Colorado Update

This time change has kept me very sleepy. By the time we get to the campground and all set up, I just want to sleep. So I didn't update last night...so let's see what we did yesterday...

Yesterday started in Kansas...around Salina. We woke up, dwaddled around, and then got on the road. It was a very hot day. Around 95, straight sun. Dave's left arm is super tan and burned, and my right are is the same. Kansas sucks. So flat, nothing to see, nothing interesting...
We did see a huge couple miles of wind turbines though...Those were cool. But other than that...cows, fields, trains...

Since Dave lost our crank the other day, we stopped off in a bigger town off the highway - Hays, and went to Home Depot. Then spent about an hour...looking for sears, and we went to a Napa and Advanced auto...and Autozone. Gosh. It was hot, very very hot.

I love trains. There are LONGGGG trains out here. You can't even see the ends!

We finally get back on the road, and I'm sticking my head all the way out the window to cool down. Really ridiculous heat. I fell asleep with my head out the window, and Dave taps me on the shoulder, telling me I'm going to drive. Okay. Why not.

So I'm driving, following Dave's rules about RPM and engine temp, etc. Cruising along at about 57 mph. Driving west, into this DARRRK cloud. I look over out the window and its a huge dark cloud, with maybe some funnel-ish clouds, and lightning! I'm excited, hoping to see a tornado, as long as it was far off! Did not happen, but the cloud blocked out the sun for a bit, which was nice.

I'm not sure how long I drove, not very long...When we stopped to take a picture of the Welcome to Colorado sign, Dave decided to drive again. So horray, we're in Colorado. Now where are we going? LOL.

We need gas, and see a sign for Arriba. Cool name for a town, so of course we need to explore. Sketchy poor ass town. All the houses are super run down, look abandoned mostly. There is a big giant bell, with ropes to ring it...So I tell Dave to ring it. It was SO LOUD! Oh man, we drive off quick after that. There is a building with the chute to put the grain into the train cars. COOL! TRAINS! Dave decides to drive over the train tracks. Mind you the popup is definitely still attached to the back of the car. So something gets stuck. Dave just rams the gas, as I gasp! Funny noise...Dave gets out and the hitch that he had welded on to the camper bumper ripped off, completely. The bumper is all ripped and bent, and one of the stabilizer feet is broken. That was the only thing I was upset about, was the stabilizer foot. That's a bit important, especially for when Fred comes out and is staying in here because that's the end he will be on.

We decide to camp at the Limon KOA, just because we can get there quick and go to bed early to wake up early. We get there, check in, and the place is packed with mosquitoes. Within the 10 minutes of setting up the camper, Dave is covered in mosquito bites. I don't have any...I think they think I'm gross. Oh well, their loss. Oh boy, poor Dave though. He is so itchy! He had started to make the new crank but...too many bugs.

I cook dinner, clam chowder for Dave and soup for me...meh. We are trying to use up the can food because it is so heavy. After that, we bed early.

Wake up around 830. Dave finishes the crank. We shower, and then pack up the camper. Dave looks at the stabilizer, and I haven't asked him what needs to be done...I will later.
We get ice and stupid stuff in the store, Dave bought a Colorado Rocky Mountains Got Oxygen? tee shirt. Pretty cool considering today we realized how hard it is to breathe around here.

On the road again. Heading towards Breckenridge. We take scenic roads, and take tons of pictures...the long way too. So by the time we have gone up and down the many Colorado hills, the car is overheating again, and we look for the fastest way to get there. We stopped at Red Rock, to take pictures of these GIANT red rocks. Pretty cool. We walked up lots of stairs to get to the Visitor Center, but there was nothing even in there. So, exercise is what we got.

Finally left there, and made our way to Breckenridge. We stopped at a waterfall on the way, Dave made me stand in the freezing water...to get a picture. It was so cold, and I sank in the sand past my knee. But worth it.

We saw some mountain goats...or pronghorn sheep...No other animals though, except the many rabbits we have seen since we started this trip.

Get to Breckenridge, and find out mountain biking is going to be like 75 bucks a person. SHEESH. I'll have to contemplate it tomorrow, if I really want to spend that much. We then went to the supermarket because I wanted carrots. We also got steak, and the giant 99 cent cans of Arizona iced tea, and beef jerky. I used the bathroom, and when I got out I found Dave sitting in a chair waiting. He says "I can't breathe, it's so bad, sitting here was hard..." The air is definitely thin up here. I got extremely tired extremely fast. We had a hard time finding a campground, but finally did, 21 miles away. It took us 40 minutes to get there, over lots more hills. When we got here, the guy was so friendly...SO friendly, telling us about the town and everything. We got his picture, his name was Rudolph. He was from Czechloslovakia.

We picked a site, opened the damn popup, and I cooked steak and beans for Dave and I had steak and cheese and carrots.

And now you're all caught up. It's freezing here, like, 35 degrees. Majorly chilly after being so warm the past few days...

Goodnight. Tomorrow we're going to explore some more...and hopefully make it to Roswell since we have a reservation tomorrow night. But Dave says it doesn't matter if we make it there tomorrow. We will see. Probably mountain biking in the morning...and then I don't know.

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