Thursday - Colorado Springs to Grand Junction

Thursday –  March 24

NOTE: In an effort to get my memories recorded I have decided to postpone pictures until I return.

Colorado Springs to Grand Junction

As I was considering how to travel west from Bent’s Fort I decided to see how closely I could follow the Old Spanish National Historical trail route – about which I knew next to nothing. I had seen the trail drawn on the maps I was using to plan the Santa Fe Trail trip, but had not paid too much attention.  But I looked at the map and realized that by following the Spanish Trail I could end up crossing into California at the southern end of the state rather than Donner Pass.  So my basic route was to get to US 50 from Colorado Springs, then head west on  US 50, southwest on IS 70, the south on IS 15 and back to the Bay Area on IS 5.

I was going to start the trip on Wednesday, but when I looked out the window when I wok up I was shocked to see the whole area, and my poor car, covered with snow. After a little discussion with some of the people at the motel, and studying the road condition web site for Colorado, I decide I was not up to challenging the storm.  At one point, the weather cleared, so I changed my mind. I hastily packed my bags and then walked out the door of the motel to find it was snowing like crazy. I changed my mind and managed to get my room back even though by then stranded travelers were being turned away. So I spent the day in my room, eating frozen microwave meals that are stocked by the motel, and doing a little more research about the Spanish Trail.

With a little internet searching I realized that the Spanish Trail research was a work in progress, but there was a web site with a map and some information.  One of the branches of the Spanish trail more or less follows US 50 and at one point along the route the Trail and US 50 cross.  So I vowed to watch for that point. So I packed up again and went to the car. I, with some help from one of the motel employee, and freed my car from the snow the day before, so I left with little difficulty which involved scraping the ice off the windshield and refueling.  When I got on IS 70 to head back to the road to US 50 my windshield kept icing up on the freeway from all of the mud thrown up by passing trucks – the temperature was about 24 degF.  I could barely read the road signs, nor could barely see the off ramps. I finally got to a gas station and discovered that the windshield washer fluid had frozen so it was no wonder when I used the wipers they just spread the muddy snow in a thin layer on the windshield which then quickly froze and made visibility impossible.

While I was driving around blindly looking for a gas station all of sudden the passenger side window just went down. I would not go back up. So I just drove on for a while and finally located a gas station with a store that sold washer fluid. I pour what I could into the washer fluid reservoir n the car, washed the window with the station washer fluid, and started out.  Everything looked good, and ultimately the washer fluid thawed out so I could use it when necessary the rest of the day. So far this trip has taught, or re indeed me that (1)I cannot tell a carrot field from an orange grove, (2)I cannot speak the language of the 50% of the people in California who know the difference and actually arrange for me to eat those things, and (3)I don’t know the first thing about driving in cold, snowy weather. But, I started out on the next leg with a clear windshield and my eyes peeled for any evidence of the Old Spanish Historical National Trail.

The first adventure after getting to US 50 was Monarch Pass – an 11 foot pass through the mountains where there was blowing snow and many “Ice may be present – use caution” signs. Since I really have no idea what that sign means the only caution I could think of was the bourbon packed away in the knap sack in the back of my car. I didn’t think that was what they meant so I just pressed on and got over the pass without any difficulty.

The AAA map of Colorado and Wyoming shows a small town called Parlin near the Intersection of US 50 and Colorado State 114 where the trail crosses the road (how they know that, I am not sure).  The town is essentially a Post Office building and maybe one or two others. I drove through the town and back again but saw no evidence of either people of the Spanish Trail.

I continued west on US 50 which follows the Gunnison River through a broad valley which looked to be a frozen field but actually is a reservoir with a small dam at the western edge.  AS the river flows into the reservoir there are large chunks of the snow which have broken off and make the scene look like something out of the arctic. The entire surface of the water was frozen, although it was thawing around the edge and the ice looked pretty thin in many places.

As I drove on I saw many interesting sights: An invitation to visit a “Historical Museum” and the associated attraction  - “The exotic World of tropical Insects.” There was a sign inviting the traveler to join the Gold Belt Tour – which turns out to be a driving tour of the Colorado Gold Rush era. [http://www.goldbeltbyway.com/ accessed 3/25/16]. In the town of Poncha Springs there was a business that advertised “Real Taxidermy – Making your Memories Real for a Lifetime.” I was reminded of the buffalo, mountain lion, antelope, and deer heads in the St. James Hotel in Cimarron.

In another little town as I entered I saw a quite elaborate electric sign with flashing lights and moving messages that read “Bonnie’s Car Crusher” and below that Happy Easter.”  On the other end of town was another business “total Auto Repair” which perhaps was misnomer based on the vehicles in the lot apparently awaiting Bonnie’s tender touch.

After another hour or so I was in Grand Junction Colorado. Here is the junction of the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers. The Colorado was formerly called the “Grand” river, hence the name of the town.  It is a pretty big town on the western slope of the Rockies and on the way there I saw may tourist attractions: rock climbing, zip lining, bike riding, fishing, ATV touring, river rafting, and wine tasting.