Day 11 - Golden, CO (Day 3)

This was another beautiful day.  We spent it enjoying time with Stu, exploring Golden, and making connections with neighboring campers.

Saying Goodbye:
Janice and Jack Hornbeck are Airstream campers from Norfolk, VA.  They've camped across from us for the past few days.  They are on the way to join a 55 day Wally Byam South West Adventure Caravan that departs Durango on Monday.  We wished them safe travels.

Breakfast:
Stu arrived for breakfast at 10am.  We made it a "birthday breakfast" ... his birthday is tomorrow.  The menu consisted of: mimosas, cantaloupe  scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, toast, waffles with real maple syrup and coffee.  It was fun and filling.

Exploring Golden:
We decided to skip Buffalo Bill's Grave & Museum, the American Mountaineering Museum and a Coors Brewery Tour.  Our first stop was the Colorado Railroad Museum.  

The museum includes a replica depot, library, roundhouse, water tank, rolling stock, a loop track, and displays by the Denver Garden Railway Society and the Denver HO Model Railroad Club.

Dick's son Jeff is a serious "train buff".  We hope the following adds to his knowledge in some way, though it only shows a portion of the many exhibits on display.

Telegraph office

This was a classy passenger car

Denver Garden Railway Society
G-scale exhibit

Stu was particularly interested in the RPO car.  He's a retired postal service worker.

Chicago Burlington & Quincy
Business Car No. 96 (S)

Manitou & Pikes Peak No. 1 (S)

Chicago Burlington & Quincy Caboose
No. 13862 (S)

Tahoe Excursion Car

Caboose

Is this where Airstream gets
its space saving ideas?

Colorado & Southern Rotary Snow Plow
No. 99201 (S)

Denver & Rio Grande Western
Nos. 5771 & 5762 (S)

Atcheson Topeka & Santa Fe
Observation Car Navajo (S)

Denver & Rio Grande Western No. 346 (N)

Narrow gauge motor car (N)

Rio Grande Southern Galloping Goose (N)

Roundhouse

Turntable on the left

Did you know?

Train robbers

Creative Caterpillar advertising

And some behind the scenes stuff

It was a hot day to be outside looking at trains.  We opted for a cooler activity and drove to Washington Street in Old Town Golden for some refreshments (Coke, yogurt and coffee).

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the shoppers and reminiscing, then headed back to the campground.

End of the day:
Another rain storm rolled in over the mountains at about 5pm.  There was rain and strong winds.  It wasn't as bad as yesterday.

We shared a hot dog dinner in the trailer during the rain storm and visited until it was time for Stu to head home.

This has been a wonderful few days with Stu.  We look forward to his Columbus visit in February.

Day 10 - Golden, CO (Day 2)

The day started beautifully ... with sun, a light breeze and three friendly rabbits!

Carol met this rabbit and two others when
she stepped outside to go to the shower

Brunch:
We met Stu at his home in Denver and then went to brunch at Maddie's Neighborhood Restaurant.

Maddie's opened in January.  It's small and unassuming, but it's full of surprises.  They offer a wonderful selection of interesting breakfast and lunch items.  Carol ordered Challa French Toast, Dick ordered Breakfast Quesadilla and Stu got the Three Egg Plate.  All were outstanding. 

We took up 1/4 of their inside seating

Our server was friendly and helpful

Art Museum:
Next, we went to the Denver Art Museum.  It's part of the Civic Center Cultural Complex.   There's no way to adequately relay what we saw. The exhibits were extensive and beautifully displayed.  We could have spent days there.

Denver Art Museum

These bulls graced the grounds

Denver Public Library is
next to the Art Museum

One display in the Western American exhibit really caught our eye.  Karen Kitchel presented eight paintings of grass.  They looked alive!  This display was a hit of the day.

The museum has many activities for children

American Indian art was impressive

Is Carol really sitting on W. 13th Avenue?

