 |
| Miles Traveled:
613 Total miles: 2262 Stops: Music selections: Click on highlighted words for pictures... |
| Time to roll some miles again! So I'm back on the
road this morning, headed for Amarillo, Texas. My first stop of
the day, Royal Gorge, Colorado.
The phrase for today's trip is "MISSED EXIT". Would you believe I missed exits THREE times today? The first one would have been the exit for Highway 115 to Penrose, Colorado... from there I would have turned off to Royal Gorge... BUT NO! I missed it! So I headed to Pueblo, and caught Highway 50. My impression of Royal Gorge is mixed.... It's extremely beautiful, and quite a wonder to see.. but it's also a MAJOR tourist trap. On the way to the Gorge, you're greeting by huge billboards for "Buckskin Joe" and his wild west adventure, train rides, scenic tours, raft adventures, ad nauseum. Even when you get to the park itself, there's rides for the kids, vending booths everywhere, food stands..... And the trails are positioned so they put you right between all of the vendors. One thing I should say, is that I really DON'T like heights. It really gives me the willies... which is one of the reasons why I chose Royal Gorge as a stop... to fuck with my own head. The first time I went across the bridge was pretty intense... The wind was blowing pretty hard, and you could feel the bridge moving under your feet... I stopped and looked over the side... YOW. That's a LOOOONG way down! So now came the ultimate test.... taking the TRAM across the gorge. Man, talk about serious pucker factor going on there. I did get some really nice shots of the bridge, though, and if gives you an idea of the scale of Royal Gorge. Very impressive. I stayed at the park for about an hour and a half, and then decided I'd seen enough and it was time to hit the road again. Back onto Highway 50, and into Pueblo, then south towards Raton. The sky was looking dark, and I could see rain off in the distance. Enter missed Exit #2. My intention was to turn off onto Highway 64/87 and head towards Clayton... BUT NO!! I drove right past it... So I just kept heading south to Springer, and caught 56/412 towards Clayton. A huge thunderhead loomed off to the south, and I could see storm clouds up ahead as well. I hit a little bit of rain as I near Clayton, and some very ominous looking clouds chased be for a while... but as I reached the Texas border, the weather had cleared, and made for a beautiful sunset cast across towering Cumulo-Nimbus clouds. Enter missed Exit #3. As darkness fell, I could see the lights of Amarillo on the horizon - and it was still 30 miles away!! Man, Texas sure is FLAT! My plan was to head into Amarillo, hit I-40 west, and then find a hotel for the night.... so I took what I *thought* was the right exit, and found myself on I-27 South... WRONG! Okay, U-turn time. Found it going back the other way... and stopped for the night at the Motel 6. Tomorrow I'm off to Dallas/Fort Worth to party it up with a few LS1.COM members. Can't wait! <<previous ----- <<schedule>> ----- next->> |