No Wandering in Wyoming

 Wyoming has a LOT of open space!  What a difference between the traffic on I-25 in Colorado and I-25 in Wyoming!  I think we encountered more cars in half an hour in Colorado than the whole time we were in Wyoming.

About half our trip in Wyoming was on the I-25 interstate, the remaining was on Wyoming Route 59. Gilllette is almost straight north of Windsor, Colorado where our son and daughter-in-law live. Don drove, Glen rode shotgun and I was content in the backseat. 

 

Not much to look at here except trains with their coal cars.  Wyoming has been the biggest coal producer in the United States since 1986.  The coal that comes from here is lower in sulfur, so it burns cleaner than coal from other states.  

Those long lines of coal cars needed a lot of engines to pull them!

Almost all the way back to Parker, Colorado there were storms brewing.  Luckily, we hit a few light and brief showers or drove through the area right after the storm had passed.  

No heavy traffic on the road we just went over either.  I wonder if people from Wyoming even know what it is to experience a traffic jam.  Boy, I would have been ecstatic to drive on the mostly empty roads to work years ago.

Going to Gillette

 Our last adventure was to the small town of Gillette, Wyoming.  Why there you ask?  To pick up our son-in-law, Glen and take him home with us to Arizona.  Our granddaughter Hailey was assigned to a physical therapy place there for a 6-week internship.  He flew to Utah and helped her drive to Gillette.  There is only a very small airport there, so it would be quite a process for him to fly home.  Luckily, we were still in Colorado, only 4 hours away by car (or truck).   We drove up on Saturday morning and left on Sunday morning, so it was a very quick and short trip.

Previously called Donkey Town and Rocky Pile, Gillette was founded in 1891.  The current population is probably around 40,000 people.   On Saturday afternoon we took a stroll in downtown Gillette.  At 4:30 PM not much was open and there was almost no traffic on the street.  It sure made it easy to find a parking spot!

Can you see the photo bomber between Glen and the cute bear?  👀

Basically, the downtown area is about two blocks long.   Definitely no crowds to worry about here. 

Hailey decided to take a break and have a short chat with a guy named Abe. 

Even though this is a small area, bronze sculptures were in abundance.  The tall lady below is "Belle".

Here is a cute grouping right in front of the children's store. Apropos, don't you think?

A group of retired people had set out their camping chairs on the sidewalk!  I guess that is what people do on Saturday night here to create their own entertainment.  As other individuals walked through, the group would clap and holler.  I was up for the challenge and skipped by them.😂😂

We met up with Hailey's host grandmother at Wyoming's Rib and Chop House for a nice dinner.

This is the church that Hailey will be attending while she stays with Elsie Peters. We left right after church to head back to Colorado for the night.

Hailey and Elsie Peters, her "adopted Grandma".  We discovered that Elsie grew up in Tucson and knew some of the same people we did since she attended Grace Lutheran Church there.  What a blessing for Hailey!  She has her own bedroom and bathroom in the basement and a loving person to watch over her.

Happy Trails to You

For those of us in the "older" generation, "Happy Trails to You Until We Meet Again" conjures up the image of Roy Rogers singing.  Happy trails for us now means biking on trails in various places, mostly in Colorado. Colorado is a great place for bicyclists, with trails all over the place.  When a new neighborhood is built, automatically incorporated are cement sidewalks that will accommodate riders and walkers.  

This year we tackled many different trails that were new to us, or sections of the 40-mile Cherry Creek trail that starts in Denver and goes through many suburbs.  No electric bikes for us although we have seen a dramatic increase of those on every single trail that we have ridden this year. 

The Centerra Trail took us over to Equalizer Lake through the city of Loveland. It does have many open areas with no shade, but it links up to the trail at Boyd Lake.

This trail also had a place where you could fix your bike or air up your tires!  Convenient!

The Poudre trail ride from Eastman Park (named after Eastman Kodak because the plant was nearby) took us up hills, open fields and shady paths.

Above is the view from one of the hills.  Below is the top part of the hill that we had to ride up. There are a few lakes in this 5 mile section.

Love this wood pelican carved out of a Cottonwood tree. It had been moved since the last time we rode from about a quarter of a mile away.  It is quite tall so that must have been a bear to move!

