Road Trip: Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota

Sunday, July 20: We packed up and left our cabin around 9:00 AM and went back to Aspen for a picnic at Rio Grande Park and Rugby Field. Yes, it was a fourth day of wedding festivities, but it was a nice chance to say goodbye in a low-key setting. The park is adjacent to the John Denver Sanctuary, built in memory of the famous singer, who called Aspen home for much of his life. A former drainage ditch, the 4.5-acre sanctuary is lovely, with trails winding through trees, shrubs, wildflowers, wetlands and has boulders carved with the lyrics to several of his songs. Born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. in Roswell, NM, he changed his name when a fellow performer suggested that Deutschendorf was too long to fit on a theater marquee. John Denver recorded 33 albums and more than 300 songs, writing about two-thirds of them himself. He became politically active later in life and was passionate about the environment, world hunger and sustainable living, among other causes. Fun facts: “Annie’s Song,” the ballad dedicated to his first wife, Annie Martell, was composed in ten minutes while sitting on a Colorado ski lift. During the couple’s bitter divorce, he cut their bed in half with a chainsaw. An avid pilot, John Denver died in 1997 at the age of 53 when the plane he had recently purchased crashed in California. 

We said farewell to our Evans relatives, then drove four hours to the Denver Airport, encountering heavy traffic west of the city, presumably weekenders returning home from the mountains. We dropped of Kathleen, Danielle and Jay at the airport, then Amy and I drove back to Longmont to pick up our camping gear and return the suit and bolo tie that I borrowed from my brother for the wedding reception. Next we headed north into Wyoming, and stopped at Curt Gowdy State Park outside of Cheyenne, arriving at sunset. After a quick dinner at our lakeside campsite, we gazed at the stars before falling asleep. The park is named for sportscaster Curt Gowdy, who grew up in Cheyenne. 

Monday, July 21: We awoke to a flock of noisy geese on the Crystal Reservoir, the source of Cheyenne’s drinking water. After a breakfast of leftover juice and pastries from Sunday’s wedding picnic, we packed up and headed into Cheyenne (population 65,000), where we visited the public library, Wyoming State Capitol, Buffalo Soldier Monument, and did drive-bys of Warren Air Force Base and Frontier Days, the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and western festival. Wyoming was the first U.S. territory and state to fully recognize women as full citizens, regardless of race, and elected the nation’s first female governor, Nellie Taloe Ross, in 1924. Map link: Cheyenne, WY

We cut across the northwest corner of Nebraska and stopped at Scotts Bluff, a prominent group of sandstone cliffs visible throughout the North Platte River Valley. For 10,000 years, the 800-foot peaks were a navigational landmark for natives, trappers, wagon trains, stagecoaches and the Pony Express crossing the region. We did a short hike to one of the two 4,600-foot overlooks, but the bright sun and 101-degree heat index kept our exertions to a minimum. Map Link: Scotts Bluff, NE

I’m always on the lookout for one-of-a-kind oddities on road trips and Carhenge in Alliance, NE, definitely fit the bill. Built by local engineer Jim Reinders and 35 relatives during a 1987 family reunion, it is a scale model of England’s Stonehenge, the mystical and mysterious stone structures dating back to 3,000 B.C., believed to chart the sun and moon phases. An avid traveler, Reinders had visited and admired Stonehenge and wanted do something lasting and unique that would draw attention to his tiny hometown. Map link: Carhenge, Alliance, NE

In South Dakota, we stopped at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre, where nearly 300 Lakota were killed by the U.S. Army in 1890. We also drove through Badlands National Park, which we’ve been to before, but are always blown away by the beauty of the amazing rock formations and grasslands.

After a full day on the road, we again arrived at sunset at our campground, Oahe Downstream Recreation Area on the Missouri River outside of Pierre, SD. We had trouble finding our reserved campsite, since there are three campgrounds and got escorted by the friendly campground hosts in their golf cart to the correct site. It was dark, hot, humid and buggy, and we were too tired and sweaty to make dinner after setting up camp. We sat in the tent vestibule and watched a lightning storm to the northeast until we cooled off enough to fall asleep. It was a rough night, as a parade of storms passed nearby, bringing high winds for hours that rattled our tents and kept us awake. At one point Amy had to go out and reattach the vestibule stakes that had pulled out of the ground.

