Dinosaurs East of the 100th Meridian

East bound through Nebraska, along parts of the Oregon and California Trails, Pony Express Route, and the Lincoln Highway.

Bidding a fond farewell to the Cobblestone Inn, and the 1909 Morrill County Courthouse just next door, the road quickly unfolded under clear skies.  Storms had raged all around and along the intended path for this day, throughout the entire evening.  Bridgeport had escaped unscathed with no more than a show of lightening overnight.  Small cumulus appeared randomly, which would grow quietly and persistently, stalking travels of the day.

An hour into the journey homeward, Ash Hollow State Historical Park appeared suddenly around a bend, seemingly out of nowhere.  The site has a history that extends more than 3 millennia. A small cave validates much of that journey through time. The cool sweet water spring it hosts made it a highly valued stop along the Oregon and California trails.  A turn of the century schoolhouse stands sentinel at the opposite end from the visitor center.  As well, a few blocks further down the road, the Windlass site shows off a typical homestead home of the time and ruts left by the wagon trains.  Grounds were inaccessible on this visit, so said tracks were not validated.

The original plan considered connecting with Interstate 80 and flying back as quickly as possible.  Mood, coupled with voices from the elders gathered around the campfire the night before, discouraged those ambitions. Massive construction efforts were underway in the region, suggesting the current trajectory was likely more temporally profitable. Two lane blacktop across the never ending farmland first offered up an abandoned rest area.  The space gave a moment to reflect, while gazing out across the fields to Lake McConaughy on the distant horizon.  Followed up by a good stretch across gravel made for a good morning on the road and put things in the right perspective.

The Lincoln Highway presented a few interesting points, along this very first transcontinental roadway specifically laid out for automobiles. The preferred route for anyway wanting to cross the 5,000 kilometres from New York City to San Francisco, it kept folks out of the mud, allowed things to move faster, and contributed significantly to mass human migrations across the United States.

Long before all of that, an 1854 fur trading post and ranch house on the Oregon Trail became an important station for the Pony Express.  It served routes west for the Overland Trail Stage after that, retiring as a dwelling some time around 1931.  Relocated from its original site to Ehmen Park in Gothenburg, it is dedicated to "All Pioneers Who Passed This Way, To Win and Hold the West."

Cumulus piled up all around all day, threatening yet more wind, rain, and hail.  Two systems swirled around our location, tracking our moves.  Maneuvers were mostly successful.  We remained out in front of the situation for a good little while.

Arriving at the point where east meets west, the 100th Meridian west of Greenwich, the storm had gathered some speed and caught up to the refueling mission in Cozad.  Buckets of rain fell for a few minutes and reduced visibility to near zero, as we watched the tirade from the under the awning of a local station.

It all moved off as quickly as it had arrived and the sun poked in and out, as we passed through a variety of small towns that pepper the landscape.  One maintained their artillery openly, while all others kept it politely out of site.  A few other veterans kept their proudly on display in the back window gun rack; a sight not often seen these days.

Alda still struggled with effects of the storm from the night before.  Multiple power lines leaned toward the highway, while construction crews assessed the situation.  Efforts to ignore the interstate were strangled just after that, a little east of Grand Island.  It was not all that it was cracked up to be.  Agreeing the right decision had been made earlier to avoid the situation, a return to the two-lanes occurred with the most expediency possible.

That short stretch required to get to Lincoln left a longing for a little scenery.  Disengaging from the interstate encouraged a loop through Arbor Lodge State Historic Park for a small walkabout around a site this is becoming the perfect pit stop for chill reflection.

An infestation of dinosaurs nearby necessitated a return to the necessary evil of the high-speed blacktop though.  Time was waning and there is no quicker way anyhow.  Jumping across the state line into Iowa, the southbound journey along the interstate turned mostly uneventful.  

Storms that had raged around us the night before, and most of the day, had traveled our path throughout the night, landing in Kansas City for a time.  Cresting a hill south of St. Joseph, the trailing edge of a storm stood out clearly on the horizon and, according to our source on the ground, currently pounding the city.   A summary end to the entire adventure.  Chasing the storm away in this skirmish, the sun quickly shined upon home base, just in time for arrival. 

