Day 2

Day 2 - Sunday, June 29, 2003

Winter Park, CO to Hot Springs, SD

541 miles for the day, 1,579 miles traveled so far.

9:07 in the saddle, 11:30 total time check-out to check-in.

Average speed while riding was 59.4 mph.

Parks visited this day:

	Rocky Mountain NP
	Ft. Laramie NHS (also had 4 NHT stamps)
	Scott's Bluff NM
	Agate Fossil Beds NM
	Wind Cave NP

Stamps:

Daily Journal:

Left the motel at 8:00. I headed on up to Rocky Mountain NP. Flashed the parks pass at the entrance station, and then continued on into the park. The road winds along the headwaters of the Colorado River. It then turns to the east and switchbacks up to the pass. At the top, at 11,800' asl, there is a visitor station. You are in an alpine zone. There was still quite a bit of snow in places. The first photo below was taken at the Alpine Visitor Center. The center picture is looking east, towards Estes Park. The third is a shot of my GPS showing the elevation.

I continued eastward on the highway. Some elk were grazing nearby, causing a minor traffic jam. I continued downhill, plunging into and through the clouds. Eventually I hit I-25 and turned north. Near Cheyenne, I was traveling through some light drizzle. North of Cheyenne, the interstate is pretty desolate. Rolling hills of grassland with cattle and an occasional exit with a house. North of Wheatland, I got off the freeway and headed east on US-26, taking a short side stop in Guernsey to view some ruts on the Oregon Trail. Many pioneers following the various trails westward came through here. US-26 parallels the N. Platte River. After a few more miles, I stopped at Fort Laramie. The site was originally a fur trading post in 1834. In 1849 the US Army took over and expanded the post. In 1890 the Army abandoned the site. The photos are of the visitor's center, which was a storehouse, the parade grounds, and a view of some barracks.

The stamps for the four National Historic Trails that are on this page came from Fort Laramie. As you went down US-26, sign would indicate that you were on the auto tour route for those 4 trails. About 30 miles after crossing into Nebraska, I stopped at Scotts Bluff NM. I did hit some wet roads, but luckily no rain, since my bag was still too full for the rain cover to fit. I did read some of the magazines, but I hadn't shed any tourbooks or maps, yet. This was an important landmark for the people on the trails, indicating the end of the Great Plain and the start of the mountains. It also marked where Mitchell Pass was, since the swampy North Platte River was impassable in this region. Coming to Scotts Bluff, I stayed on US-26 to the town of Scottsbluff, and then circled south and approached the NM from the east, like a pioneering heading to Oregon would have done. The CCC built a road and a hiking trail to the summit. Both are about 1 1/2 miles long. The road passes through 3 tunnels, and the trail goes through one tunnel. The photo is from the top, looking south at the visitor's center complex. One of the auto tunnels can be seen. The road running east-west in front of the VC is SR-92. If you follow the hight to the right, it disappears as it goes through Mitchell Pass.

It was 3:15 in the afternoon when I left Scotts Bluff NM, heading west on SR-92, then north on SR-29, eventually reaching US-26 in Mitchell. I was nearly out of gas, so I went looking for a gas station. The first 3 I found were closed on Sundays. I finally found one which was open 24 hours (the only one with pay-at-the-pump). I retraced my path back to SR-29 and continued north. I stopped at Agate Fossil Beds NM. The picture is of one of the hills where the fossils are found. This park had an interesting history. James Cook owned the ranch there and had good relations with the local tribes. He helped the Indians out many times and they honored him with many gifts. The collection is on display at the VC. A large bed of fossils from 19-20 million years ago were found here. The major bed was excavated in the early 1900's by paleontologists from Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.

It was 5:00 when I stopped along US-20 and called the Super 8 Hotline to get a reservation for the night. For this trip, when I wasn't staying with friends or relatives, I used Super 8 motels. This was mostly because it was one easy number to call (1-800-800-8000) and use my VIP Club card to secure a room. I didn't have to call around to find a room. I orignally was trying for Custer, SD, bu I had to settle for Hot Springs, SD, about 30 miles south of Custer. I went east on US-20 and then north on US-385 to Hot Springs. I first arrived in Hot Springs at 6:30, so I continued north to catch Wind Cave NP before it closed at 7:00. I had about 10 minutes to look around the VC before I was kicked out. More than 100 miles of this cave's passageways have been explored. On the way back to town, I took some pictures on the grasslands in the NP and of the herd of buffalo that lives there. The extra stamp is also from Wind Cave NP.

I checked in at about 7:30, cleaned up and went to dinner. Sunset wasn't going to be until 9:00, so it was still quite bright outside. I had a steak and salad bar at a small restaurant on the edge of town.

Map:

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