50th Anniversary Trip - Day 9: Colorado

We finally left the State of Nebraska.   It is hard to believe that we have spent 7 days in Nebraska and really we could spend more.  At each of our stops in the state, we didn't see everything there was to see and could have spent another day or two.  We wanted to be in Colorado with John and Family so we needed to move on.

We left Ft. Robinson about 8:45 and turned west to Wyoming and I-25.  It was very windy and the wind was blowing against the RV from the south, so we took our time.  Fortunately there wasn't a lot of traffic.  We have enjoyed the scenery in this part of Nebraska.  We saw a lot of these kinds of rock formations as we drove US 20 west.

One sight we saw a lot of was trains pulling cars loaded with coal. In a 30 minute stretch, we saw four trains.  The coal is mined in eastern Wyoming and we felt sure the cars would end up at the Bailey Switch Yard.

The day was cloudy so the sky was darker.  This red barn stuck out on the landscape where the sky was dark blue and the ground dull green.

We finally made it to Wyoming.  This is the part of Wyoming that my Grandfather John Freeman brought his family for one year.  It was in the depression during the 30's that my grandfather and his brother decided to leave Clay County, Illinois and try homesteading in eastern Wyoming.  They packed up all their belongings and family into old trucks.  They looked like something out of The Grapes of Wrath.  It was probably the first time that my Grandpa  has been out of the state.  They settled in the area of Keeline and Lusk, Wyoming.  We passed through both of these towns on US 20.  Grandpa couldn't stand living where there wasn't timber. He was a carpenter and woodworker and as you can see from the landscape picture above, there isn't much timber in this part of Wyoming.  After one year, he packed up the family and moved back to Clay County Illinois.

I-25 heading South to Fort Collins.
We arrived at St. Vrain State Park in Loveland, Colorado.  I had made reservations about a month ago but someone at the park had mistakenly let someone else set up on our spot.  Fortunately, there was another site for us.  This is a park made up of small ponds.  The land is very flat with few trees and it is close to the interstate so there is a lot of interstate traffic noise.  The positive is that all the sites are pull through, on concrete pads, and a great view of the Rockies.  We got set up and unhooked the car.  It will be our means of transportation for the week we are here.  It was cool as we traveled.  We had to turn on the heater in the RV but as we traveled south, the temperatures rose.  By the time John, Linda, Katie, and Aidan got to the park, it was starting to cool down again.

They brought their tent and will be camping here with us for the weekend.  It really gets cool in the evening/night so we gave them extra blankets.  We are also going to leave the RV door unlocked so they can get inside if it gets too cold for them.

The kids were excited to be camping with us and we are glad to have this time.  We hadn't see them since March.  It is after 10 so I will close out for the day..