Saturday, August 19, 2017

you can have Colorado
and other misadventures on the way to Wyoming

you know the kind of trip 




starts out bad and goes downhill from there.....




the plan was to drive through Colorado
and visit my brother in Wyoming.....



we took the backroads north from New Mexico
the scenery was beautiful
but there was so much traffic it was hard to see any of it
cars lined the small 2 lane we were on
fancy new cars with bikes, kayaks, trailers, motorcycles
and everyone was in a big hurry
why weren't they out recreating
instead of on the road.....


first night we stayed in a small cabin
that was on an intersection in the middle of nowhere
that cars came and went from all night


the mountains were very powerful


 but it is the wildflowers that I loved best
the wild lupine, and yellow daisys


the roadsides of northern New Mexico and
southern Colorado were thick with sunflowers this year


fields of them

we stopped at this beautiful lake


 with the mountains in the background


and here I am smoking pot legally
outside at the lake - in Colorado!!


 we rented a cabin in the Medicine Bow Mountains of southern Wyoming
with my brother
(spent one night and then headed into town for a warm and dry motel)


 this is called the Snowy Range - it was a few miles up the road from the cabin



most places you have to hike quite a ways to get to the alpine lakes
above the tree line
but here you are starting in the high desert at 7,000'
and climbing to the top on the road at about 11,000'


the mountains were full of wildflowers too


and still some snow



these are wild columbines - very special and growing all over


not sure what this rock is made of but it was 
such a lovely color


my baby brother and Willi
notice the clouds and coats?  
this was one of the nicer days...


the mushrooms were out in full force
these are amanita muscaria - psychotropic and very poisonous....
and no, we didn't try any


back in Saratoga


 they have the Hobo Pool
a free and open 24 hrs hot pool 


it is a lovely pool and very hot


and right next to it in the river
were natural hot pools
it was perfect because it was cold and rainy
so the hot springs made our day! 
(this is not my photo - too rainy to get out my camera...)



on the way home from Wyoming
we crossed the Overland Trail just outside of Saratoga


wow - those were a hardy people
nine miles from here to cross the North Platte River!!


next stop - Fort Collins
besides seeing my brother this was the best stop


to visit some very special friends


and to buy some very special art!


this is the one!!



I am a big fan of her work!!

next stop was Greely, Colorado
we were planning on staying in one of these cool yurts
on the South Platte River


it was just too cold and rainy
the river was flooding 
and the road to the yurt had deep mud....

so
they let us stay in the Fort.....




this is a 250 acre property on the Platte
the front part was built as a private residence




they gave us the master bedroom
as no one was there
(a little western decor anyone....)


then it was sold 
and the new owner added 3 more sides


and created a "fort".....
it is used for weddings and things

as the weather was still cool and rainy - we headed straight home
through the ag and cow land of Colorado



a little lunch on the drive - almost home

 SO


crowds, strip mining, huge meat factories, huge agro business
did I say crowded?

you can have Colorado - legal pot and all!!



xxoo