Crested Butte, Colorado to Elkhart Kansas

October 12, 2016
Elkhart, Kansas

So this post will be the last 2 weeks in Colorado as I came down out of the mountains to the western plains...what a change from trees and mountains to treeless prairies.  It was a long delightful downhill run from 9000 feet to 4000 feet a couple of weeks later.  There was one high pass, Monarch Pass, where the Continental Divide Trail crosses the road at 11, 000 feet.  That climb was brutally long...6 hours of steady UP.  I spread it over 2 days climbing for 4 hours one afternoon and finishing the next morning.  I seem to have far more energy in the afternoon, like I'm firing on all cylinders.  But mornings are rough starts before my engine finds its rhythm.  That's why I'd much rather climb in the afternoon...go figure!  Lots of pasture lands, fences, and just plain picturesque landscapes.  Coming down from Monarch I thought the yellow of the aspens would take my breath away!  I just couldn't capture the splendor of it on film.  Golden!!!!  And since it was so beautiful, I came down slowly not to come out of the mountains too fast.  I like traveling slowly.  I linger in the beauty.  I smell the scents.  I feel the breezes.  You miss so much traveling in a car.  Totally different experience.  And I wouldn't meet all the incredibly fantastic people either!!

Gotta love the fancy gates in Colorado.  This is one of my favorites

And quaint barns...

Late day shadows...guess I'm riding eastward:)

 Camping on the side of the road up to Monarch Pass.  It took me 6 hours over 2 days of steady climbing to get up there!

And at the top, the Continental Divide Trail crosses the road.  Someday...

Then I reached Monarch Pass at 11, 312 feet and the Continental Divide!!!

This is the actual sign for the US Dept of the Interior

And this one I saw in the corner of the window of the restaurant at the top of Monarch Pass...very funny!

Coming down off of Monarch Pass...wheeeeee!!!!! 

Deer wandering the streets of Salida, CO...no one seemed surprised but me! 

Love signs, especially this one!

Eileen from Oak Creek connected me with her brother in law and sister in law, Paul and Laureen...more kindred spirits.  We went to a middle school volleyball game...it felt so normal as my daughter, Dana, played volleyball through high school.  Loved going back if only for an evening.  

More lovely signage

This is Benny and his rooster.  I met his son in law on a scooter out on the road when he asked me where I was going.  I said I was looking for a place to camp for the night.  "Come with me!"  And that's how I met Benny and Grace and the rest of the gang.  I camped in the yard, and joined them inside to watch the VP debate on Fox News.  

They took me out to feed the cows, the chickens, and the turkeys!

Grace and me.

Their dog loves to drive the "mule":)

And I even fed the geese!

Breakfast with the family before I pedaled on down the road.

I stirred up the cattle and the cattle stirred up the dust...

Pronghorn sheep watching me setup camp one night.  Later in the evening when there was barely enough light to see, I saw the silhouette of a pronghorn but couldn't get my camera out in time to capture it.

Grasses at sunset

A cow walking across the paddock kicking up dust...do ya think it's dusty out here?!?!

Thought about camping here one night but it was just too dusty and prickery but what a sight!

Sunset from my tent

The winds are so strong that if I didn't find a windbreak of some sort I couldn't stop.  I sometimes used Google satellite to see if there are any trees up the road.  This particular night there weren't so I stopped early when I found this big cedar.  I truck stopped and a woman came over just to see if I needed any help.  So kind!

Yup, that's eastern Colorado and one of the roads I went down.  Do ya see any trees out there?!?!?

These lovely folks (father and daughter) passed me on the road going home and came back out with water to see if I needed anything.  Such kindness!

Isn't he cool?!?!?  What details!

A stone house built a long time ago...what a lonely existence...there is virtually nothing nearby.

A modern day ghost town...there are a lot them out here...empty storefront, nobody around...so sad...

Again, this is Walsh, CO...but there was a lovely silver metal art theater at the far end of the block

But the houses were freshly painted and the yards were neat.  These folks just have to drive 30 minutes to get to any stores.

More abandoned houses from another era

And more dust.  I'd cover my mouth with my shirt and tip my umbrella between me and the dust...it helped a bit..cough! cough!

Sometimes just because a road is numbered and on Google Maps doesn't mean I should bike down it.  I had a hard time finding a southbound road this particular day because they all faded into this.... 

Where will I go?!?!?

I'm in Elkhart, Kansas now.  Got myself a motel room for the last two nights.  What a treat!  Only the second motel this year.  Took a zero day yesterday and got caught up on my blog, as you can see.  I'm trying to finish this up before moseying down the road.  Oklahoma is just across the street about...and I'll be wandering across the northern part on my way to Fayetteville, Arkansas to meet up with Comet, a hiking buddy from Australia and the Bibbulman Track.  Can't wait!!!

I used Google maps to find how far down the road I have to go for a grocery store.  Major concern to see if there were any on my route.  I take backroads...fewer services out there.  Looks like there will be three in the next 200 miles.  That's good!  I've also begun carrying a gallon of water that I'm able to bungy into the space behind my seat.  There's not much water out there either...no houses...no streams...nothing.  

Ok, I've delayed departing long enough.  Better hit the Send button, get to the Post Office to mail some gear "home", and make my last run to the grocery store before pedaling off.

Livin' the dream,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman