Thursday, July 18, 2013

Moving day - S. Dakota to Colorado

****This is a catch-up post****


June 22, 2013
Leaving the Black Hills
 
It’s moving day again.  On our way to Colorado to see some relatives in Denver and explore the Rocky Mountain National Forest.  I’m typing this in the car, in a Word document since we don’t have any wifi coverage in the area.  Not easy to type in the car on a bumpy road. 
 
Kind reminders from the camp ground.
The landscape has already changed dramatically in just a half hour from the Black Hills.  Now we have rolling prairie with low brush and an occasional canyon-like structure.  And mountains on the horizon.   Also, we saw the first oil wells of the trip just after entering Wyoming.

 

 

Originally I wanted to make short “day” stops along the way but that is proving difficult.  One place was the Oregon Trail wagon wheel ruts and Register Cliffs (where pioneers carved their names/dates/origins).  G thought that would put us in our campground too late so I just told the kids about it and said, “it’s right over that hill.” 

Anna listening excitedly about pioneer history.
Turns out it was a good thing we didn’t stop.  Soon after, dark clouds crept up in the west, lots of them.  We had to stop for gas, and by the time I returned from paying and getting coffee, it had grown darker, the wind picked up, Zoe was frantic and G was urging me to hurry.  Here's what was looming over us.

 
To keep an eye on the weather, I have an app called WeatherAlert.  About five minutes past the gas stop, I got a tornado warning for the area we had just left.  If we had stopped to see the ruts…..
 Zoe the weather-dog, warned us of the bad weather long before the app did.
 
We did arrive safe at Riverview Campground in Loveland, CO.  Beautiful site near a small mountain river, and soaring cliffs.  But no Verizon cell tower.  Oh pooh, no phone service for the next few days.  Guess we’re roughing it now.
Welcome to Colorado.

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