great trip to the wild west

 

part 2

 

previously - cabin in the mountains

 

my brother had to leave a day early to go back to work

I almost keep going over the mountains and on back to Colorado

 

something made me want to come back to Saratoga

and spend one more day

 

man am I glad I did

 

 

I would have missed the Saratoga hot springs

and I mean hot

this one is 108 to 110 degrees

 

 I was lucky it was a somewhat cloudy morning

when I came down from the cabin

 

still it must have been 80 degrees outside

and I could only get into the big one up to my knees

 

 

this one was a smaller pool next to it

maybe 102

that was doable

 

this is the Hobo Pool

free to the public and open 24 hours a day

amazing right?!

 

all sand bottomed - you can see the springs bubble up

 

and almost better was the pools down in the river

 

 

where the Hobo pool overflow was

 

 

I spent all morning here on the North Platte

 

 

since my brother was working so I spent the afternoon at the lake

 I was thinking I might camp there again

mosquitoes be damned

 

it was a nice calm sunny day at the lake

 

 

then out of nowhere this storm flew in

 

 

you could see the rain coming a long way off

 

the place is a desert

it never rains there and I wanted to camp and it was raining

 

my brother to the rescue

he got me a room at the resort he works for

half off - family discount - sweet

Nice western resort right on the Platte River, they had everything

bikes, kayaks, inner tubes, ATVs, jeeps

and a golf course of which my brother was the new pro.....

 

I loved my room

 

 

the lights over the sink were cool

 

 

and I especially liked the hooks on the wall

 

 

the resort has a large sand bottomed pool 100 degrees

 

 

then some tipis

 

 

with pools in them at various temperatures

 

I swam in the big pool for awhile - so nice

and then it started to rain again

hard

so I went into the tipis

the first one I tried was not hot enough, nor the second

but the third one was just right

 

 

it was getting dark and the lightening was very visible

loud claps of thunder

driving rain

and I was warm and cozy in my tipi - it was so wonderful

natural hot springs, there is nothing like them

 

sadly it was time to head south the next day

I went the scenic route

south to Riverside but upriver on the Platte

(it runs from Colorado north through Wyoming...)

around the south end of the Medicine Bow Mountains

 

 

52 - really?

 



 

 the vistas were gorgeous

I had to keep stopping to look and take photos

which was no problem as the roads were wide

you could see for miles

and there was no one on them

 

these guys were way out there

 

 

this is telephoto

 

 

I liked this place

I  wonder who lived there and what happened

 

 

it was way out there too

 

 

just a whole lot of cows

 

 

in the middle of nowhere

 

as I got closer to Fort Collins retracing my steps back

the traffic increased and the middle of nowhere seemed a remote memory

 

I needed a place with some shade and some quiet before meeting my friends

 

 

 I finally found this road

finally because though it looks like it is open and wild

it is all owned, fenced and gated

 

 

I was lucky to find a little shade to read and rest in

 

 

it was the last bit of wild I was to see that trip

 

once again I had the luxury of staying with my friends

they are beautiful

 

 

and Fort Collins is lovely

 

 

pots of flowers everywhere downtown on College Street

I could not get over how well they grew there

 

my friend is an artist

she has been in FC almost 25 years

that was her first apartment and studio upstairs

 

 

now it its all fancy stores and tourist haunts

we ate breakfast at a wonderful old house converted into a restaurant

we sat out on the big shady patio

her framed watercolors filled the building

I was so proud to be with her, I wanted to wear a sign

"I know the artist"

 

 

 

it was a happy town and I had such a good time!

 

after a good visit and a good rest

I headed back to Colorado Springs

the traffic was almost as bad as coming up

it was still just as shocking

 

it was fun to spend my last couple days at my old friends

funny thing though is that I could not stay in my tent in her yard as I had on the way in

as it rained hard for 2 days there

"it never rains here this time of year, it's a desert"

 

yes, I must have brought the rain from Florida, your welcome

 

 

that's ok, at least my hotel had wildlife in front of it

 

there was some amazing light shows over the mountains

too bad I could not get photos

 

 

the day I left, the rain had washed the air clean

and the mountains were spectacular

 

 

next - part 3

 

Tracking Annie Proulx and Bird House while in Saratoga Wyoming