April 7,2013…Cimmaron, NM
Upon leaving Taos, we drove through Cimarron, NM which is home to the Philmont Scout Ranch where Bruce (and his dad) spent some of the most memorable times in their lives. Things have changed a bit … more buildings and stuff, but the feeling was the same. Quite a neat place!
Route 64 on the way to Cimmaron, NM
Philmont Scout Ranch
The Tooth of Time at Philmont Scout Ranch – Bruce climbed that both times he was at Philmont
Bruce’s Boy Scout Troop from Colorado Springs in 1972. Bruce & His dad are 2nd from right in front & back row.
St. James Hotel
We stopped at the historic St. James Hotel, built in the 1870’s which has quite an infamous history. St. James was visited by many famous lawmen and notorious outlaws and was the scene of many murders. Names like; Wyatt Earp, his brother Morgan Earp, and their wives stayed at the Inn on their way to Tombstone, Arizona. Jesse James always stayed in Room 14. Buffalo Bill Cody stayed at the Inn. The outlaw Davy Crockett, a descendant of the original Davy Crockett, killed three Buffalo Soldiers inside the hotel’s bar room in 1876. And there were many others. You can still see some bullet holes in the tin ceiling panels in the roof in the dining room, formerly the saloon, bearing witness to some of the wilder days here.
St James Hotel, Cimarron
The Saloon at the St James Hotel
Bullet Holes in Tin Ceiling at the St James Hotel
Sugarite Canyon State Park
We spent that night at Sugarite Canyon State Park which – when researched – said it was one of the top State Parks in the U.S.A. Hmmmm. I think the people that voted for that need to get out more! The campground was tiny – only 10 RV sites and the same for tent sites. There were 2 ‘lakes’ that we saw … one was Lake Alice a VERY VERY tiny lake (pond) that apparently is liked by anglers, and Lake Maloya which is only very slightly larger than Alice which has a boat ramp and they said ‘liked by boaters, kayakers, etc.) but man … we could paddle around the ‘lake’ in about 10 minutes! The park has been burned over so not much vegetation left and of course it’s early in the season so not much vegetation on the bushes. We took a bit of a hike to a old coal mine shaft nearby. Not much else to do.
Sugarite Canyon State Park
8 April 2013 – Trinidad, CO
Early yesterday we headed out and stopped in Trinidad, CO, which is a cool little town. Lots of interesting old architecture and some good shops (more jewelry!), then onwards to Pueblo, CO.
Trinidad, CO
Trinidad, CO
Enjoying a coffee in Trinidad, CO
8 April, 2013Northern Plains Campground on the Pueblo Reservoir
Yesterday we were in t-shirts sitting out and enjoying this beautiful park and today we’re hunkering down for a blizzard! We’re camped at Lake Pueblo State Park which is just south and West of Pueblo, Colorado on quite a large man-made lake. There are several campgrounds here with minimal facilities but we do have electricity – no water or sewer hook-ups. We went for a nice bike ride and Bruce went off by himself for a more ‘manly’ ride although he did take a tumble – no serious damage tho! It’s quite starkly beautiful here with thousands of gophers & ground squirrels that made us laugh! Lots of interesting bird sightings too!
Northern Plains Campground on the Pueblo Reservoir
Northern Plains Campground
Enjoying our Campfire-in-a-Can at Northern Plains Campground
From sunny & warm to freezing and snow at the Northern Plains Campground
April 10 … Darn … all that hype and no blizzard! It did however, get really REALLY cold … down to 15F last night! We were toasty warm in the RV and just stayed inside playing cards and watching movies. Not a bad way to spend a cold day/night.
Colorado Springs
Tomorrow we head into Colorado Springs.
Anyway … we thought we’d just wait out the blizzard as we have lots of propane/electricity for heat, lots of water in the tanks and we stocked up on food a couple of days ago. Oh … and we’ve got wine, beer & tequila enough to get us thru! 🙂
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