We had a
longish drive today and a little uncertain how the weather would be up in the
mountains we would pass en-route to Colorado Springs.
We left
Montrose and after a while stopped in Gunnison for a cup of coffee before we
hit the roads which climb higher and higher and until we passed over Monarch Peak
which is 11312 feet high and thankfully it was dry but just a little chill.
The
drive again was quite exhilarating with wide open spaces and then high mountains,
canyons, rivers and little towns but clearly they are prepared for the snowy
winter with piles of grit everywhere and most houses having either snowmobiles
or quad bikes outside. Most vehicles here are 4x4 of the large American style
and much bigger than the UK 4x4. These trucks? always seem to be towing or
carrying everything from quad bikes to live cows.
We
stopped for lunch in a wayside stop called Lone Pine which was right by The Arkansas River
where trout are available,providing you have a fishing rod and licence, and we were surrounded by mountains but nobody else
was there except us-creepy.
We
continued on route 50 which is known as the loneliest road in America, on our
first US road trip in 2006 we did quite some mileage on this route and now we plan
to do some more down to Dodge City, I wonder if the cowboys are still there?
We
arrived in North Colorado Springs around 3.30 pm, nope we did not hang about,
and checked in to the Homewood Suites where we have a full kitchen whilst the
room has a good view over a nearby mall with mountains in the background.
Following
check in we found the nearest Alberstons Supermarket and purchased some Tilapia
fillets for dinner tonight and then a brief visit to the Liquor store to top up
our wine selection which is virtually nil.
The fish
and wine were excellent and went down a treat and then we spent the rest of the
evening sorting clothes and listening to IPods before hitting the sack.
The next
few days are to be ‘down time’ and stay away from the car as much as possible.