On Day 4 we drove from Durango to Colorado Springs, putting us well over 1,100 miles so far. We even got to drag this piece of underbody cover all that way. We'll be out for 14 more days, so there are many more miles to go.
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| fine Toyota workmanship |
Today we got a good fill of beautiful alpine scenery, which is very difficult to capture on a cell phone camera at 65 mph, sorry for lack of photos. We crossed two passes, Wolf Creek Pass at 10,550 feet, the very top of the Continental Divide, and La Veta Pass (9,415 feet)
The high prairie between the passes, at about 8,000 feet, was all potato farms and boarded up shops, different from our 2008 trip across Montana and Idaho, where there were plenty of potato farms but not so many closed up stores. We are seeing definite signs of tough economic times.
When we were leaving Durango this morning we saw some vehicles with “Race Across America” signs on them. For those of you who don’t know, the Race Across America is just that, a nonstop bicycle race, this year from Oceanside to Annapolis, 2,989 miles. The vehicles are necessary to support and protect the riders, especially on climbs like the Wolf Creek Pass, where we passed this guy and his support crew. If you ride, you might think you’re hardcore, but until you can ride 2,000 miles in 5 days, like this year’s race leader, Christoph Strasser (who is already in Illinois), you’re not really hardcore.
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| hardcore climb up the Wolf Creek Pass |
We got into Colorado Springs in time to visit the Air Force Academy, checking out the Visitor Center and gift shop (passed on any merch, we’re a Navy family). I guess our Prius tagged us as "unreliable", since the guard at the gate insisted on searching the car after letting an RV pass unmolested.
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| off we go... |
We also saw the famous Air Force Academy chapel, quite striking, and got a little sneek peak at the dorms, which seem just as sloppy as at a normal college.
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| into the wild blue yonder |
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| Air Force Academy dorms - so modern |
Talk to you later!
