Road Trip Day 5 - Alamosa, CO

Fowler, Kansas

Day 5 - the weather finally has cleared up and the skies are beautiful!  Leaving Dodge City I headed south to Fowler, Kansas.  My father was born in Fowler and I just wanted to see what it was like.  It is a very small town with dirt streets in the neighborhood I drove through.  Then I turned the wrong way (a very common thing for me) and ended up finding the Fowler Cemetery!  With such a tiny town I figured there could only be one cemetery so I stopped to see if I could find any of my relatives buried there.  I am not into my heritage and all.  My father told me that I did not want to know about his family because they "probably all got hung."

In this little cemetery was a kiosk with a plot map and Rolodex cards with the names of those buried there.  Low and behold!  Two of my father's family are here!!  My father's brother was Oliver Harmon.  He died in 1923 in California.  I am pretty sure that this is my grandfather's father or brother for whom Oliver was named.  And I heard my father mention an Uncle Harry.  Sometimes when I get lost on my travels the results are serendipity!  I actually found the head stone for Oliver!!

Next stop was to see the Dalton Gang Hideout in Meade Kansas.  I knew it was not open until 1 pm on a Sunday but wanted to stop anyway.  It is only 12 miles from Fowler.  It was, indeed, not yet open but I had a fun little walk about imagining what it would have been like when all that lawlessness and adventure was happening.

This was a big driving day.  Almost 400 miles to go to get to Alamosa, Colorado.  I had no idea that I had chosen to travel the same route as the wagon trains moving westward when I mapped out the trip on Hwy 50.  I was actually following the Santa Fe Trail!!  

Driving through Kansas the road was pretty flat with a few hills and lots of farmland.  When I got to Lamar, CO, everything changed.  I could see the mountains in the distance with the snow on top.  And the road became like a two-lane ribbon straight ahead for as far as the eye could see.  It was absolutely breathtaking.  It was not flat but kind of like a stretched out roller coaster.  There was not another car in sight so I could just stop in the middle of the road to try to capture the sight with my camera.  It does not do it justice but worth the try.  I was not on the Santa Fe Trail anymore but following Hwy 10 up into Colorado.

I cannot find the words to describe it.  Absolutely grand!!  And I was so very glad I stopped in Lamar for fuel.  This was 80 miles of unbelievable beauty.  Every time the road would take a slight turn, there would be 10 more miles of road-ribbon ahead.  I was in awe!  In the distance were the Spanish Peaks covered in snow.  

Today, Day 6, I am off to Durango, Colorado for 2 nights at the Strater Hotel.  Tomorrow I hope to catch the train to Silverton and back.  Supposed to be snow and rain, but I do not care.  

Westward ho!!!