(She's on the Art Museum's bridge between
the Hamilton Building and the North Building)

The storm:
We headed back to the campground around 4:30pm.  Storm clouds were approaching from the northwest.  We were able to close the awnings before the storm hit at 5:30.  Heavy rain, strong winds, thunder and lighting pounded us for about an hour.  There were reports of hail. Thankfully, we didn't get any.

Tomorrow:
Stu is going to join us for breakfast in the trailer, then we'll explore Golden.

Day 9 - Golden, CO (Day 1)

Yesterday we noted that It was hot, dry and windy when we arrived in Limon.  We forgot what happens when the sun goes down out here.  The wind died by sunset and the temperature dropped to the high 50s overnight ... it was a great night for sleeping!

We were on the road by 9:30am.  The 104 mile trip followed I-70W through Denver to Colfax Avenue (Exit 262), then went west on Colfax to the Dakota Ridge RV Park.  We're staying here until Saturday.

Along the way:

The Colorado terrain becomes more
interesting as we approach Denver

Smoke from fires in AZ and UT hid the
Rockies from sight until we reached Denver

Golden:
We set-up the trailer then drove to old town Golden for lunch before heading for Nederland.

.
Old town was attractive and alive with shoppers and diners.  We had a great lunch at The Capitol Grill.  We plan to do more exploring here on Friday.

Nederland:
After lunch we went to Nederland to meet Stu Horowitz (Carol's brother-in-law).  The route was north from Golden to Boulder on CO-93, then west up Canyon Drive to Nederland at 8,228 ft.

Views along CO-93 between
 Golden and Boulder

The Nederland town website describes it as "a town like no other".  We pondered a one-word description and came up with "eccentric".  A few views from around town ...

They offer a wide selection of goods
& services ... including marijuana

This used to be Kay's shop
Magnolia Pottery

This plaque is placed by the covered bridge

This train carriage is a coffee shop

Stu and Kay (Carol's sister) Horowitz lived here for about 35 years.  Kay died 9 years ago and Stu has since moved to Denver.  However, Stu became involved with the Carousel of Happiness Project.  He helped build a carousel in Nederland and travels there every week to volunteer.  The project was envisioned by a Viet Nam veteran who hand-carved all the animals ... it took 26 years!

The kids love it

The carousel has a puppet theatre upstairs.  We both got into the act and put on a show.

Carol was full of monkey business

Dick's fox searched for and found a foxy lady

Dinner:
Stu got off work at 5:30pm.  We went further up the mountain for a pleasant dinner at the Sundance Cafe, then drove about 50 miles back to the campground.

Tomorrow:
We're going to tour some of Denver with Stu.

Day 8 - Limon, CO

We were up early, showered and on the road by 9:15am.  Today we continue the long drive across Kansas and gradually climb to a mile high in Colorado.

The route:
Very simple, drive west on I-70 for 348 miles.

Observations:
This was a perfect day to listen to a recorded book.

There was a constant, 10 mph, southerly cross-wind.  The temperature reached 93°F.

The scenery changed very little until the eastern foothills of the Rockies rose up as we approached Limon.

This was our view of Kansas for nearly 6 hours

The view began to change in Colorado

There were a few "fun views" along the way.

This wind farm showed up in Kansas at
milepost 230

There was a huge field of sunflowers

Sadly, we didn't stop to see the "World's Largest Prairie Dog" at exit 120 in Kansas.

Campground:
We stopped in Limon (pronounced LIE-mun), CO for the night.   Huge fields surround this small community.  We're at 5,377 ft.  It's hot, dry and windy.

We stayed here last year (on September 23rd) during our return from the Midwest Trip.  This stop wasn't because of great memories ... we were tired and close enough to Denver to stop.

Limon KOA

Site #4

We met Barry and Annie Bonds from Charleston, SC.  They're camped next to us.  They have been on the road for 3 months and are heading home.

Tomorrow:
We're about 90 miles from our Denver destination.  It should be easy to get there by noon tomorrow.