. . .

Further Reading

Ash Hollow State Historical Park

Nebraska Game & Parks

Lincoln Highway

Lincoln Highway Association

Gothenburg Pony Express Station

100th Meridian in Nebraska
Jerry Penry

Arbor Lodge State Historical Park

Nebraska Game & Parks

Hardscrabble to Nebraska

Out of Colorado into Nebraska, through Scotts Bluff National Monument and Chimney Rock National Historic Site and a hail storm.

Successfully navigating the fringe of chaos in Colorado Springs, the first encounter of the day appeared just west of Limon in Colorado.  The historic Matheson brick schoolhouse from the early 1900s stood solemn on the sunny hillside.  Not much could be gathered about this location just now, but give the internet time. 

The trail turned north from Limon, through the wide open spaces of northeast Colorado.  The view into Nebraska changed only with a few minor buttes and the addition of a storm looking to intercept our route.  Escaping the hail-bearing load seemed improbable just north of Kimball.  Fortunately, it arrived at the turn before us and was unable to stop and sailed off to the south. We countered with a turn to the north, permitting only a momentary peppering of the transport.

Storms brewing all around, forecast for the afternoon into evening, hail and high winds were promised to those that remained for the credits.  Atop Scotts Bluff National Monument confirmed much of that already communicated by radio  The bluff area stood in sunshine throughout this investigation. A strange weather phenomenon is suspect.

The clouds eventually intensified in the area, too insistent to be deterred by any odd circumstance of wind currents, encouraging departure.  Chimney Rock stood waiting down the road, after a pause for refueling and refreshment.

Words of encourage at the station enabled a moment of amusement.  Sound advice such as this seems much more appropriate than the useless banners and advertising that typically appear at the pump.

Out in front of the leading edge of the storm yielded just enough time to drop by Chimney Rock National Historic Site; not much though.   The weather was definitely taking a dramatic turn and a road of fine dirt led out to the monument.  It would be a sloppy, muddy mess in storm and stranded there could prove a disadvantage to plans for the evening.  The visit out to the site lasted only a handful of minutes and just as the vehicle hit the pavement, the first few drips assailed us from above.  

Sprinting quickly to the east in an effort to get back in front of the situation, no more drops fell as quickly as the first had fallen.  Authorities crackled over the radio that the worst of the storm was then passing to the north, through  Hemingford and Alliance, paralleling our route.  Reports of high winds, the potential for tornado activity, and rather large size hail were distributed evenly, and conveniently in that particular location.

Bridgeport, the final resting place for the evening, remained out of the path of most everything that night. Enjoying ice cream at a walk-up later in the evening, locals shared that the weather always does that in those parts, then offered up photos of the hail stones their children had forwarded.  The decision to forego Carhenge in Alliance had been a wise one indeed.

. . .

Further Reading

Scotts Bluff National Monument

National Park Service

Chimney Rock National Historic Site

National Park Foundation

Storm Brings Damage To Box Butte County

Alliance Times-Herald

Golf Surrounded by Storms

A day on the course.

A long trip looming on the horizon of the next morning, a relaxed afternoon seemed in order. Formal dinner arrangements were slated for the evening. Otherwise, no plans for mountain excursions or creeping through the forest were made. A different sort of hiking around was in order, with Pikes Peak and the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop.

Taking time to get our act together, tee time occurred somewhere around Noon, kicking off a good round of 18 holes at Sumo Golf Village near Florence.  It could not have been a better day for it. Mostly clear, with highs in the mid 30°s C, little to no humidity or wind made for little effort at a good game, finishing under par.  While Storms swirled around the mountains throughout most of the day, none bothered our party.

The game finished just in time to clean up and head over to Quincy's Steak & Spirits in Florence, treating our hosts to a good meal at a location they had not yet tried out.  Other considerations came into play later in the evening, and a trip to a little dive in Cañon City offered further relaxation and an opportunity to meet a few new folks.  

. . .

Further Reading

The Sumo Golf Village

Florence, CO

Quincys Steak & Spirits

Florence, CO

A Return to the Gorge and Skyline

Exploring the remodeled Royal Gorge Park with a pause at Skyline Drive.

