Travel Bug (My Vacation)

I don't think I could ever get on a plane just to get somewhere in two or three hours, and deal with the mayhem that goes on at airports.


No.

I enjoy getting up at 3 a.m. getting the suitcases and all last minute things ready and throwing it into the back and then getting out on the road at the break of dawn, watching the scenery go by, see the sky, do a little bird and animal watching.

Thinking about it as I sat in passenger seat of our F150, I think watching the scenery go by, watching how it changes is the best part. That and escaping from Illinois for a week or more. Once Iowa's hilly green crops roll by I know I'm out of a boring northern Illinois, I'm away from the rushing throng of city people who usually invade our area.

Our destination was Silverton Colorado, and hopefully Taos N.M.

But actually the second day is more exciting. We're in Nebraska by then. We stayed in York, NE the first night. Not the most exciting place to be if one were to choose a place to stay for one night, and it was hot. The heat index was 110! And just walking across the parking lot to an Arby's was overwhelming.

But, like I said, the journey is all part of the vacation. Watching thunderheads develope in the wide-open sky. The next morning there were three thunderheads developing. One looks like a paint brush stroke by an artist, and the second one looks exactly like an anvil. The third one was just developing. I make an accurate guess we might be clipped by one in the form of a shower, and as we race west, toward Kearny for breakfast, I'm right on.

As we pass North Platte, later in the day, we cross the time zone. Now in western time zone we gladly move our clocks back one hour--we've magically gained one hour and will be able to get into Limon, Colorado early afternoon.


When I think about how people got around over 150 years ago, you have to suddenly appreciate how we can get 450 miles in one day over land.

Especially when you think about how people once got around. Either by horse, stage, or locomotive.

Entering Silverton you magically are immersed into the old west. This is a fantasy world, but then again it's not, because this time and the things you see once existed. These preserved old western towns open your eyes and senses to the past that you don't get to experience in many other places. You come to appreciate the way we live, and maybe learn to slow down a bit to take things in.

In Silverton, where citizens have created a town where one can step back in time you can take the train to Durango (3hours), for a hefty price, or you can take a short stage ride around town. Since we didn't have the moola for the train ride, we took the stage coach. The two horses were named Sonny and Cher. Our experience was also enhanced by the fact a mountain shower was coming in. August is the monsoon season, and so showers can happen at any time--usually in the afternoon. This one put a damper on things, and we had to cut our visit short.

The second half of the tip got us into northern New Mexico and some amazingly beautiful drives there. I'll share more photos of Taos, the Rio Grand, and more on the tip in my next blog.