We had a great breakfast at the Goodland KOA and got to talk with the owners – Polish immigrants who spent 22 years in Chicago before buying the campground. We also discovered that one of our camping neighbors was someone that we camped with in the Keys. They shipped their very unique camper over from Switzerland.  It is adorned with many scenes depicting the National Parks of the US. We didn’t get to speak with them since we made an early departure. I have seen some small abandoned houses along the way, thinking at least some of them might have been homesteads. There is a Flagler, CO.  He’s everywhere, and yes, it’s on the railroad.

A big sign advertises “FREE LAND - we’ve got land, we’ve got water,  all we need is YOU!”  Not me, though.  Last night we camped at about 3000 feet altitude, today at 9:40 AM mountain time we hit a mile high, 5280 feet. Gasp!

We rather abruptly left the plains at Colorado Springs.  We got on Rt 115 to Rt. 50.  We’ve been following the Arkansas River through its gorge. The road is rather twisty, in many places rocks rising straight up from the road and on the other side of the river also.  We share the gorge with the railroad.  When the gorge is properly aligned we can see snowy peaks in the distance.  We will cross the Continental Divide this afternoon.  Now we’re in Salida, CO, 7400 ft. altitude.

Yup.  We crossed the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass at 11,312 feet on Rt. 50.  Mom drove up, I drove down.  It’s a good road, two lanes up, one down and nice and wide with relatively gentle turns and good guardrails.  The truck climbs like a goat.  We stopped at the top to take THE PICTURE along with another couple.  Each offered to take a picture for the other.  Turns out the other couple was from Syracuse, NY. They had recently been in Hyde Park at the Culinary and plan to go back in a few weeks to take a cooking class!  Small world – you can’t get away with anything.  We crossed another pass west of the  divide,  the road there was steeper with many 30 and 35 mph curves on the down (west) side, but very scenic.  We got an electric site in the Black Canyon National Park, so we’re set for two nights.

 Saw this RV in the Keys

Royal Gorge 

Climbing to the pass, Rockies in the distance

Taken by people from Syracuse

We've been to all 48!

Camped at 8350 feet

Today we toured Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  It’s a canyon cut by the Gunnison River, what makes the canyon unique is its narrowness, depth, and steepness of the walls.  The canyon is cut through metamorphic rock infused with veins of igneous rock, both very hard materials.  These were upthrust by tectonic action then covered with volcanic ash.  By chance the river course began in the ash, when the water reached the hard rock it continued its course through the hard ridge rather than changing course.  A road follows the rim with many outlooks along the way to view different features of the canyon.  At one overlook we met a couple that had lived in Amenia and Poughkeepsie.  The husband was from Jamestown.  We’re getting used to mountain driving and looking down over the edges of high places again.  We’re camped at about 8350 feet.  Tomorrow we leave early for Capitol Reef NP.  BTW, no cell service at the campground, we drove 15 miles to post this.

Gunnison River 2000 feet down

more down

Mom's getting pretty near the edge

Painted Wall