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| Our lovely space in Colorado City KOA |
Mark's nephew, Jim Finnesgard, his wife, Liz, and their daughter Jamie (with her husband and two children) were the focus of this stop. Mark is Jim's uncle, but they are close in age and grew up together. Jim and his daughter and son-in-law recently bought property in the Colorado City area where they are building homes. In the meantime, they are living, like us, in RVs.
While we were there, we saw their beautiful plot of land, which is somewhat outside of town and about half of their acreage is wildland. It has a wonderful view of the valley surrounding Colorado City, and Pike's Peak can be seen in the distance. We shared a couple meals out together and did some sightseeing as well.
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| Jim and Mark |
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| The hill on the back part of their property |
Our first full day we took picnic lunches out to San Isabel National Park and then walked a little while along a nearby path. Afterward we drove out to a place called Bishop Castle. That is a very interesting place. This man, by the name of Bishop, decided some thirty or so years ago to build a castle and he's been working on it ever since. It's very far from finished, yet he's opened it up to the public as a sort of tourist attraction--complete with a gift shop (and a donation box). I can't imagine how he can get any construction done with tourists everywhere, but what do I know?
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| San Isabel National Park |
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| A walk along the path, San Isabel Park |
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| Bishop Castle (more pics below) |
We departed late Sunday morning for our next destination. I have to say, Colorado is not an especially friendly state for free overnight camping. They don't allow it in the interstate rest areas, and even the local Cracker Barrel had a sign that said "No Overnight Camping"...despite what we were once told by a Cracker Barrel manager: that "all Cracker Barrels allow overnight camping--you don't have to ask." Well, apparently that's not true, at least in Colorado. Consequently, it turned out to be a very long day. We got through Denver, on rough roads and through what seemed like endless road construction, and fueled up the rig north of the city. Nearby was an empty mall parking lot where we pulled in for an hour or so and ate some dinner. From there we decided to drive another hour to the Wyoming Welcome Center, where we spent the night.
I was surprised to discover (from a website) that nearly half the states in this country don't allow overnight parking in their interstate highway rest areas. Those that don't may or may not be strictly enforced, but who wants to test it and risk getting rousted out in the middle of the night? (Not us.)
But because of the first long travel day, the next two were quite short. And here we are in Wind River RV Park, Boulder, Wyoming. Boulder is situated in a sort of mountain horseshoe. The Wind River Range is to the north and east, and the Wyoming Range is on the west. US-191 takes you straight into Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, but we won't be going there on this leg of the trip.
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| The Wind River Range |
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| Coming into Wind River RV Park |
The area is well named. It is always windy or at least breezy. We had to slow down on the road significantly due to the occasional wind gusts that hit us unexpectedly from time to time.
We're here a week. The weather is dry and beautiful, a pleasant change from all the humid rain from the previous weeks. That's it for now.
Safe travels & God bless!
PICTURE GALLERY...
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| Getting ready for our little hike at San Isabel Park |
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| Bishop Castle, one of several "traverse at your own risk" disclaimers |
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| Mark on the working drawbridge (Yes, there's a mote.) |
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| Looking down the spiral staircase from nearly the top of the tower. |
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| The castle even has a princess! This lovely lady was having a photo shoot while we were there. |
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| Looking up at the ceiling at what looks like trellis or carport supports. Right now it's open to nature. |
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| The tower has a skywalk, but I wasn't brave enough to go out onto it. |
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| A closeup of the dragon head |
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| Leaving Wyoming Welcome Center, we ran into dense fog. That was a bit nerve wracking! |
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| Our second "boondock" night was at a rest area near Elk Mountain, Wyoming... this is Elk Mountain. |
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| Elk Mountain rest area was a bit shabby and the parking space lines were not very well marked. But we found this space way off to the edge and claimed it for the night. Plenty of space to level and put out slides without being in anybody's way. |
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| Sunset at Elk Mountain rest area. |
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| A pair of Bluebirds were obsessed with our RV. Here is the female. She fluttered around the mirror and pecked at her image at least a half dozen times. |
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| Here she is perched on the top. |
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| And here's her beautiful little partner. |
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| Our space at Wind River RV Park, facing the Wind River Mountain Range. |
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