Bonus Question: What is the world’s newest country? (answer at end of post)

A. Kosovo

B. South Sudan

C. East Timor

D. Montenegro

Tuesday, July 22: After sunrise and on little sleep, we took a quick shower at the campground, then left in a hurry to avoid more thunderstorms and drove to breakfast at Perkins in Pierre, SD. Our only other stop in Pierre was at the South Dakota state capitol, my fifth in two weeks. The classic-style capitol was finished in 1910 and modeled after the Montana State Capitol in Helena and a large annex was added in 1932. Just to the east is a picturesque, five-acre man-made lake that is surrounded by the governor’s mansion, visitors center and memorials and statues of all types. Map link: Pierre, SD

After crossing back into Minnesota, we stopped for lunch at Dari King, a local restaurant skirting competitive trademark issues, then visited Pipestone National Monument, a sacred native site and an active quarry for the red stone used to make ceremonial pipes for 2,000 years. Native Americans still quarry using hand tools, breaking through thick layers of hard quartzite with sledgehammers and crowbars to reach the soft pipestone underneath. Pipes are also carved by hand and several native carvers were in the visitors center to demonstrate their craft. Map link: Pipestone, MN

Display quarry. You can see the thin layer of pipestone
under many feet of quartzite.

Active quarry

Winnewissa Falls

Most of our drive through South Dakota and Minnesota was on two-lane backroads, passing through small towns and tribal lands. Traffic was light, although we did have to pull over for a house moving down the road. We returned home to St.Paul around 8:15 PM, more than two weeks since I’d left home in the truck. 

Bonus Question Answer: B. After decades of civil war, South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011. Kosovo is the next-youngest, separating from Serbia in 2008.

Aspen Wedding

Thursday, July 17:  We set the alarm for 6:00 AM, to get to the Aspen Highlands Resort in time for our shuttle reservation to Maroon Bells in the White River National Forest. The Bells are two 14,000-foot mudstone peaks that are dangerous to climb, but beautiful to look at and hike to. After the eight-mile shuttle ride to the trailhead, we took a guided hike to Crater Lake, led by a summer employee of the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES), a local non-profit dedicated to the education and preservation of the area. The one-way, two-hour tour was filled with local knowledge about geology, biology, flora and fauna. At Crater Lake, we ate lunch and hiked down to the trailhead where we met the Calahan and Diem families, who were waiting for the bride and groom to arrive after saying their wedding vows on an 11-mile private hike from Crested Butte to Maroon Bells. After everyone arrived and hugs, kisses and introductions were taken care of, we took the shuttle to the Highlands Alehouse for celebratory drinks, followed by a family dinner at the nearby Woody Creek Tavern. 

We saw several pikas on the trail

Crater Lake

Friday, July 18: After a peaceful night at the cabin, we returned to Aspen for Day 2 of activities with the wedding party and families. We rode the Silver Queen Gondola up 4,000 feet to the top of Aspen Mountain, where we hiked about five miles on one of the mountaintop service roads. After lunch at the top, we took the gondola back down the mountain, then window-shopped in Aspen until we tired of the glitz and shine of this upscale resort city and returned to our cabin. 

The Utes were the original inhabitants of this area, but were gradually displaced as prospectors found valuable minerals, including silver, in the mountains. Aspen is in Pitkin County, named after Colorado’s second governor, who believed that the Ute people did not properly utilize their land and thus white settlers had the right to claim it. The town went from a small mining camp in 1880 to a booming city ten years later, complete with electric lights, street cars, sewer system, hospital, banks, police department, three schools, opera house and roller skating rink. A national economic depression and the collapse of the silver market in the 1890s triggered a downward spiral in Aspen’s fortunes, with the population declining by 50% between 1893 and 1900. The area limped along as a small ranching and farming community until the first ski resorts were constructed in the late 1930s. Ski racing and jumping were becoming popular and the area flourished during the post World War II boom, with the population growing for the first time since 1890. Aspen today is a popular year-round destination, with a reputation as a playground for the rich and famous and skyrocketing property values. Map link: Aspen, CO

Back at the Lazy Bear Cabin, we cooked baked potatoes with fixings for dinner, played a family game (Tranquility) then watched the stars on the deck until bedtime.

Bonus Question: True or False: The United States Army once had a Camel Corps.

