Ft. Union National Monument, NM Oct. 6, 2009

Fort Union National Monument is located 20 miles north of Las Vegas, NM. The ruins of the fort are an impressive memorial to the men and women who won the West. It is difficult, however, to look at these melted adobe walls and the few chimneys that rise above ground level and realize that this was once the largest U.S. military installation on the 19th century southwestern frontier.

Fort Union was on the Santa Fe Trail so it is fitting to have a covered wagon on display. You can almost "see" the long lines of wagon trains coming from the east with settlers and supplies for the new land. This was an army supply wagon.

The post officers and their families lived in nine houses in this row. All but the center building, which was larger and the home of the post commander, were of duplex construction and could house 2 families.

Here is a good view of what the inside of the houses looked like. This sprawling installation took 6 years to build (1863-69) and was the most extensive in the territory. It included not only a military post, with all it attendant structures, but a separate quartermaster depot with warehouses, corrals, shops, offices, and quarters.

The supply function overshadowed that of the military and employed far more men, mostly civilians. Arriving from the east over the Santa Fe Trail, shipments of food, clothing, arms, and ammunition, as well as tools and building materials, were unpacked and stored in warehouses, then assigned as needed to other forts.

Here Bill is standing in the ruts of the Santa Fe Trail, still visible in many areas of northeastern New Mexico. Fort Union, like most southwestern military posts, was not enclosed by a wall or stockade.

This was the mechanics corral where wagons were repaired. Fort Union also had a military prison building and transportation corrals for the thousands of draft animals required each year to supply the frontier army.

The hospital had six wards, 36 beds with a maximum capacity of 60 or more, a surgeon and assistant surgeon with a staff of eight. This made it one of the best hospitals in the West. Soldiers and their families received free care; civilians had to pay about 50 cents a day for their board.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Angel Fire, NM Oct 5, 2009

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park is the first and only state park in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to Vietnam veterans. In the mid 1960's Dr. Victor Westphall and his wife, Jeanne, purchased 800 acres known as Val Verde Ranch near Angel Fire, New Mexico, with the intention of building a a resort. On May 22, 1968 their son, David, was killed in an ambush in Con Thien. This ended their plans for a resort.

Jeanne suggested building a chapel to honor their son. Using David's $30,000 life insurance policy as seed money, construction began in 1968. Over the years all but 5 acres of the ranch was sold to finance the project. The Peach and Brotherhood Chapel was completed in 1971.

This Huey served as one of the first smokeships in Vietnam, earning the name "Viking Surprise". On March 26, 1967, the 175th ACH was performing a troop insertion in the Mekong Delta. the first Huey carrying troops was shot down. The medevac that picked them up was also shot down followed by the Huey piloted by the battalion commander. Viking Surprise was specifically requested to assist in the rescue. By the time it arrived, 13 helicopters had been shot down. Viking Surprise made 13 passes with smoke and after its arrival, no other aircraft were shot down. The aircraft limped back to base with heavy damage. It was rebuilt in Corpus Christi, Texas where the repair crew discovered 135 bullet holes. After repairs the aircraft returned to Vietnam for further duty.

David Westphall is buried on the memorial grounds. In 1982, the Disabled American Veterans made a commitment for funds and the ownership was turned over to them, In 1985 the broke ground on a badly needed visitor center. Also, they have been able to purchase back 25 acres of land.

The statue "Dear Mom and Dad" was given to the Memorial by artist Doug Scott of Taos. It was dedicated on Memorial Day, 2003. The life-size statue reflects a soldier faced with the dilemma of writing home to his family. What can he say about what he's doing that they will understand??

God Bless our service men and women and let us never forget what our Veterans have done for our country.

Cimarron, New Mexico Oct, 4, 2009

We passed this herd of buffalo on the way to Cimarron on Route 64. Cimarron, which means "wild" or "unruly" in Spanish lived up to it's name in the 1800's.

That's the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in the background.

Cimarron is a depressed little town today. This is the visitor's center. The town itself lies between the 13,000 ft Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Great Plains - truly Where the Rockies Meet the Plains.

After we got set up in our RV park we took a walk. This is the little park behind the visitor's center. They were having a "Blessing of the Animals" in honor of St Francis of Assisi Day and invited us to join in with Ceilidh. So, Ceilidh got blessed! It was a nice ceremony with music, singing, and reading of scriptures.

We took a walk to "old town". This is the infamous St. James Hotel where 26 men met their destiny in the 1860-80's. Cimarron was a wild town in the 1800's where such notables as Kit Carson, Clay Allison, Charles Kennedy, and Black Jack Ketchum left their mark. (There are bullet holes in the ceiling!)

These two horses were enjoying the afternoon sun on the outskirts of Cimarron. It is a beautiful fall day.

A peaceful view of the Cimarron river.

Here's Bill relaxing, talking to his mom in Florida.

MOVIN' ON 10-04-09

The time has come to say to Castle Rock Jellystone Park where we have "worked" since mid April. We have made so many wonderful friends here that it is hard to leave.

Nancy behind the counter and Danny saying goodbye to Bill.

Ian, standing, bought our breakfast from the

campground's pancake wagon. Also enjoying pancakes with us are Dan, Danny, and Andy.

I will miss Kira, she was a sweet person to work with. She cooked our pancakes this morning. Thanks, Kira!

One last word of advice to Danny......

So long, Jellystone Park-it's been a GREAT summer here in Colorado! We will miss you all.....

Now on to New Mexico for 12 days.

