Hanging Out In The Rockies

We drove west out of Belleville, Kansas and took the old highways 36 and 34 to Loveland, Colorado. It was smooth sailing the whole way without the hassle of the trucks on the Interstate. 

We spent a week in Loveland and it rained some everyday. There was a large puddle at the entrance to our site and it remained there till the day we left. The locals were very happy with the rain as they had been in drought conditions.

We were able to get out and do a few things in between storms.  We celebrated Josie's birthday with a visit to PF Chang's for dinner, she loves their Singapore Noodles. The local County Fair was in session and we spent one evening there and attended the Rodeo and it was a great event. I did manage to get in a round of golf, but barely made it off the 18th green (with a par I might add) and into the Jeep before the sky fell in. Colorado peaches are in season so we bought a few pounds and Josie made a delicious peaches over pound cake in a delicious sauce. 

We left Loveland and made the short drive north to Cheyenne, Wyoming. We have driven through Cheyenne many times before and only stopped once to take a picture of the Capital building. It was one of those places we said we would come back to and see more of. Our first stop was the small Wyoming State Museum. They were having trouble with the air conditioning system and it was freezing inside so we did not stay very long. For its city identification symbol Cheyenne has chosen a Cowboy boot. They are all over the city and we took pictures of  those we saw. We visited the Union Pacific Railroad Museum housed on one side of the beautiful train station. The highlight for me was the very detailed miniature train diorama housed in the upstairs of the building. Later in the week we visited one of the largest trains ever built, Big Boy. The Union Pacific had 25 of them built to pull trains over the steep grades going over the Rocky Mountains. We also found out that one of the cars from the Merci Train was restored and located in town so we stopped by to see it. Our friend Gloria introduced the Merci Train to Josie when they went to see the one in Arizona. France sent 49 train car loads of gifts to the USA, one for every state and the District of Columbia, to thank us for coming to their aid. 

I spent one morning birding the Pawnee National Grasslands. It is mile after mile of open grassland and very scenic with the Rocky Mountains always visible to the west. 

One afternoon we drove up to the Lincoln Pass, the highest point on Interstate 80. The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway built and now I80 is in its place. On top of the pass they have a monument to Lincoln. From there we drove the scenic Happy Jack Highway back to Cheyenne. We took a couple of Jeep trails and got off the beaten path, and then stopped at Curt Gowdy State Park. Our last stop was the Bunkhouse Bar and Grill, where Elvis met us at the front door. Josie had the Prime Rib sandwich with mashed sweet potatoes and I had the Rocky Mountain Oyster sandwich with onion rings. When in the west you should try them at least once if you have never had them.

​Tomorrow we drive into the path of the coming eclipse.