Colorado - Day 4 - to Trinidad and La Junta

La Junta KOA, La Junta
Friday, 4 September 2020

On the way out of the campground, I noticed an arrangement I haven't seen before.  It was a Jayco camper that had a rear slide - presumably for a bed - and a front slide that was a railed patio.  I would have taken a photo but I think the people were inside so decided not to.  But it looked like the whole platform underneath the camper slid forward and became this patio area with a railing.  The reason I thought that is that the very front of it still had the propane tank that always sits at the front of these campers.  So I figured when they were driving, that front slide would be pushed back under the rest of the camper until the propane tank would be situated where it always is.  Maybe the railing consists of separate pieces that are added after the floor has been extended.  It was something new for me.

today's route

I had to drive back into Walsenburg to pick up I-25 S for the first leg of our trip.  On the way there I noticed a bar that was in an upright position but obviously would be long enough to stretch across US 160, which I was on.  The bar had a sign attached to it saying "Road Closed."  Clearly there are times when that bar and sign are needed, and I wondered what for.  I didn't see anything like that elsewhere since I've been in CO, other than the No Snowplowing notices.  Of course CO gets snow, but I'm curious why that one piece of road would have to be closed.  The sign was just west of a bridge, but it's a short bridge and fairly level so doesn't seem like it'd be any more vulnerable to bad weather than anywhere else I've been.  Just one of those local mysteries, I guess.

South to Trinidad
An exit off I-25 is marked as access to the Highway of Legends, which as far as I can tell means "legends" as in the early settlers who passed that way long ago.  Unless it means the mountains the road travels through.  I can't tell.  Basically, today it's a scenic route between Walsenburg and Trinidad, for those who want something other than the interstate views.

Not far beyond it was another exit marked as being the road to the Ludlow Massacre Memorial.  This isn't something I remember hearing about so of course I looked it up.  Those who know about labor disputes in the US will certainly have heard of it because it turned out to inspire labor leaders all over the country to rally support.  It was a dispute between the coal miners and the coal mine owners, who hired private armed guards and co-opted the state national guard, with a number of deaths, and the whole thing stopped only when Pres. Woodrow Wilson sent in federal troops.  I found 2 informative accounts: this one from the City of Trinidad   https://visittrinidadcolorado.com/ludlow-massacre  and this one with additional information from Wikipedia.   https://en.wikipedia.org/Ludlow-Massacre

lots of this kind of scene along the highway

For much of the trip south to Trinidad, I had the Spanish Peaks for company.  Farther on there were still plenty of hills and things.  I saw horses and a few cows, and you can see in these photos the kind of land I saw.

I was heading straight for New Mexico but saw only 1 NM license plate.  Almost all the others were from CO, TX and AZ.  Maybe New Mexicans are still hunkering down because of the virus?

I watched that odd knob come closer and closer as
we went down the highway - found out when
we got to Trinidad that that "knob" is called El Moro

El Moro, above Trinidad

Trinidad, pop. about 9,000 and elevation at 6,017', seems to be a nice little place, founded in the 1860s because of the coal mines.

We got extremely lucky by stumbling on a very large off-leash dog park that was completely empty for most of the time we were there.  It looked like the park for large dogs was a full acre, with another quarter-acre for small dogs, plus a paved walking trail.  By the time we left, several other people & their large dogs had arrived and I barely got my dogs back in the car in time to prevent trouble.  But they got a good little sniffing session in.

Northeast to La Junta along the Santa Fe Trail
US 350, the highway I was on, parallels and in several places coincides with the old Santa Fe Trail up to La Junta which, by the way, is pronounced "lah HUNT ah" here in Colorado.

One of the reasons I chose this route was that AAA says it's a scenic route, but it's honestly not my idea of scenic.

off my left side - pretty flat scrubland
for a long distance

this series of mounds was the most relief
we encountered

You can see there wasn't much variety in the scenery for nearly 70 miles.  I suppose if you like this sort of thing it's scenic, but my tastes tend toward the lakes-and-forests variety.

Part way along there was a Point of Interest, per a highway sign, with these varied informational signs.

This sign was hard to read even in person, so I'll translate the text:
IN MEMORY OF THE CREWMEN
On the morning of 21 August 1944, two B-24 Liberator bombers
collided in mid-air and plunged to earth killing eighteen men.
[lists of the crewmembers who died]
Dedicated August 21, 2004 [the 60th anniversary].

This and the next 4 are all parts of the same sign -
they're all hard to read because of being very weathered.

detail of the text is below (I liked the drawing)

detail from above left

This is half of one of two signs titled
"Purgatoire River Region - Model & Thatcher"

The 2nd half of the sign above

This map was below the text shown above.

This is half of the 2nd sign . . .

. . . and the other half of the 2nd sign.

