The Road Home Continues

Cheyenne, WY

We leave Wind Cave NP early and drive 237 miles to just outside Cheyenne, WY. The drive is uneventful and we arrive with enough time to relax before dinner. As we arrive there’s a notice from the host about frequent high winds in the area during the afternoons and evenings. She asks that we make sure to secure all our belongings as well as suggesting that we don’t use our awning. She wasn’t kidding, the winds that evening and overnight were really strong.

Despite the winds, we sleep really well in our lovely home on wheels and awake refreshed and ready for another day. As we raise the blinds we see our tent neighbors a few spots down were not so fortunate. Part of their camp is wrapped around the barbed wire fence surrounding the property.

After a quick breakfast we’re on the road to Colorado Springs.

Colorado Springs, CO

Cheyenne Mountain State Park

We arrive in Colorado Springs early afternoon and set up camp on private property just south of Cheyenne Mountain State Park. The property is in the woods and set up perfectly for a small camper. There’s a barn with horses, a donkey and over the three days we’re here we see deer, a family of wild turkeys, and have an overnight visit from a skunk. Luckily the skunk was just passing by and didn’t leave us any lingering evidence of his presence.

North Cheyenne Cañon Park

We sleep really well and awake to a beautiful sunny day. A perfect day for a picnic lunch in a nearby park with family and then a short hike to see a few waterfalls. So, we spend the morning catching up on chores around the camper and then set out for our afternoon at North Cheyenne Cañon Park. Lunch is simple fare; but being able to catch up with family we haven’t seen in months was wonderful.

Helen Hunt Falls

After lunch we say goodbye to family and head up the hill to see Helen Hunt Falls. Located on North Cheyenne Creek, the falls have a 36 feet drop over rocky outcroppings. Afterwards, we head up the path to see the creek feeding the falls and then continue the trail up the mountain.

Silver Cascade Falls & Trail

Once we cross the bridge above Helen Hunt Falls the climb goes steeply up the hill until we reach a stopping point with stadium seating that has a lovely view of the valley below. I imagine you’d be able to see some of the falls from this point at some times of the year. Unfortunately, for us the falls are nonexistent at this point due to the dry summer. As we continue up the trail we reach the first overlook and get our first look at the falls. We then continue up the trail to the 2nd overlook that only provides a view of the valley below.

As we head down the trail we see a sign about half way down pointing to a connector to the Helen Hunt Falls Trail. We decide to take it and end up finding the bottom of Silver Cascade Falls as well as another small drop into the creek that eventually joins North Cheyenne Creek below Helen Hunt Falls.

The rest of the afternoon is spent shopping and a few other errands.

Pikes Peak

The following day we set out for our timed entry to drive up Pikes Peak.

Gateway (7,800 ft)

We begin at the “Gateway to the drive” check-in where we have to show our reservation. They check to make sure we know what to expect and to validate we don’t have small children or anyone in the vehicle with breathing problems. At 14k+ feet elevation at the summit it’s very hard to breathe and they’ve had several deaths from oxygen deprivation.

Crystal Creek Reservoir (9,160 ft)

We proceed up the mountain and stop at the Crystal Creek Reservoir overlook for a few pictures before heading over the dam and checking out the area in and around the Visitor Center.

We thought these beautiful blue waters were natural runoff from the mountains, only to learn that the reservoir is entirely man made and the water is pumped through more than 70 miles of pipe to get here.

This area of Colorado only receives an average of 15 inches of rain per year; which narrowly escapes being classified as a desert at less than 10 inches per year. As a result, the reservoir was built in 1935 in response to the population of Colorado Springs growing beyond what the natural water sources could supply. It stores 1.1 million gallons of Blue River water purchased from the Breckenridge Area.

The Drive Up

As we conclude our tour of the Visitor Center we continue up the mountain.

Devils Playground (12,780 ft)

As we come around the bend we see a large parking lot with a hiking trail up to the top of a rocky outcropping known at Devil’s Playground. Here we can snap a few pictures, stretch our legs, see where we’ve come from, and take a few minutes to acclimate to the thinner air at this elevation before heading to the summit.

It’s here that we meet a Ranger who quickly goes to help a family with small children that are crying because they’re having hard time breathing. We hear the mother telling the kids to stop being babies and move just as the Ranger reaches them. He checks on the kids and then pulls the mother aside to let her know that it’s very difficult for children to breathe up here due to their smaller lungs. He stresses this further by informing her that an infant died last month from breathing problems. Hopefully, she listened to him. We didn’t want to get in the way, so we headed back to the truck and up the road to the summit.

