Navigation… The Old School Way
My first stop today was the Sand Creek Massacre NHS in southeast Colorado. As I was about to leave my hotel room, after packing everything up, I got the idea that where I was going might not have cell coverage, so I printed-out the directions, just in case. This turned-out to be a good idea because once I entered the grid of dirt county roads, things did indeed get sketchy. It actually felt good to navigate the way I used to way, way back when. It also felt fulfilling to get my new car off the pavement.
Sand Creek Massacre NHS
Since my first cross-country visit, when I discovered the national parks system, I’ve been collecting a variety of things: lapel pins, magnets, cancellation stamps. It fits-in with my obsessive nature. So, when I was plotting this trip, I put a pin in Sand Creek because it was along the path I’d planned to take. Then, I read about the story behind the site and I realized it wasn’t that kind of site. Part of me didn’t want to visit it, but I went through with it and it was as sad as I thought it would be.
Old Bent Fort NHS
Southeast of Sand Creek is Old Bent Fort, which turns-out to be a replica of the actual fort, which disappointed me. Regardless, it was still interesting to walk through the building, following along with the self-guided tour brochure. As I entered one room, I heard a sound off to the side and nearly ran out of the room when I saw two giant peacocks in the corner staring at me. This scare was calmed when I met a goat in a pen out back, because goats are always fun to meet.
Driving Into The Rockies
After Old Bent Fort, I spent the next three hours driving southwest to Monte Vista, Colorado. It’s surprising how quickly the transition from the Great Plains to the Rockie Mountains occurs. About half way through the drive, I came over a hill and there they were in the distance with clouds surrounding them. The clouds! Another thing I love about driving in these wide-open places is that you can see different weather instances all around you. On this trip, there were massive thunderclouds in the distance dropping rain as I drove past them to the north. The formations the clouds formed and transformed into were really crazy as well.
Movie Manor
Back in 2019, at the end of my first cross-country road trip, I stayed at the Movie Manor in Monte Vista. The windows in the back of each room face drive-in movie screens so you can watch a movie with the sound being piped into your room. Tonight, my viewing pleasure was the movie “Paw Patrol” which I’m watching as I type right now. This movie is amazing, so I’m going to end this blog entry right meow.
Image Gallery
- Sunrise The view from my hotel room's window.
- Autumn Bales The fields were full of baled hay, some painted red, white and blue.
- Corn and ??? All of the fields in Kansas and Colorado are apparently corn and whatever this is.
- Intersection of County Roads 59 and W During my first two road trips, I'd longingly see roads I wanted to take but just didn't feel good about them in my GTI. My new car is built for this kind of thing.
- Sand Creek Massacre NHS I didn't even feel good about taking photos of the site, so I settled for the sign.
- Cobwebs Across The Sky I always remember the Koyannisqatsi prophecy about cobwebs across the sky and how our telephone wires could be just that. There was something eerie about them along this road that made me stop.
- Old Bent Fort NHS The fort was a let-down when I discovered it wasn't authentic.
- Peacocks These bastards scared the living shit out of me. Naturally, I thought there was a cougar in the room.
- Goat! Goats are the coolest. This one was super friendly, but I'm guessing he thought I had some food for him.
- Wooly Bear Didn't expect to see this here. I'm missing the autumn in NEO and here I find a wooly bear. Amazing.
- The End of the Plains Behind me are the Rockies. I took one last photo of where I'd come from.
- Autumn Colors The mountains here are green and gold, the gold being trees turning and the green being the evergreens.
- Crazy Clouds This cloud was something else, hiding the sun and transforming in real time.
- Sunset Over the Rockies The change from the Great Plains to the Rockies happens fast.
- The Jack Nicholson Room I'd originally wanted the Danny Divito room, but it wasn't the right kind of room, so I took the Sally Fields room, but the connecting room was noisy, so I ended-up in the Jack Nicholson room.
- Movie Manor The view from the window of my motel room. The movie tonight: Paw Patrol!
Places Visited
- Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
- Bent's Old Fort
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