Along this drive I passed several places labeled by highway signs as towns: Model, Tyrone, Thatcher and Delhi, all of which are labeled on the AAA map and none of which seem to be in existence.  I understand Model, at least, has a post office, but all that's by the road is a few abandoned buildings.

In fact, when I left Trinidad I saw a sign saying there are no services between Trinidad and La Junta, and I found none.  The farm people who live along this road must be very self-reliant.

Along the road I passed occasional signs telling me I was actually on the original Santa Fe Trail route for the next ___ miles - 7 miles and 5 miles and 7.5 miles, followed by a sign saying "end original route."

At one point I saw 2 cowhands on horseback following 11 cows & calves that were trotting along, followed a little way back by 5 more cows; then a longer distance away I passed a large herd of cows grazing.  It all looked so authentic it was hard to remember this is real life for a lot of people, not a TV show.

One other odd thing I saw was what I thought at first were apples dumped by the side of the road.  Then I got curious because there were quite a few of these apple dumps.  Because the road was so straight and flat with almost no traffic, I could stop and get out of the RV to take some photos.  I think they're some kind of gourds.

Farther along I came to a sign saying I was entering the Comanche National Grasslands - it's a separate section of the same grasslands I drove through when I first came into the state.

Somewhere in this area I knew there were dinosaur tracks.  Quite a few of them, actually, and I would really have liked to see them.  But a little research told me I'd have to hike more than 2 miles just to see one of them, let alone to follow their trail.  With the weather as hot as it's been, and my reluctance to take the dogs, much as they would have loved it, because we might meet another dog and I don't want to deal with that - those 2 factors combined to make me decide not to attempt it.  But they sound wonderful.  Here's a variety of information sources, each providing different versions of the facts.   https://www.colorado.edu/following-dinosaurs-along-colorados-purgatoire-river;   https://thedyrt.com/picketwire-canyonlands-dino-tracks;   https://en.wikipedia.org/Purgatoire-River-track-site.

La Junta
I decided to go directly to the campground, just to be sure they were going to give me the campsite they'd promised, and the answer was not quite but close enough.  However, it was still 11:00 and they wanted to charge me for early check-in, so I said I'd run some errands and come back.

Coming into town we'd passed a nice-looking park, so I went back there for a walk and some lunch.  It was a city park that included a baseball field and some beautiful old locust trees.  I didn't notice the trees - just the shade they cast - until we'd parked in said shade and I opened the door.

That was the view I had when I opened the door, and some sight it was to see.  I love old trees.  They seem so reassuring, somehow.

After a walk and some lunch, I went hunting for one of the spots where the city promised I'd find drop-off boxes for recyclables.  Driving through town I couldn't help but notice this nice-looking structure.  The sign doesn't say so, but it's a Church of God.  It seems to fit with the fact that La Junta was established in 1881.

From there down to the town tennis courts, where I did find drop boxes and, wonder of wonders, they accept glass.  But oddly they didn't accept any plastic and they didn't accept any paper except office paper and newspapers.  I got rid of a lot, but I've got a lot more looking for a bigger town to be dumped in.

Near the tennis courts I found Otero Junior College.  Founded in 1941 with an enrollment of 1,262, it seems to be filling a real need in the area, especially for STEM classes.

Koshare Indian Museum

On the grounds of the college is the Koshare Indian Museum, which I'd thought about visiting.  It boasts the world's largest self-supporting log ceiling, which I'd hoped to be able to see from the outside.  I couldn't, but I did see some nice architecture.  Very Southwestern Indian, to me.

detail of the bars on the windows

I found a photo online of the ceiling and am attaching it here.  This museum is unusual for more than the ceiling, though.  It was conceived and created by a Boy Scout troop and still acts as a hub for both the local troop and visiting groups.   It's an interesting story which you can read about at these links.   http://koshares.com/about; http://koshares.com/worlds-largest-self-supported-log-roof.

Heading back into the main part of town I passed a little house for sale that looked like something I'd be interested in.  Turns out someone else is too, because the realtor's website says it's under contract, but I was curious about the price: $110,000.  Built 1931, 2 story with 1,144 square feet and .16 acre lot, fully fenced.  Well, I don't think I could be happy living in a town with only 7,000 people, as La Junta has, but it's nice to know there're still houses like this available.

I stopped at the local Safeway, with a slightly larger selection than the one in Walsenburg, though I really don't care for Safeway in general because they push their own brands to the exclusion of national brands.  In this part of Colorado, though, there's not really a choice.  And I stopped at Big D's Liquor Store near the campground.  In Colorado, all wine and liquor can be purchased only at a liquor store.  The state only allowed full-strength beer to be sold outside liquor stores 3 years ago, so it'll probably be a while longer before grocery stores can sell wine.

And then back to the campground, where I'm planning to stay until the Labor Day weekend has passed.  National holidays and I don't get along real well, now that I'm living in campgrounds, but I have to acknowledge they're a part of this country I've been driving around to see.