St. Louis Trip - Part 7 Traveling Home Days 1 & 2

I decided to go home by a different route at least part of the way so that I could stay a night in Colorado Springs and try to see some friends. The long one day drive from St. louis to the Springs reminded me why I stopped doing it. By the time I got to the Springs I had traveled through a downpour and a hail storm. It was more like a summer storm than Fall. 

Between the drive and the weather I was happy to get a chance to get together with Joe and have pizza. I told a couple of the other guys that we would have to catch up next time because I was going to crash early and hit the road early the next morning because even though I didn't have a very long drive, I was just going to Albuquerque but I wanted to visit Great Sand Dunes National Park on the way.

The first thing I saw the next morning was a squirrel waiting at the door of the motel office. As I was walking up, the door opened, the squirrel was handed his breakfast and he left. When I went in the office they told me that he showed up every morning there for breakfast.

After leaving the Springs I drove south to Walsenburg and then turned west to go over LaVeta Pass to the San Luis Valley and on to Great Sand Dunes National Park. I'm really glad that I decided to take the side trip because it was a really unique locale. As is often the case, pictures don't do it justice.

Great Sand Dunes National Park

After spending some time at the park I continued on my trip to Albuquerque. I was going to spend the night with Ken and Kristy again and I didn't plan to get there until after 5:30 so I still had time for some side trips. I stopped for lunch in Antonito, Colorado and then entered New Mexico. I made a quick stop in Santa Fe, a place I had not been to for many years. It really is a unique southwestern city and worth visiting at least once.

I decided rather than take I 25 to I 40 and then backtrack I would drive the Turquoise Trail a route I had never driven in all my travel from Colorado to New Mexico and back. It was an interesting drive with some really unique old communities to see. I stopped in Cerrillos to see the old town and then Madrid, a community that felt like a throwback to the 1960's. While driving through Madrid I saw a store with a bunch of bookshelves full of books on the porch and of course I pulled in immediately. Surprisingly they didn't sell the books and magazines, you could take what you wanted and leave a donation if you wanted to, which I did. 

Madrid

Golden

My final side trip on the drive was up the road to the top of Sandia Crest. It was a typical climb up and back on a ski road with some beautiful trees and views, including a couple of deer next to the road. The best part about the drive is that I now know where many of the trailheads are if I should return to the area and want to hike. 

When I arrived at Ken and Kristy's I another great visit catching up, some delicious green chili stew made with sweet potatoes instead of potatoes and some wine from a friends vineyard. It really is funny how we have some friends that we can not see for not just years but decades and keep in touch with only a Christmas card every year and yet when you get back together it's as if you've been in regular communication. One of the real blessings of this trip was reconnecting with the Meunier's.