Dead Horse State Park to mid Missouri #6

The run home. We had a a deadline to meet. Be home for Jennys 25th birthday, or else.

The race east part 1

Well... the first part was not so much of a race. First stop after Dead Horse was just east of Grand Junction, CO where we sort of holed up for the 4th July weekend. We almost never make reservations, let alone make them far in advance, but we have learned that for big holidays like July 4th you had better have reservations or there is no getting a spot. Just like Paradise Lake & Cup Match.

Island Acres State Recreation Area WP#2 on map

Island Acres

Island Acres

BOOM

From a little east of Grand Junction we get into very familiar territory especially past the Copper Mountain ski area & the Eisenhour tunnel on I70 where we run into the worst traffic jam of the trip caused by people headed back to the Denver area after the holiday. Lesson learned. Stay an extra day & avoid the homeward rush.

Back to the Boulder area for an optomotrist visit & contacts pickup then down to Chatfield State Park just south of Denver for an Irish Music Festival. Chatfield is one huge park the size of at least three of Bermudas parishes & a reservoir near the size of the Great Sound in the middle.

Chatfield SP looking SW WP#4 on map

Bagpipe band competition @ Irish Festival

A band from Nova Scotia

The Festival was a two day event starting mid day & going on to 11 or so.

Nature saved one of the most spectacular sunsets for right near the end of the trip. This is the back end of a thunderstorm that fortunately slid by ten or fifteen miles to the north of us. Fortunate because it dumped sizable hail ontop of N Denver.

Monday morning, after the rush, the race was on headed east. Lovely weather till near Colby, Kansas. Out on the plains is like being on the ocean. You can see for miles. We got lucky & dodged another thunderstorm that produced damaging hail in Colby less than half an hour after we passed through town. Thanks to the VHF ham radio in the truck we were able to talk to hams in Colby with radar access telling us where & which way the storm was headed. No tornadoes produced by this one.