Sabbath afternoon after church and lunch I visited a few of my friends and telling them goodbye for now. That afternoon I went up the canyon towards Estes Park and stayed with a friend overnight. I was going over Rocky Mountain National Park traveling through the mountains this trip. I needed to leave early in the morning to get through the checkpoint at the park to avoid having to register to get through. So Sunday morning I was up and through Rocky Mountain National Park by 7:30. As you see the trees were starting to turn and the further up in the mountain the more brilliant they became. I had a difficult time keeping from stopping and wanting to take pictures they were so pretty and it was such a beautiful morning.
Since I got an early start that morning, being anxious to be on the road I had not had breakfast and it was still early I decided to pull off at this picnic site on the other side of the mountain and enjoy the scenery and the beauty of the morning. I made my coffee and had a little breakfast.
My plans were to go to Grand Lake and then find a National campground nearby. So I stopped at Grand Lake sat out at the lake and had lunch.
After lunch it was time for me to look for a camp spot for the night. I drove a bit south of Grand Lake to the campgrounds and lo and behold I discovered that all the National Park campgrounds had closed the first of October. So what was I to do? I drove on down to Granby found out that I could park at the grocery store parking lot and spend the night there. The next morning I got up started South and and found that Hot Sulfur Springs was just 10 Miles down the road. I was disgusted that I didn’t even think about that, I could have had a nice hot soak and a nice place to camp overnight.
That next morning I went over Hoosier pass. My was it cold, rainy, and windy! Coming into Fairplay I decided to take a break and drive around town.
I stopped and got a few groceries the store at Fairplay and drove around town a bit.
My next overnight stop was going to be Poncha pass. They allow overnight parking there just before the pass. I went into Salida and stopped at one of my favorite shops, Colorado Wool Company. Went and got gas and grabbed a bit to eat, then over over to the rest stop.
After a good night’s rest I got up to Cloudy Skies and then headed up over Poncha pass and into great Sandy Dunes.
Before going to the Sand Dunes I stopped at the Sand Dunes Recreation Center just outside of Hooper Colorado which is about 30 miles from Sand Dunes . I had stopped there last year and I had enjoyed it so much. I decided to go back again this time. Today the water was 108°. I turned on the Jets and just relaxed and enjoyed the hot water. Even the showers were hot no cold water!
THE GREAT SAND DUNES
Spending the night at the campgrounds there at the sand dunes and then up the next morning and taking a walk before leaving and heading south into Chama New Mexico.
Heading down to Chama where I would be taking the Cumbers and Toltec Scenic Railroad train the next day. I reserved a spot at an RV park there in Chama, it was next to the railroad tracks and I was able to see the train coming into the station that night. By this time I was feeling pretty rotten, I guess a cold had taken over. But I had the tickets for the train the next day and felt like I couldn’t pass that opportunity up. So a little supper and off to bed I went. The next day I was up early and waiting for the train. I found it hard to keep from taking a lot of pictures it was such beautiful scenery. We went up the mountain to Osier and had lunch and where other train would take us back into Chama but we had to wait for the passengers that were taking the train back to Chama, to have lunch. So I got on the train and found my seat and slept until they arrived.
It was such a wonderful day I enjoyed it so much even though I was not feeling 100%. It was a great memory that I’ll never forget. The food at Osier was really good. There were many good choices for vegetarians. If you’ve never ridden the Cumbers and Toltec Scenic Rail train I highly recommend it especially in October, such a beautiful ride.
After the train ride I went over to Heron State park and Lake, for the night. The next morning I left and headed to Edgewood where I was meeting a friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in a long while.
After our visit and our lunch together I had another campsite just outside of Edgewood to spend the night. This was Friday and still was not feeling well so on Sabbath morning I got up and drove down to my place at Lakewood. It was a good trip I enjoyed a lot but would not feeling well it was difficult to keep going.
I was anxious to get home and I had been on this road many times so I did not stop and take any pictures.
It was good to be home again and to be able to sleep in my own bed. I stayed pretty much to myself for a couple of days to rest and to get to feeling better.
New Valances
While I was at home I was able to get new valences made for the windows in the tiny house, and to visit with friends.
Sabbath morning the next week I left my tiny house and went to visit my son in Texas where I stayed for a few days before I was back on the road again to come back to Colorado.
Leaving my son’s place there in Texas I drove up into Oklahoma and then into Colorado where I spent the night in Springfield. Then the next morning I drove from there up to Johnstown where I am caring for a couple this winter.
Thanks for coming along with me on this Venture, I hope you enjoyed seeing the sites along the way.
Oh where is that Star? 