The Summit (14,115 ft)

The views from the summit are incredible and it’s easy to see why they inspired the song “America the Beautiful” in 1893.

Speaking with another Ranger, we learn that we definitely chose the right day to do this excursion. Yesterday they had a lightening strike on the Summit Visitor Center and the the day before they had high winds and hail. Both days required an evacuation of all visitors off the mountain in less than ideal conditions. I can’t even imagine!

As we approach the Summit Visitor Center we see the tram; which is the alternate route up the mountain.

I’m really glad we drove as the tram visitors only have 30 minutes to experience everything up here.

Next we pass the original summit house constructed in 1873.

Once we’ve thoroughly explored the summit and the Visitor Center we head back to the truck only to see one of the marmots playing on the rock across from our parking spot.

The Drive Down

As we leave the Summit parking lot we pass a Ranger who’s stationed there to remind everyone to use a low gear and be gentle on the brakes while descending. It’s very steep and if you’re not careful you can easily get into trouble.

Boulder Park (13,380 ft)

In addition to a low gear we throw the truck into tow/haul mode to engage the engine breaking and slowly begin our descent. We don’t get very far when we see two marmots chasing each other and just around the bend we pass a very young bighorn sheep on the side of the road.

And the rest of the herd at Boulder Park.

Bottomless Pit (12,760 ft)

Once we’ve had our fill of watching the sheep we continue down the mountain to stop very briefly at the Bottomless Pit Observation site.

Snow

And then continue down the mountain where we can see a tiny bit of white snow in the crevice of the mountain leftover from the storm a few days ago.

Glen Cove (11,440 ft)

Next we come upon the mandatory break check point at Glen Cove. Here Rangers use a heat gun to check the temperature of each vehicles breaks and I’m very proud to say that he actually does ours twice because the temp is so low he doesn’t believe the first reading. He congratulates us on fantastic driving and says have a nice day.

Meanwhile the parking lot next to us is full of cars that have been given a “time out” so their brakes can cool down before continuing further.

Halfway Picnic Grounds (9,930 ft)

We’ve had a wonderful morning; but it’s way past lunchtime, so we pull into the Halfway Picnic Grounds to do as they suggest and eat our picnic lunch.

Camera Point (8,220 ft)

After lunch we head the rest of the way down the mountain making one final stop at Camera Point to take a picture of the valley below as well as where we just were.

Click here if you’d like to see the full video, and the views, from our drive down from the summit to the Halfway Picnic Grounds available via our YouTube Channel.

What a great way to conclude our visit to Colorado Springs. Tomorrow we have to continue our journey home.

Poncha Pass

After a great nights sleep and getting an early start, we stop to stretch our legs and take in the view from the top of Poncha Pass. The light at this time of day is perfect and the colors in the surrounding landscape are incredible.

Along the Drive

We continue on and along the way I can’t resist taking a few pictures of some incredible scenery as we were driving by. Unfortunately, I didn’t mark the locations. It’s somewhere between Poncha Pass and Durango.

Flowing Water Navajo Casino

We’d planned to stop in Durango for the night; but we’d made really good time today and with a weather system moving in we decide to go a little further. Looking at our options I find the Flowing Water Navajo Casino in New Mexico that allows overnight parking and has really good reviews. We had a really good experience at our last Casino, so we decide to give it a try.

The people here are as friendly and welcoming as the reviews indicated. In addition, the casino is non-smoking. So, we park in the far corner of the lot away from everyone else and go in for a meal as a “Thank You” for allowing us to stay in their gated and guarded lot for free. The meal is tasty and shortly after leaving we’re treated to a sunset with a rainbow in the distance.

Navajo Nation Rock Formations

After a very peaceful night, we have a quick breakfast and get back on the road. As we travel through the Navajo Nation we pass some really incredible rock formations out in the middle of nowhere.

We’ll have to stop and investigate these another time.

Payson, AZ

We stop for the night in Payson, AZ where we encounter a really heavy storm shortly after we finish setting up camp and unfortunately, our slide begins to leak. We grab towels and pull the slide in to prevent any more water from getting in. After drying everything off as best we can, we put down fans to finish the job. It’s a good thing our RV is not made of wood (one of the reasons we purchased it) and that we’re in the desert. Once the rain stops, it’ll dry out really quickly.

The next morning everything is dry and we’re on our way.

What do we see as we’re leaving the campground? Elk! We’ve been in Elk country all summer and had to wait until we reach Payson, AZ before we see any. Nuts!

Somewhere in Tonto National Forest…

This concludes our summer of fun in the upper Midwest and it’s definitely been a summer to remember. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

We’re looking forward to our fall trip and hope you’ll come along for the ride.