April 30th 2012

The AC is on in our room at La Quinta.  We are treating ourselves today after a cold night sleeping in Mueller State Park in Divide, CO last night.  It dipped to the low 30s which put our sleeping bags to the test and also made for a very welcomed hot shower today.

From  El Reno we've driven further along Rt.66 through Oklahoma to Amarillo, TX where we spent the night.  Passing by many old Rt.66 motels/gas stations/hot spots/etc., we were surprised how much of the route has been either destroyed or no longer exists now.

We stopped at the Golden Light Cafe when we arrived in Amarillo.  A good burger and great cup of chili and then it was off to Lake Meredith.

Or, so we thought.  On the way there we were passed very quickly by some storm chasers clearly on their way to their next spot...which apparently was where we were headed...It's tough to tell from the picture below, but the vehicle ahead of the black SUV is one of the specialized storm-mobiles (or whatever they call em) that's tank-shaped and looks like a floating pod as it drives around....very fast...

The storm was unavoidable so on our way we actually passed many different storm chaser "teams."  Some where simply speeding by us going the opposite way (a good thing for us, we figured) with their vehicles draped with various equipment on the outside.  Some had even pulled over and were doing video recording.  We stayed in the car... 

After taking about 50 shots trying to catch one of the lightening bolts, the one I finally got was blurry.  But it came out alright...

 After fleeing Lake Meredith (where we planned on staying the night) to get ourselves out of the storm's path, we decided to head back to the city center and stay at a KOA closer in Amarillo instead.  The next morning we set our destination to Clayton, New Mexico.

("Big Texan" in Amarillo)

We found a place called Clayton Lake in Clayton.  Thinking it would be a good place, we wound our way down to the lake.  A crew of antelope were along the side of the road as we approached...

Well, we made a good choice this day.  Clayton Lake was not only a beautiful/quiet place, it also served as a home to one of the best "dinosaur footprint" fossilized track sites in the world (right).  It was incredible to see these as not only were they clearly visible, but paleontologists were able to determine exactly what the dinosaurs were doing at the time of leaving the prints, what the situation was, and the specific dinosaurs involved.  Like a forensic investigation written up on plaques lining the site.  

We then took the short walk back to our campsite, collected some wood for a fire, and watched the vultures fly around us.  We think Henry (the pug) was looking like a nice meal for them...

(Annie pointing them out as they flew over.  At one point we counted 7 all grouped together)

 
Annie really wanted to post this picture of me from that night. She liked my "double plaid" outfit.  I dunno...ha.  It was windy enough that day/night that we also had to tie down the poles with some extra line (can sort of see in picture above).

It was then off to La Junta, CO.  It's worth noting in my opinion the breakfast place we hit on our way out of Clayton.  The Rabbit Ear Cafe.  Easily the best Huevos Rancheros I've ever had.

As just a midpoint between where we were and the beginning of our Colorado destinations, we used the KOA in La Junta to stay the night.

Not much going on at the "One Stop" (right).

During the evening in La Junta we searched around to find ourselves a place to stay for the following night.  Wanting to start our Rockies phase of the trip, we found it difficult locating a park/campground to stay at further north towards Denver and the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Most parks around here in Colorado don't really open until after May 1st.  It's still considered "winter camping" at this point.  Mueller State Park in Divide, CO was what we found.  Only partially open (I'd estimate about 1/8 of the total camping sites were open), we increased our elevation to about 9,000ft and found ourselves facing Pike's Peak later that following day.  But before that, we took a short tour through the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

   Then on to Mueller State Park.  Although it was a cold one last night, it was definitely worth it.  We were the only tenters there that night amongst three RVs and a group of guys who were either travelers from Europe or in a band.  We couldn't figure it out.  But they slept in their van.  The views you get from the park are pretty great.  They have a couple look-out spots and paths throughout which can give you some nice shots towards the Rockies and Pike's Peak.

(Henry waiting for the fire to get lit)

 (facing the Rockies)

Now in Golden, CO, we are scanning the maps and internet for places to see and places to go tomorrow.  We were initially going to try and do a Coors brewery tour, but we couldn't find a pet boarder around that could accomodate us in short notice and the brewery doesn't do tours tomorrow or Wednesday.  So I think the plan is to truck further into the Rocky Mountain National Park tomorrow and see what we can find.