Longmont, CO to Dinosaur National Monument

Tuesday, May 1

Carol & Oliver in the camper.

We left Suzanne’s house about 8am. Met John and Linda in Idaho Springs for a really good lunch at Beau Jo’s Italian restaurant.  They must offer a hundred ways to order pizza. After lunch we continued on to Silverthorn with the intent of camping at the USFS Prairie Point campground on the Green Mountain Reservoir. In Silverthorn, I spotted the USFS Field Office and pulled in to get updated camping information. As it turns out, none of the campgrounds were opened yet I spite of the USFS web site saying Prairie Point would open on the 1^st. Got real lucky.  The ranger I talked to in the office was in charge of all the district campgrounds. I asked him disbursed camping in the area. He said he would show us a disbursed camping area right on the Blue River and if we didn’t like that, he would lead us to the Prairie Point campground and unlock the gate for us.  The Blue River disbursed was OK but it was adjacent to the highway and would be very noisy so we opted for the Prairie Point campground.  $5/night with the Old Age Card.  John and Linda and Carol and I were the only people there. The dogs liked it because they could roam free. The reservoir was very, very low; it's been a dry winter in CO.  The last time we stayed here water access was much nicer.  We cooked out tonight.

 Wednesday

We left Prairie Point about 9am heading towards Steamboat Springs. On the way, we went over Rabbit Ears Pass (9,426’). There was still snow on the ground as you would expect in early May.  We stopped at the Yampa River State Park Headquarters campground. It was OK and if electrical hookups and a concrete pad were important, it would have worked. We're more interested in a nice location rather then an electric hookup.  The lady behind the desk suggested the Maybell Bridge campground which is right along the Yampa River  just east of Maybell. That’s where we are now. The campsites are right along the river bank.  It’s a rustic campground. $17/night. It’s just the four of us.

Thursday

We headed out about 8am. Stopped at the City of Maybell RV park to dump the tanks and top off the water then headed to the Dinosaur National Monument which is partially in Colorado and Utah.

We all toured the Dinosaur Quarry Visitor Center. A very impressive building. It’s built right into a cliff that contains hundreds of bones from the Morrison Formation. The bones here are from 147 to 155 million years old.  You can actually touch some of the bones imbedded in the rock.  Among other Late-Jurassic dinosaur groups represented are plant-eating sauropods, stegosaurs, and ornithopods, and flesh-eating theropoda.

After the tour, we went to the Green River campground. Our Lazy Daze friends, Don and Dorothy Malpas, were there. For dinner we all cooked our own entrees on the grill and shared some common dishes.  This is a nice campground right on the banks of the Green River. There is a ranch across the river and horses and cows wander down to the river for a drink. While walking the dogs,  John  and I saw four deer at the river.

We’re staying for tomorrow as well, but John and Linda need to head home for a baby sitting assignment.

Quarry Visitor Center

The "logjam" of bones

Friday

Nothing special today, mostly trip planning for the next few weeks. We’re running into issues with opening dates of some USFS campgrounds. I’ve had to call the local FS offices to see what our choices were. Limited, but there are some.

We’ll meet up with the Oregon Trail pioneers at the Three Island State Park in Idaho

Happy Birthday, Camper

The camper* turned four on April 25th. 74,169 miles. That's an average of 18,542 miles per year.  It's right at 3,000 miles from Boston to LA.  So each year we've made the equivalent of three cross country round trips.  If we continue at that rate, by 2016 the Lazy Daze will be approaching 150,000 miles.  Our mechanic says that a well maintained V-10, and transmission, should be good  for about 200,000 miles before needing a major overhaul.   Baring the unforeseen, we have no plans on slowing down. We're talking about buying a 2015. We'll have to see what 2015 brings.

We put about 60,000 miles on our 2000 LD, which we bought used,  before we sold it to buy the '08. That's 134,000 miles of driving a Lazy Daze.We have experienced no Ford or Lazy Daze issues that would not be expected with that amount of usage.

* Some people have a name for their camper. We don't. I sometimes wonder why people name inanimate objects, but they do. My Uncle Leo always had a name for his car. Boats of any decent size,  almost always have a name.  All ships do. Bomber pilots in WW-II named their planes. Tioga George names everything.
We've just never been in that habit. In fact, mostly we just refer to Gopher as "the dog".  She's been called "the dog" for so long, she answers to the name "dog" as well as Gopher.  To each his own.

Today we went to church. Tomorrow Carol takes everyone shopping. $$$$$
We're really enjoying our visit with Suzanne and family. On Tuesday, May 1st, we continue on.

