Some time spent re-organising luggage from suited to flight to driving & hotels. Car eventually set up we left at 10:00 and headed to a nearby Walmart for initial supplies including a polystyrene cooler, water, coke and sandwiches and a salad bowl for lunch later.
Finally headed out of Denver on the I25 North.
We didn't venture toward the City of Denver and indeed could only faintly see it in the distance from the Interstate. The Rocky Mountains were also 15 miles to our left but we could barely make out an outline through the haze.
The first hour and a half was dull and drizzly driving through poor quality grassland, scrub and small oil installations with occasional drizzle on the screen. This was not a morning to be envious of us.
Many of the State borders have visitor centres which can be quite good and we called in at the Wyoming visitor centre after we left Colorado behind. The centre was well set up and interesting as well as an temporary escape from the wind and rain. Free state maps are really worth picking up as they are much better than the Rand McNally road atlas pages. Lunch in the carpark was walnut and apple salad with a pastrami sub courtesy of Walmart earlier on.
Heading North again, the grasslands became prettier with rolling hills of prairie grass and as we approached Cheyanne we could hear the mournful wails of the railroad trains in the distance. (Cheyanne is a major rail freight hub). We continued to Laramie where we left the Interstate and took to normal roads. The big problem of the interstates is the inability to stop and look and take photo's, it's much nicer touring on the normal roads which, in Wyoming, are quite fast at 75mph dual carriageway and 70 on single. As many miles of road run straight this means good time can still be made.
As we headed West from Laramie toward the Snowy Range Scenic Byway to cross the Rockies the sun was appearing and the sky clearing though the mountains were still faint in the haze. By the time we arrived at the foot and started to climb the rain came in again and we climbed through forest with massive scree slopes heading upwards, the ground stripped by the snow cover many months of the year. As we approached the summit the scene became pretty with green grass among the trees and rafts of wild flowers grabbing the brief period they have to bloom and sow seed before winter returns. We were surprised to see a lot of residual grey snow among the peaks this late in summer. We stopped to take photographs but heavy rain moved in and we retreated to the car and attempting to wait it out.
The short walk at the summit reminded us that we have arrived at high altitude, 10,000ft, with no acclimatization time as we as short of breath on a slight gradient. We took a few photos before heading down the long gradual descent toward Saratoga where we were to stay over for the night. As we reached the lower areas we were surprise how green it was after the parched areas north of Denver. There was even fresh silage being gathered in which must be a valuable commodity in the winter months.
We found our way to Copperline Lodge about 18:00 and dropped our luggage in the room before heading back to the small but interesting town. No seats at the Italian and Dukes bar had run out of ribs but we settled for Dukes anyway and had an excellent pizza and curly fries; unfortunately far too much as we were to appreciate later when we tried to sleep.
We had been invited to join the owner Dan and some friends for a drink and on our return they were sat out by a fire pit and the remainder of the evening was spent in good company chatting with a glass of Australian wine under a star filled dark sky with a little music courtesy of a guitar.
Today's track:
Statistics: Miles today: 229miles; Miles so far: 242; Fuel added so far: 0 gals; States: Colorado, Wyoming; Time Zone: Mountain Daylight Saving (UK-7)
Thanks for sharing.... Enjoy today
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