Wrangling a few critters and getting crew and equipment aligned, the expedition set out to rediscover the Royal Gorge.  It had been consumed by fire in 2013 and had not been visited since a few years before that situation.

The gorge itself looks no different now than it did then.  There are likely subtle nuances that only a geologist or a forester would note.  The average spectator observes the deep crevasse in the earth is unchanged.  The crags that line the walls appear unmarred and traffic flows above and beyond the bridge as must as before, with a few exceptions.

New structures grace the park, seemingly more in line with the dangers of ignition.  Stone and paved aprons surround many of them and their general build suggests easy and affordable replacement.  The carousel is now on the opposite side of the river too, with a new amphitheater, kids playground, and a new way to see the canyon.

Two of our explorers tested this particular new feature, billed as the highest zipline in the United States, rising nearly 400 meters above the Arkansas River.  They arrived safely at the opposite bank and highly recommended enjoying the trip.  Those that remained firmly on land to capture their journey were intrigued, but settled for their word.

The view from the bridge is spectacular as ever and quite enough for most.  If one lingers long enough, the Royal Gorge Railroad will cruise by.  This used to be an up-close and personal event, accessible by simply taking the incline railway to the bottom.  Unfortunately, the incline is conspicuously absent.  The remodel did not include re-installation of that item, likely the most favorite for most.

Rafters and those braving the waters on kayak are often seen cruising by, attempting to keep themselves within the confines of the raft, while navigating their way around massive boulders in the stream below.  It can be a perilous adventure and not for the faint of heart.

A new theater showcases a cinematic history of the gorge.  Outside the doors, another relic from the old days rests in silence.  The miniature Royal Gorge Railroad once took sightseers on a small tour of the area, to include a visit to the edge.  That is no more, as well.  The movie inside is fascinating though, with some fantastic footage from the early days and the fire that wiped most of the park out.

Walking back across the bridge, the feat of engineering across this geology is amazing in it's own right.  Years of automobile traffic, apparently no longer permitted, and the pedestrian traffic seem to have had little effect on the situation.  The fire only provided space for re-imagining everything.

Our crew began the journey back to base camp, having had enough of leisure activities for the day.  A brief pause for sustenance set everything in the right frame of mind, enabling another pause along Skyline Drive to inspect some relatively new signage about the dinosaur tracks there.  Apparently, this information has been readily available for quite a few years.  It is surprising how much escapes attention sometimes.  A narrow road across a hogback can down that.

Arriving at base camp, there was very little left to do with the day.  Relaxing to watch the sun burn out of the sky in brilliant shades of orange seemed the most appropriate way to end another fun day of exploring this region of Colorado.

. . .

Further Reading

Royal Gorge Bridge And Park Reopens After Fire

CBS 4 Denver

Royal Gorge Bridge & Park

Tracing Newlin Creek

Conquering the Newlin Creek Trail within San Isabel National Forest.

The solo expedition out to Newlin Creek Trail proved mostly uneventful. Skies began clear, with a few clouds loitering about, on a day with temperatures lingering in the 30°C range. Thunderstorms were expected late in the afternoon, so it was somewhat imperative to get up the trail and back down by around 4 pm.

Dry and  partially deserted farmland quickly faded into forested foothills surrounding the Wet Mountains.  The roads quickly disintegrated from blacktop to gravel, and finally, to dirt.  Beyond the entrance to Florence Mountain Park manifested more decay,  showcasing ruts approximately 50 centimetres in depth.  The low clearance vehicle of the particular transport in use was not exactly equipped to handle such a scenario.

It only took a moment or two to assess the situation and identify a method for carefully navigating the transport through the scene, leveraging the banks of the runs so as to arrive unmolested at a shady parking for the trailhead. Signing the guess book and considering the prohibition on Greenback Cutthroat Trout, the 4 km expedition quickly launched into a forest of towering pines and grainte.

A somewhat sandy trail quickly changed to a wide packed earth path, slowly rising alongside a shallow rushing creek.  Aspens quaked all around and the pines seemingly launcher higher and higher into the sky. Sometimes thrown asunder, apparently by some storm or another but overall, nicely shading most of the passage.  