HORSE BACK RIDING IN RMNP, SEPT. 28,2009

For one more time we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park to see the Aspen in their fall colors and to hear the elk "bugle". We didn't have to look far to find the elk. We stopped at the visitor's center in Estes Park and lo and behold the elk were on the adjacent golf course! The sign said "For Your Safety - Golfers Only on the Golf Course". Guess the elk can't read!!

After eating breakfast at Molly B's we headed to the Cowpoke Corral for a 2 hour horse back ride in the Rocky Mountains. This is what I call "9000 feet above Stress Level". What a gorgeous ride and the view from the top of the mountain overlooking Estes Park was truly spectacular. We could see the distant mountains and the Continental Divide. We also heard the elk bugling as they are now in runt. It almost sounds like a woman's scream. It is very shrill and high pitched for such a huge animal.

Emily was our guide for the ride. She is from Michigan and just graduated from high school last spring. Gee, I ought to be able to do this! What a "job". She said it took her a week to learn the trails and two weeks to learn the names of the 50 horses at the stable.

After our ride we took the road to Bear Lake in RMNP. The aspen were awesome, the mountains filled with brilliant yellow. The parking lot at Bear Lake was full (even for a Monday) so we decided to take a different road in the park.

At the beginning of Old Fall River Road, we found a quiet little picnic area where we had lunch.

There were lots of Colorado blue jays just waiting for some crumbs.

After we ate we took a short walk to a pristine waterfalls where another visitor from Arkansas took our picture for us. Yes, that's Bill in a cowboy hat.

Old Fall River Road is only open for a few months in the summer. It is a one lane, narrow, windy road only 9 miles long but takes several hours to negotiate. As you can see it is challenging to say the least. I can't begin to count the number of hairpin curves, some requiring Bill to back up the truck to get around the turn. And of course, no guardrails.

Bill took this picture of the rugged mountains around which we were traveling. The road reached an elevation of 10,703 feet before our GPS quit! Guess that is a high as it will record. So by the time we got to the top, we were over 2 miles above sea level. The air is so fresh and pure, it is unbelievable.

We finally reached the summit at around 12,000 feet about 3:30 pm. Another nice person took our picture at the Alpine Visitor Center.

On the way back down the mountains we spotted this herd of elk. Note the bull elk in the center and the aspen trees in the background.

We left Estes Park and headed east toward Loveland. The road follows "Big Thompson River" for many miles, with enormous, rugged mountains on either side. "Big Thompson River" would probably be called Thompson's Run in Pennsylvania. I don't think is was ever over 12 feet wide, mostly about 6 feet wide, and you wouldn't get your knees wet wading across it this time of year.

Another wonderful memory of Colorado!

I took over 100 pictures today-it was difficult to pick only 11 to put on the blog.

FT. GARLAND, CO SEPT. 20, 2009

Fort Garland, Colorado
On the way "home" from the Great Sand Dunes we stopped at Fort Garland and visited the museum there.

Ft. Garland was built in 1858 and occupied until 1883 and was named for New Mexico Department commander Brevet Brigadier General John Garland.

Ft. Garland sat within land that bands of Ute Indians had occupied for centuries. The fort's main purpose was to protect nearby settlers and to ease further settlements.

After the Civil War, in 1866 and 1867 "Kit" Carson (depicted here with Chief Ouray) commanded the New Mexico Volunteers. Drawing on his knowledge of American Indian languages and culture, he aided Chief Ouray and other Ute leaders in the negotiations that created a Ute reservation. The coming of the railroad and the removal of American Indians brought Ft. Garland's 25 years of service to an end in 1883.

On the way home, we spotted another beautiful rainbow just south of Monument, Colorado.

On Monday morning, September 21, we woke up to an unpleasant surprise-you guessed it- SNOW!

It was just a "dusting" and melted by afternoon, but reminded us that it is time to think about heading south to Texas for the winter.

We have had a remarkable summer in Colorado!

GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK, CO SEPT. 20, 2009

Sunday, Sept. 20 we decided to go see the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. On the way we passed Mt. Blanco. Notice how sparse and desolate the land looks here in the San Luis Valley.

The aspen are just starting to change colors on the mountain sides. It's as if God had dabbled the hills with gold and yellow paint as the colors are splashed here and there.

Here I am at the entrance to the Park. You can see the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background and the sand dunes in the foreground. We are at about 8,175 feet above sea level here.

Another view of the mountains and dunes with the visitor's center to the right. Wind and water are the primary movers of the sand. Streams, melting snow, and flash floods brought bits of rock out of the mountains to the valley floor. Southwesterly winds then began the slow process of bouncing the grains of sand toward the low curve of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. There they piled up at the base of the mountains or dropped into creeks to be washed back out toward the valley floor.


We ate a picnic lunch here before going out onto the dunes. Notice how high the dunes are compared to the RV in the parking lot. Why are they so tall?? Huge quantities of sand are carried downstream by Medano Creek, then redeposited by winds on the eastern slope of the dunefield, accounting for the high dunes in that area. Less common but stronger winds blow from the northeaserlies that blast through the passes and pile the dunes back upon themselves.

Most of the sand originated in the San Juan Mountains, over 65 miles to the west. The larger, rougher grains and the pebbles originate in the nearby Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

It is recommended that you walk the dunes early in the morning or later in the afternoon as the sand gets very hot, over 140 degrees on summer afternoons. Those little black specks in the distance are fellow hikers.

Notice the crisp edges of the dunes, which are ever changing in shape. They are the tallest dunes in North America and cover more than 330 square miles!