Our bike ride to La Porte from Ft. Collins was one of our favorite rides this summer. We started out near New Belgium Brewery which is well known to our beer loving family and friends. 🍺🍺 Lots of shade is provided by the huge Cottonwoods lining the path. 

However, the best part is the huge bridge that crosses over the Cache La Poudre River.  It juts out over the river itself, turning at left or right angles on it's way across.

We always try to do a ride on the Boyd Lake trail because it takes us right through the state park we camp hosted at for 6 years.  This year the lake was very high since there was plenty of runoff from the mountain snowmelt and an abundant amount of spring rain.

We ended up taking the detour through the grassy field.  Let's just say it was a whole lot bumpier than the regular cement path that goes right beside the lake.

Ah, Cherry Creek Trail, we sure do love you!  We have ridden on different portions at least 15 times this summer.  There are many parks and trailheads that we can start at, making this an easy trail to access. This year the grasshoppers were out in force but at least we didn't have to dodge them.  Coyote scat and goose poop is an entirely different story.  LOL😂

One section in the town of Parker took us right past some cute alpacas.

 

Another portion of the Cherry Creek trail was one that we had never ridden before.  Our son-in-law, Ken suggested this since he is avid biker and knows the paths like the back of his hand.  It took us south from Parker towards Franktown.  The only thing that I didn't care for was the snake sign.....I hate snakes!

There were a lot of Brown Eye Susans along the first part of our ride after starting out at Cobblestone Ranch Park.  Some of the flowers were taller than Don.

For a change, Don took a picture of me.  Usually I'm the one taking the pics, but today I left my camera back at Ken and Lisa's.

Due to major flooding in Ft. Collins this summer, a portion the Spring Creek trail was closed off.   Other portions required us to ride either beside the flowing creek or right through the standing water.

No fenders on the bikes meant we had to go through really SLOW to avoid getting muddy water splashed all over our backs. At least we have learned from experience.

Riding the Mason trail was a last-minute decision after seeing the detour sign on the Spring Creek Trail.  We were already near the downtown portion of Ft. Collins, so we both agreed to go in a different direction. It took us past many of the Colorado State University buildings and across quite a few railroad tracks.

 

Ramblin' On

 We both love vintage cars, and our daughter and son-in-law found the perfect place in Elizabeth, Colorado.  It is called Rambler Ranch.  The collection is far off the beaten path, back in a wooded area in the countryside. The focus was on AMC cars (American Motor Company).  It started out as Nash in 1916 by Charles Nash.  In 1954 Nash, Kelvinator and Hudson merged to become American Motors.

Ken and Lisa were in the front, with Don in the middle and me trailing behind.  I'm always at the back because I'm stopping to take pictures.

The first large building held a variety of cars: Nash Ramblers, Rebels, Ambassador cars, Javelins, Hornets and Gremlins.  Other buildings held vintage cars and other lines of classic automobiles. 

I wonder who drove this car, since the driver's side was on the right.

These older models now seem like huge boats, with enormous front engines and long bodies.

There were only 600 Rebel Mariner station wagons made in 1967. These even had a metal anchor insignia on the back end of the car and beautiful marine blue upholstery inside.

There was plenty to look at.

This is a 1966 Classic car used by the fire department.  Look at the size of the extra red light on the hood.  That would sure get your attention.

I loved the sign on this car.  I wonder how Kenosha is doing now that AMC is no longer in business.😕

This little electric car is called the Sparrow.  Very unique looking, and it sure would stand out with the bright yellow paint job.  Only one headlight. Hmmm, I don't think I'd feel comfortable driving this car on the road.

Before cars came equipped with air conditioning, there were add-ons that could be installed.

This one is like the swamp coolers used in Arizona during times of little humidity.  Kind of bulky, but at least it would keep the car cooler.

These little Nash Ramblers were the cutest cars.  Don worked with a guy who had a collection of them and drove them around Phoenix on a regular basis.

This topof the line Nash had an unusual hood ornament. We heard that the collector's daughter had posed for it!  It was an $11.00 add on feature.

Here's a list of options available in 1954. Foam cushions were $20, turn signals would have set you back a whole $16 and if you wanted hubcaps, you'd have to shell out $21.

In another building there were vintage cars dating back to the 1916-1930 years.  The mannequin reminded me of Al Capone and Elliot Ness.  

Just remember that the next time you go out to purchase a new vehicle, that Miss America says Nash Ramber is a real sweetheart!