Happy Birthday, Camper. You've been the source of unimaginable fun for the last four years. 

Escaping bad weather.

On Wednesday, we pulled into the city campground in Gering.  The plan was to spend the next day exploring the Scott's Bluff area. After registering, the host handed me a list of nearby tornado shelters. He said a storm system was heading this way on Thursday and an RV was no place to be in a really bad storm. No news flash there. The internet weather report was talking about the possibility of hail and gusts to 60 mph.  Unlike the pioneers we were following, we had the option of going someplace else. On Thursday morning, bright and early, we headed south to Chris & Suzanne's house in Longmont, CO.  Scott's Bluff will have to wait.
We're "camping" on the street in front of her house now enjoying the company of  grandchildren Isabella(Izzy) and Oliver .
The Forest Service campgrounds at the lower elevations in CO, open on May 1st so we'll be here until then.  Our Lazy Daze friends, John and Linda, called. They're joining us at the Green Mountain Reservoir next week, along with their dog, and Gophers friend, Sadie. After that, we're working our way north to the Dinosaur National Monument, then picking up the Oregon Trail in Idaho.

Continuing west to Scotts Bluff

We left the Lincoln Highway and continued west on US Hwy 26 towards Scotts Bluff. NE publishes a wonderful guide that locates hi-lights of the Auto Tour Route.

Frequently, when we're traveling through small towns, we'll turn off to drive down their main street just to see what's there or perhaps find a community park where we can stretch our legs. Most often, the main street through town, is simply signed as Main Street. On Main Street in Oshkosh, we spotted this very interesting looking bakery. Inside was a women, the owner,cook,  baker, etc., and one very talkative customer having breakfast. He told me about his dog that was sitting in the back of his truck, how good breakfast was, asked where I was from, etc.  For $4.50, I got Carol four huge chocolate chip cookies and two sticky buns for us to share.  At Panera Bread, the other day, they charged $1.75 for a much smaller, and not as good, cookie.

The sign tells the story of the violence during this era. Attack, revenge, attack, more revenge, on and on.

Broadwater, NE has seen some better days. The old store selling barbed wire, coal, etc., was especially interesting.

The next picture tells of the challenges caused by the steep slopes of some of the hills the pioneers had to traverse.

The speck in the distance is us.

There are very few examples of actual wagon ruts remaining. It's been over 125 years and the rain and wind has taken its toll. The ravine, or trace, is the result of erosion of countless wagon ruts over time.

A marker noting a verified point on the trail.

Chimney Rock was the most recognizable landmark on this part of the Western Trails. Pioneers would scale the rock to etch their names. The piece above, fell off the "chimney" years ago and was found by a hiker.

When the pioneers bought provisions before "jumping off" they brought an assortment of trade items with them. Mens shirts, fabric, knives, etc., to use to trade with the Indians, mostly for food but sometimes for labor or guide services. Moccasins were among the most popular trade items because the pioneers shoes wore out from walking and because moccasins, once their feet toughened up, were comfortable. This is a pair of moccasins worn by one of the pioneers.

The North Platte River. Frequently, quicksand was encountered on the river crossing sending the oxen, wagon and passengers to a slow death. After a heavy rain, the level of the river could rise by three feet or more.

Pioneers and railroads

We started the day by taking the Lincoln Highway from Kearney west towards North Platte.
This part of Nebraska was a tough place to live during the mid-1800's.

We made a stop at the Dawson County Historical Museum in Lexington. These local museums are always so interesting. The items on display were all donated by local families.  Here are some photos of just a small part of the exhibit.

From an old diner on the Lincoln Highway

We continued west to Cozad which, per a sign, is proudly located on the 100th meridian. We went to Cozad to see the original Pony Express station building.

From Cozad we continued west to North Platte. We particularly wanted to see the Union Pacific's Bailey Yard. It's the largest train yard in the world. 

The 8 story observation tower

This repair facility handles everything from complete overhauls to light bulb changing.

Each locomotive is equipped with sand tanks toward the front of the engine that are filled with sand from the sand tower. Sand is the primary source of traction for locomotives anytime wheels begin to slip. In front of each wheel, there's a nozzle that sprays sand on the track with compressed air. This is an automatic operation each time the wheels slip or the engineer makes an emergency stop.

This photo didn't come out very well but it's tells the story of how orphan children from big cities were sent out west to be, hopefully, adopted by farming families who desperately needed the help. 

The plan was to spend the night at the city campground but it doesn't open until May 1st so we're at the Buffalo Bill State Historical Park campground. $18/night.

Nebraska is a fascinating state.