The first direct encounter with the stream turned out to be of the constructed variety.  Lying nearby, remnants of previous construction efforts stood at the ready for quick improvements or repairs.  It was obvious the latter was more likely the case for this crossing.  Spring runoff can be fierce.

Massive granite boulders lined the path as often as the tall pines, hinting at a completely random and unidentified hazard.  Fresh rockfall was not evident.  These rocks did simply not grow this way.

Along the trail, water poured and cascaded across and sometimes out of the rock formations.  The rush of water could be heard for a good portion of the way.  None of the pools or falls were deep or particularly spectacular, only amusing in their own way.

The trail wound back and forth across the creek numerous times with no further attempts to construct passage across.  It was not really needed. Nature provided all the raw materials for short and shallow hops across and others had already leveraged those parts as needed.

Nearing the final destination, flora became more abundant.  Fauna remained quietly out of sight.  Birds could be heard in the trees.  No others dared showed their tails.  While only passing a handful of other adventurers along the way, that remained too much for many species.

The sawmill sat abandoned, right where Nathaniel Herrick left it.  Rusting quietly into the surrounding landscape it is an ode to hard work and ambition.  Manufactured by the Great Western Foundry of Leavenworth and hauled these 4 km up the mountain, one can only guess at the blood, sweat, and tears that went into that effort.

The trail continued on beyond the mill and undergrowth became much more dense.  A clearing expanded to contain a massive granite outcrop at the 4.8 km mark.  Shaded by towering pines all around, it produced the perfect location to stretch out for a moment of relaxation and consideration of the sights, sounds, and efforts of the day.

The journey back along the same path found leaves of the forest slowly stopped reflecting any light and things began to dim.  The promised rain was coming.  It was time to put the camera away and quicken the pace.  Fortunately, the return trip downhill only took about a third as long as the way up.

The pace proved not quite quick enough.  In the last half kilometre, the clouds unleashed their payload.  In most situations, on a hot day such as this, there would have been no objection.  This is a flash flood area though, and entry to trailhead had required maneuvering around some fairly deep trenches.  Careful navigation was required to complete that objective, along with several other minor flash floods crossing the paved roadway portion.  This most perilous portion of the adventure finally ended at the main highway; ironically, so did the rain.

. . .

Further Reading

Rusting Trailside Dreams
Newline Creek Trail and the Nathaniel Herrick Sawmill

Medium

Newlin Creek Trail # 1335

San Isabel National Forest

US Forest Service

Florence Mountain Park Newlin Creek Trail

Colorado Central Magazine

Agnes Vaille Diversion

Northwest to waterfalls and cascades near and along Chalk Creek, east across South Park to Florissant and south along High Park.

Out on the road reasonably early, the quest remained uncertain until arriving at Westcliffe.  The vote was split between a search for falls near the Great Sand Dunes, and those along Cascade Creek Trail, also known as Agnes Vaille Falls.

Looping around the town uncovered a few interesting items and the decision was made then to forego the three hour tour out to the dunes in favor of some cooler fresh mountain air a couple hours north.  The party was not particularly found of wading through glacial melt water, so Agnes Vaille became the primary destination of the day. 

A brief interlude en route enabled windshield contemplation under blue skies.  Clouds began to form over the goal but did not appear too threatening.  The Beckwith Ranch flew by, offering a very quick glimpse of life from historic times.  By the time it registered, and a pause briefly entered into discussion, it shrank in the rear view mirror a few miles back.  There will be another time.

Reaching Cotopaxi, the whimsical decision to continue north along Bernard Creek and connect with Nathrop seemed as good as any choice at the time.  Pavement gradually gave way to loose gravel, dirt roads, and gently deteriorating road conditions.  The weather began to take a turn for the unknown as well.  Witnessed earlier from further south, the front row view stood more ominous, and.  The diversion was abandoned in favor of more sure footing for the vehicle, in the event of an unexpected deluge.  

The vehicle connected with more appropriate paving to Salida under increasingly cloudy skies.  Pausing in Salida enabled some quick refreshment at the usual haunt, Moonlight Pizza & Brewpub.  The skies continue to make vague threats though.  A timely departure seemed paramount to ensuring the success of the mission, and it was quickly on the road again.

