Thursday, August 26, 2010

Alamosa, CO

Long before the trip got started, I put together a rough itinerary of the whole trip so that we had something to make plans from. My reasons for doing this were, mainly, that we had a few benchmarks that needed to be hit along the way. Sara wanted to come out and meet us at some point, which is going to happen in a week in Rapid City, SD. A family friend is getting married in the middle of September in Boston, MA. And a friend of mine from VT is getting married in the middle of October in Baltimore, MD. Obviously in all of these cases, plane tickets needed to be purchased, and as far in advance as possible.




But, besides those benchmarks, I always wanted the trip to kinda be a work in progress… I didn’t want us to feel like we were tied down to a specific timetable for each leg of our journey. If Megs and I felt like we needed more time at a place, I wanted us to be flexible enough to do that. Or if we wanted to go someplace that wasn’t on the original plan, we could find a way. Or maybe we see a place in less time than expected and just want to hit the road…



Well, yesterday we decided to shift plans. We did it once before, back when we decided we were going to just drive through Toronto and keep driving. That gained us the day which we used to see the Pictured Rocks. But that really wasn’t much of a change because it only added an hour or two to our drive… Yesterday we decided to take two driving days and turn them into one!



Originally we were going to go north from Kansas City, through Nebraska, and then over the Denver. But then we shuffled around the Colorado sights so that we could spend a day with my friend Susan. Now we would start in the south with Colorado Springs and then work north. So already, our trip through Nebraska and then back down looked less than efficient. But then also, Megs had said she thought it would be cool if we could go to the Great Sand Dunes, which are also in southern Colorado.



And with that, decision made. Instead of two days to cross the Great Plains, we’ll do it in one.



14 hours it took us… I tell ya, those plains certainly are great… They’re massive!! Since this was to be our epic crossing, I decided that I’d take at least one picture every 20 minutes. Obviously, that would mean 42 pictures to post. Not exactly my idea of a fun evening’s work. So let’s just go with 14, with random things thrown in between…



Don’t worry. You will definitely get an accurate idea of our scenery for the day’s drive.



 
We began our journey in the wooded foothills of eastern Kansas...
 


 
An hour later, still foothills, although less wooded...
 
 
Another hour, getting flatter, but still a few small rises here and there...
 
 
And around that time we passed by a sweet windmill farm...
 



 
4 hours into our trip and I'd say we were in the Great Plains!!
 
 
Another hour, more plains...
 
 
About the 6 hour mark, we say goodbye to Highway 70 and hello to the back country of Kansas...
 
 
Sadly, no amber waves of grain.  I think they must have harvested it a couple weeks ago...
 
 
7 hours.  Plains...
 
 
Still lots of corn though.  And every once in a while, one of these sweet old school windmills, which are used to pump up water for the cows...
 
 
7 and a half hours.  Colorado!!  We made it!  Land of the Rockies!  Mountains here we come!
 
 
Negative.  More Plains...
 
 
9 hours.  More Plains...
 
 
10 hours.  Plains.  But also a 10 to 20 mile long line of what seemed to be abandoned cattle cars...
 
 
11 hours in.  We see our first sign of civilization since what seemed like ages.  Still plains though...
 


 
12 hours.  Still Plains. But our first glimpse of the Rockies!  Far off in the distance, but the sun is starting to set too so we jumped out for some picture time...
 








 
12 and a half hours.  Rockies are still far off on the horizon.  But finally our first hills and pastureland since forever!!!
 



13 hours.  Almost there.  No more plains though, all hills...
 




 
13 and a half hours.  The Rockies!!!  Just too dark to see them...
 
 
14 hours!!!  Our faithful RV survived this onslaught of an entire hard day on the road.  Including a finale of climbing through a 9000 foot high mountain pass in the dark...  She was amazing!
 
 
Finally, we had made it to Alamosa, CO.  And not a moment too soon because we were exhausted.
 
 
The next day we'd be able to sleep in a little bit...  Then the Great Sand Dunes of San Luis Valley, Colorado. 
 
 
Little did we know that we'd wake up the next morning to a landscape that was startlingly similar to one of the greatest movie franchises of all time...
 
 
Tremors! 
 
 
I can't believe I've referenced Kevin Bacon movies twice already....

2 comments:

  1. Point made about the plains. With each photo Auntie Gail and I said alright already!!!!!!
    Ha Ha! Enjoying your adventures.

    Love Mom and Auntie Gail

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  2. Scott and Meg, I've been quietly enjoying your travelogue (a week or so at each sitting), but I can't resist any more -- "Tremors" made me laugh out loud. Can't wait to see the photos! Are there worm carcasses (carcassi?) all around?

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