Nomads, days 27 and 28 (9/29/3023)

We are getting closer to home, although on the spur of the moment we decided to extend our trip by cone more day. However, that is not the subject of the day; you will have to wait for the next post for that update. In this report, we are now about to turn east and head for home.

Day 27: Alamosa (CO) – Walsenburg – La Junta (CO) – Dodge City (KS)

Day 28: Dodge City – Spearville – Newton – Kansas City – Lee’s Summit (MO)

Now I am wondering myself, why mention these towns or cities in between? The reason for one is, so you the reader can follow the route on a map or some mapping program. Secondly, the locations mentioned here are somewhat significant on our travels. La Junta and Newton were lunch spots. In La Junta we had our first Sonic on our trip (actually in our life), but since we are traveling with dogs, lunch is in the van with the AC on. Moreover, at Sonic you can park under a canopy, somewhat in the shade. Sonis was not what you call fine dining; but it was ok. In Newton we stopped at a BBQ chain. That one was OK and we were somewhat enchanted by that small town.

We got gas in Walsenburg. One of the (not so) secret goals of our trip is to find yarn stores and boy, it looks like there was one right across the gas station. To our mutual disappointment, Edla’s had shut down. From the looks of it, the shop might have been closed for the past 40 or so years.

Other reportables include the huge windmill array in Spearville, and on day 27 the wonderful descent from 7500 feet in Alamosa to the shortgrass prairie in eastern Colorado. We drove along the Santa Fe trail (another thing to follow one of these days, or maybe the Oregon trail, or even the Mormon trail).

Finally Dodge City! Folks who know me know that during my lunch hour I used to go for a walk whenever I was working at the office in Richmond. My excuse was always that I needed to “get the hell out of Dodge.” In other words, it was time for me to put action to my words and get the hell out of Dodge. However, to leave you first have to enter and I needed to visit the famous western town Dodge City. Naturally, we needed to stay at the Gunsmoke TV park and visit Boot Hill. The camping was overrun by flies, and fair. Truthfully, we had our share of flies during our trip, but being in feedlot country really contributed to the number of flies that pestered us (and Radar). Dodge City, been there bought the t-shirt (literally).

We fell in love with the camping location in Lee’s Summit. This was at a county park and simply delightful. It was clean, well maintained and cheap ($20 per night). County parks have not disappointed us, to date. On the way over, we hit another wool store that was closed.

The last item in today’s report was the weather. For a weather channel junkie, somewhat science guy, and a meteorologist as wife, it was fascinating to watch the “dry” line set up. This is an imaginary line in the sky where thunderstorms develop and move east. It is a line between the dry desert air and moist air coming from the Gulf of Mexico. It was beautiful and from just west of La Junta to Dodge City we watched them develop. Based on the radar on our phone, one particularly large one seems to develop near Tucumcari, NM. It was beautiful to watch it grow to an amazing huge storm of an hour or so. In Garden City, just before Dodge City there were another few that were developing. Unlike what we have in Virginia, where thanks to the trees, we were treated to a visual spectacle watching storms develop. It was so nice to see the horizon.

The descent from Alamosa showed scares from a burn that must have occurred a year or so ago.  Root sprouters like aspen seemed to have survived the fire 

Developing thunderstorms on the "dry line"

Garden City thunderstorm

I shot the sheriff