Saturday, July 19:  We slept in, chilled out at the cabin, lounged on the deck and admired the mountains and the mule deer that have visited the yard every day. Three of our group have seen black bears on the trip, but none at the cabin, although the property manager warned that they are around. In the afternoon we dressed up in our finery (mine borrowed from my brother) to attend Kata and Chris’ wedding reception in Aspen. It was an outdoor affair, adjacent to the Aspen Historical Society Museum, which we visited before enjoying the fresh-made pizza, charcuterie, and music from a local band, that the bride is a guest singer for in her spare time.

Bonus Question Answer: True. In the mid-19th century, the U.S. Army experimented with using camels as pack animals in the American Southwest. Tests began as early as 1836, but it wasn’t until 1853, when Secretary of War Jefferson Davis championed the effort. Although camels proved well suited to the arid environment and outperformed horses and mules, the army ultimately rejected the idea and the outbreak of the Civil War put an end to the program. Fun fact: During the Civil War, King Mongut of Siam offered to send elephants to the Union Army, but President Lincoln politely declined the offer.

Denver, CO

Sunday, July 13: I was awake at 5:00 AM and couldn’t go back to sleep. It was a beautiful day, with no sightseeing on the schedule. My family was flying in and I was picking them up at the Denver Airport, then heading to see my brother and his family in Longmont, CO, a northern suburb of Denver. Flights were early, and we were at Matt and Sue’s around 12 Noon. We were later joined by their sons Cooper and Colin and their partners Hattie and Amy, respectively, along with Hattie’s mother, Jodi and Cooper and Hattie’s 11-month-old daughter Mayla, for a pleasant afternoon and evening of family time. Map link: Longmont, CO

Monday, July 14: After morning exercise and breakfast, we drove to nearby Boulder to catch the Flatiron Flyer express bus into Downtown Denver. Plan A was to visit the U.S. Mint, but the first-come-first-served guided tours were already booked for the day. We checked out the gift shop anyway, then walked to City Hall, it’s nearby gardens, public library and the Colorado state capitol, my third statehouse in four days. After wandering around the large and ornate building by ourselves, some of us latched on to a guided tour up to the dome, which had an open-air viewing area. After the capitol, we had lunch at Yampa, then walked back to Union Station and reversed our route back to Matt’s house. Map Link: Denver, CO

U.S. Mint

City Hall and gardens 

???

Tuesday, July 15: We had beautiful weather for a day of outdoor activities, beginning with a hike to Lion’s Lair on Mount Sanitas in Boulder. While only 5.5 miles round trip with a 900-foot elevation change, it was a good acclimation to the 5,900-foot altitude for all of us flat-landers. We went into Boulder for lunch at Rosetta Hall, then visited Chautauqua Park for a great view of the Flatirons, a series of sloping rock formations on Green Mountain. We returned to Boulder for strolling and shopping along Pearl Street, before capping the night off with dinner at Avanti food court. Map Link: Boulder, CO

The Flatirons, Chautauqua Park

Pine Street house that was the setting for the
late 1970s sitcom Mork & Mindy

Bonus Question: One of my favorite classic rock bands was REO Speedwagon. What was the group named after? (answer at end of post)

Wednesday, July 16:  We spent the morning in Longmont, walking, running and biking around McIntosh Lake, where we enjoyed watching the resident prairie dog community. After lunch we drove four hours west to our Airbnb in the mountains near Basalt, CO, about 45 minutes from Aspen, where our niece Kata and her fiancee Chris were getting married. Our cabin was spacious, private and quiet, although very remote; it’s 20 miles to the nearest town and there was no WiFi, landline or cell phone service. Upon our arrival, we were We greeted by a mule deer buck on the property. Map link: Lazy Bear Cabin, Basalt, CO

Bonus Question Answer: The band was named after the REO Speed Wagon, a light truck manufactured by the REO Motor Car Company from 1915-1953. REO stood for Ransom Eli Olds, who started the company after leaving his namesake Oldsmobile, which made cars for 107 years until General Motors discontinued the brand in 2004. In 1967, keyboardist and songwriter Neal Doughty learned about the REO Speed Wagon in a History of Transportation class while attending the University of Illinois, and thought that it would be a great name for his new rock band. REO Speedwagon (Doughty shortened it to one word) would go on to record 13 Top 40 hits and sell more than 40 million records. 

This photo in the Colorado State Capitol
inspired today’s bonus question