Halfway Across the State of Colorado

Today was a driving day, and I actually drove more than halfway across the State of Colorado. I left the mountains of Chama, New Mexico, this morning, and headed over a mountain or two before landing in Colorado’s Great Plains. Lamar was my destination, tucked away in the southeastern corner of the state just 30 miles from the border with Kansas.

Welcome to Colorful Colorado

It was a long drive. Although I had planned to take a different route, I ended up heading to Antonito, generally following a portion of yesterday’s ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. I then headed north toward Pagosa Springs and then east through LaVeta Pass.

Before me as I descended the mountain was a gross sight. I don’t know if it was extreme air pollution or something else, but a dark mass seemed to be floating above the city of Walsenburg. Yuck!

Whatever was in the air seemed to follow me, and I was soon enveloped in a dense fog with virtually no visibility. I considered pulling over and waiting for it to pass, but there were no pull-offs on the road. So, I reduced my speed and followed the taillights of the vehicle in front of me. That was a bit scary.

I arrived in Lamar in one piece and checked into the Holiday Inn Express. The reason I made such an extreme detour to Lamar was to attend a meet-up with the National Park Travelers Club tomorrow. The members who were staying at the hotel walked across the street for dinner. I had previously met a few of the members, and it was nice to get to know the others.