditions, all the team were glad to relax under shady trees before heading to the local Chinese Restaurant for dinner.
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| View from Wildcats Lookout |
Wave Formation Route 71 |
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| Nebrasca Countryside. |
Stopover at Kimball |
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| View from 5000 feet above sea level |
Route 71 Roadworks |
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| Barbara with wooden whirlies |
Carolyn and Allan with wooden tulips |
Day 48 : August 13 COLORADO
This was a day with three seasons – the morning was cool and sunny and quite spring like with all the colourful wild sunflowers along the roadways. Then the temperature rose and was recorded at 95 degrees on a clock tower in Colorado Springs. This warmth kept up until around 4.30pm when a cooler change came in, and then by 5.00pm the clouds were looking very threatening and lightning was evident in the distance. Then the rain came down for a fairly short time and left the early evening fine but still with heavy threatening clouds.
The fine morning saw the group travel from Limon to Falcon – a relatively short run of 61 miles. During this trip, the elevation rose on every hill, the highest recording being 6,885 feet. Then, after booking in at the RV Park and discussing the best sight-seeing options, we were on the road again by 11.00am and headed through the very scenic hills to the Royal Gorge, some 70 miles away.
After entering the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park we walked across the world’s highest suspension bridge, an amazing engineering feat which has been inspiring millions of travelers for 80 years. This bridge is suspended 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River which attracts many white water rafting enthusiasts, being one of the best stretches of water available for their sport. We were happy to just watch the cable car cross the gorge, and certainly did not envy those who chose to take the Skycoaster - daredevils who dangle themselves 1,200 feet above the river below and swing back and forth!
As always, time ran away and the planned itinerary was behind schedule. A visit to the Buckskin Joe Frontier Town was curtailed to a late lunch stop and then it was time to head back to the RV Park. By this time, the threatening clouds and subsequent rainstorms made the journey rather slow, compounded by the 5.00pm traffic. Fortunately it was dry at the RV Park, but the forecast is rain over the next day or so.
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| Mountains seen from new housing development |
RV Park sign tells the story |
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| Electric wires and the distant mountains. |
Sunflowers grow wild along the roads |
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| Planning the day's activities |
Entrance to Royal Gorge |
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| The Suspension Bridge at Royal Gorge |
Peter on the Suspension Bridges |
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| Cable Car and the Red, White and Blue flags |
The Royal Gorge Park. |
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| Daredevils on the Skycoaster |
Storm clouds gathering |
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| Whitewater rafting |
The Royal Gorge Scenic Railway train goes under the brige |
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