The water falls immediately below the summit of Mount Princeton.  The feature had been discovered on a previous expedition to the area, but signage lacks any sort of indication as to the length of the journey to the falls.  At that time, the party was not prepared for anything more than a kilometre or so and simply bookmarked the idea for another time.  Later research uncovered the trail indeed traversed only about 1.5 kilometres.  

The path is generally easy, with breathtaking views and an array of colorful wildflowers sprinkled throughout the area, framing the solitude of the trail on this particular afternoon.  The abundance of growth undoubtedly urged on by the frequent storms the region experienced recently, today was no different.  The clouds loomed dark and heavy, threatening to unload their cargo at any moment.

Arrival at the "viewing platform" fills you in on the geology of the situation.  A closer inspection of the faulting and sheet erosion taking place in real time is required to stand near the falls.  Caution is required though. This area is disintegrating rapidly, and is one of the most active debris flows in the entire state.

Clambering up sides of the creek bed, across an area fresh with rock fall, the cascading water is immediately accessible a short half-kilometre from the viewing platform.  It is a beautiful sight, but not an ideal situation to be involved with, as one family discovered several years ago.  Again, caution.  Danger lurks here.

Turning attention down stream from the falls to locate the half of the party that had stayed behind at the platform, found no human presence and no familiar sights. Someone rearranged the landscape.  The platform and comrade were perfectly visible only moments before.  Traversing what seemed like the right about space, a game of "Marco Polo" quickly ensued.

On the way up to the falls, another cascade had been noted. Back a few kilometres along the trail, a small shaded parking lot hid the Colorado Trail.  It is part of roughly 800 km trail traversing lands southwest of Denver towards Durango.  Chalk Creek roars beneath a wooden walking bridge, following its own trail it search of the Arkansas River and points beyond.

Two other trails appear to converge here.  The Narrow Gauge Trail 1432 Trail connects, wandering west, and a more minor trail heads east to nearby camping.  A short half-kilometre hike between the two, along the Colorado Trail, enables spectacular views of the adjacent Chalk Cliffs of Mount Princeton.

Rain never arrived throughout all of this.  The clouds spit a few drops here and there, and lightening crashed occasionally. The latter, encouraging departure for safer surroundings, began a new quest for facilities.  Johnson Village appeared to be the closest option and it seemed only logical to continue that course through Antero Junction, on to Hartsel, and turn south from there, for no other reason than to see what could be seen.

That last town turned out to be a bit of problem.  Actually, not the town so much as the road leading south from that town. Attempting that heading met with another explorer who had just ventured down the route.  Recent flash flooding had washed out a bridge down and a road crew was on the way to inspect the situation sometime in the next hour.  Their judgement likely would rest with a permanent closure of the route, until repairs could be made.  Chasing the sun ahead of the storms, the lack of detour options enabled more of the phenomenal views of the Rocky Mountains. 

Google made the obscene suggestion to go on to Colorado Springs, which would have added even more time to the clock.  The scenario would also immerse the expedition in the last thing of interest, densely populated civilization.  A more expedient route through Florrissant gave the party a chance to take in more mostly undisturbed views, along with a peek at the Hornbeck Homestead.  The reconstruction of the 1878 homestead shares a snapshot of the life of single mother Adeline Hornbek.  After the death of her husband,  she successfully recovered a ranch decimated by flooding around the same time.

Reconnecting with earlier intended course much further south than originally intended, the road appeared unmolested by heavy rains in this region.  The sun began to peek out in places, and the expedition congregated with like minds over a good meal at base camp.  The clouds caught to the area, quickly blotting out the remainder of the day, sealing the stars from the sky on this night.

. . .

. . .

Further reading, relevant at the time of publication.

History of Custer County Schools

Custer County Schools

Moonlight PIzza & Brewpub

Agnes Vaille Falls Trail (Cascade Creek Trail)

AllTrails

Chaffee County Rockslide Kills 5

The Denver Post

The Colorado Trail

The Colorado Trail Foundation

Narrow Gauge Trail 1432

AllTrails

Adeline Warfield Hornbek

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

National Park Service