Retired and Trippin

It was a foggy morning and 64 degrees when we departed Pratt, KS at 8:40AM. The route today was 61 north to Arlington, KS; S Sego Rd north; 14 north to Sterling, KS; 56 east; 150 east; 50 east; I-35 north to the KC area. My grandfather was a botany professor at Sterling College plus my parents and many cousins attended Sterling College. Chris and I stopped on campus and walked around.   In Strong City, KS we stopped at the Ad Astra Restaurant for some tasty vittles. Our day, and trip, ended at 2:50PM when we arrived home. We drove 280 miles today. Total trip mileage was 2,225. To see all the photos taken today click on this link: Day 9 Photos  

Departure from our hotel in Trinidad, CO was at 8:30 under sunny skies with a temperature of 59 degrees. The route today was I-25 north; Hwy 160 east; Hwy 350 northeast to Ja Junta; Hwy 50 east into Kansas to Garden City; Hwy 156 east to Jetmore; Hwy 283 south; Hwy 400 east; Hwy 54 east to Pratt. It rained last night so the cars were wet when we started. On Hwy 350 between Trinidad and La Junta we stopped so Mel and I could put the tops down on our convertibles. They had finally dried out. It was 68 degrees. We took a break in La Junta, CO and stopped for lunch in Syracuse, KS. The photo below was taken on Hwy 156 east of Garden City on our way to Jetmore, KS, where we split up. Mel, Trish, Moyer and Susan continued eastbound on 156 headed for home. Chris and I walked and drove around Jetmore before heading south on 283. My mother grew up in Jetmore so it's a special place to me. They also have a new water tower since my last visit. On our way to Pratt we drove by Mullinville, KS,

At 8:40 we left the condo in Cascade Village and drove south on Hwy 550  to Durango, where we washed our rides and Mel gassed up. It was sunny and 54 degrees when we left. From Durango our route was 160 westbound. Our first stop was at Chimney Rock National Monument west of Pagosa Springs, CO. Turns out it was a time consuming proposition to drive/walk to the Anasazi ruins so we used the restroom, took some photos and left. At Pagosa Springs, CO we turned south on Highway 84, which took us into New Mexico. Highway 64 took us eastbound into Chama, NM. After a tasty lunch at the BoxCar Cafe we walked down to the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad station and rail-yard. We drove north out of Chama on Hwy 17. A short distance up the road we stopped to take a photo of the train headed south to Chama. Back in Colorado, we continued north and east on 17 to Antonito, CO. North of Antonito, in Conejos, we stopped to check out the oldest church in Colorado. Our route to close out the day was 2

Another relaxed start to the day. It rained in the night but no rain until later in the day when we were back in the condo. At 10:40AM Mel, Trish, Chris and I left for Silverton. It was partly sunny and 54 degrees. Moyer and Susan were going to Ouray again. We had lunch at Handlebars in Silverton and walked the main drag. On the way back we got some pics of aspen trees starting to change. We were back at our condo by 1:15PM or so, in time for a nap, swim and hot-tub. We concluded our day with some rousing card games. Our extensive travels today covered 41 miles. To see all the pics taken today click on this link:  Day 6 Pics

In my blog for day 4 I failed to mention a momentous occasion. We drove from Salida, CO to Durango, CO and the Mustang got over 30 mpg's, which is amazing. It would have gotten 30 mpg's for the entire day but the climb from Durango to Cascade Village, located north of the Purgatory Ski Resort, knocked it down to 29 mpg's. Twas a wet day in the mountains north of Durango, Colorado. After enjoying a lazy morning in the Cascade Village north of the Purgatory ski area we departed for Silverton at 10:45AM. It was 57 degrees and raining. As we drove north on 550 the temperature dropped to the low 50's. It was raining lightly when we arrived in Silverton. The ladies did some shopping while the men wandered around town. We had lunch at Natalia's 1912 Restaurant ( Natalia's 1912 Restaurant ). To see all the photos taken in Silverton click on this link:  Silverton Highway 550 from Silverton to Ouray is known as the Million Dollar Highway and it is one of my favorite drive