We spent 5 nights at the Colorado Heights Campground in Monument, Colorado. While there, we took a trip up to Denver to do shopping at Costco and Camping World.
On Tuesday, August 5, we left Monument, heading south on I-25 until we got to Pueblo, where we picked up US-50 again. Heading east on US-50, we drove to La Junta (stopping to have lunch at the Tamarack Grill in Fowler), where we went south on SR-109, and west on David Canyon Road. Our destination was Vogel Canyon in the Comanche National Grasslands. We found a nice little picnic area (free) where we set up camp for the night (N37 46.198, W 103 30.775). Good thing we had our generator, since it was hot...not like the cool weather we'd gotten used to in the higher elevations of Colorado! Fortunately, the nights cooled off, so it was comfortable sleeping without leaving the generator running. This was a really nice place to camp...nice and quiet...so we stayed here a couple of days. There was about a half-mile trail to an overlook of Vogel Canyon which we walked during the cool of the morning.
Thursday morning, we continued our trip east on US-50, stopping for lunch in Holly, Colorado, and groceries in Syracuse, Kansas. We spent the night at Beymer Kearny County Park in Lakin, Kansas ($5 per night).
The next day, we visited the Fort Larned Historical Site at Larned, Kansas. This was quite an interesting site; unfortunately, it was not only hot here, but also humid. The wind was blowing, so it wasn't too bad outside, but was uncomfortable inside the buildings which, of course, were not air conditioned.
Fort Larned was a principal guardian of the Santa Fe Trail as well as a key post in the Indian wars from 1859 to 1869. Throughout most of the 1860's, Fort Larned also served as an agency of the Indian Bureau. In the early 1870's, as the Santa Fe Railroad pushed west from Topeka, soldiers from Fort Larned provided protection for construction workers.
We spent the night at a camping spot (free) in the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area. This area consists of 7,300 acres of shallow marshes and wetlands. Nearly half of the birds that migrate east of the Rocky Mountains stop here. Of the 415 bird species in Kansas, 320 have been observed here -- more than anywhere else in the state.
On Saturday, the 9th, we made it to Junction City where we set up at the West Rolling Hills free BLM area of Milford Lake. There is a fee area that has electrical hookups, but we usually stay in the free area which has spaces right on the lake. We drove into town after setting up, and went by the Chevy dealer to order the part we needed for the truck.
Monday, we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel and did grocery shopping at the Super Wal Mart.
Tuesday, we drove into Abilene to visit the Eisenhower Center.
The Eisenhower Center is several blocks square, and consists of Eisenhower's boyhood home where his family lived from 1898 until his mother's death in 1946, a museum, the Presidential Library, and the final resting place of the President, Mamie, and their first-born son, Doud Dwight.
The museum at the Eisenhower Center was quite interesting, covering Eisenhower's military career and his time as President. There is also a gallery of the life of Mamie Doud Eisenhower, and a Temporary Gallery where exhibits change from time to time. At the time of our visit, the Temporary Gallery had a tribute to Bob Hope. This tribute was particularly poignant since Bob Hope had died on July 27, just about 2 weeks prior to our visit.
Earl went golfing on Wednesday, and on Thursday we took the truck in to have the missing spring stop replaced as well as having an oil change and tire rotation. We then had lunch at Cracker Barrel, and did grocery shopping.
We left Junction City on Friday, and spent the night at the Elks Club in Grandview, Missouri, where we also had dinner.
The next day, we arrived in Harrisburg where Ron and Donna Monroe are parked in their new Excel fifth wheel on their daughter's property out in the country. That night we had a picnic at the local winery, which would have been even more fun if it hadn't been so hot and humid! We had a great visit with Ron and Donna, and look forward to seeing them again at the Escapees' Fall Escapade in Goshen, Indiana.
We spent Monday night at the Elks Club in O'Fallon, Missouri. After setting up, we did laundry and grocery shopping.
On Tuesday, we arrived at Hickory Shores Resort near Carlyle, Illinois, one of our Coast to Coast parks. We spent a week here: Earl golfed a couple of times, we did laundry and grocery shopping, picked up our mail, and on our last night, had dinner out at the Circle B Steakhouse.
We left Hickory Shores Resort on Tuesday, and spent the night at Red Hills State Park near Lawrenceville, Illinois.
The next day, our plan was to stay at one of the numerous Forest Service campgrounds around Bedford, Indiana. After trying to find some based on the directions in the book we were using, and having no luck, we happened upon the Forest Service office, so stopped to get directions. As it turned out, everything was full due to the up coming Labor Day weekend! We ended up at Spring Mill State Park near Mitchell. This is a very nice state park, but on the expensive side -- over $20 per night! However, we decided to spend a couple of nights, and the next day, we shopped at the local Sam's Club, and picked up more dog food at PetsMart.
On Friday, August 29, we drove to North Vernon, Indiana, where we stayed at another of our Coast to Coast parks for 5 nights, Country Squire Lakes. While here, we kicked back and relaxed, doing laundry and grocery shopping.
