Me and Kirk

July 31, 2015

I took a two-week road trip through Colorado and New Mexico in June, after the wedding in Kansas City.

Kinda my own personal “Thelma & Louise” trip…except it was just “Kirk” and me (my Iowa-plated rental car with “CRK” as the first letters on the license plate, before the numbers).

I've always wanted to explore those two states more – especially New Mexico. The plan was to take my time, leisurely stop at scenic turn-outs and roadside attractions along the way, and end up wherever I ended at the end of each day.

I had no “set” agenda (other than a loose route planned – west across Colorado to at least Grand Junction, turn south there towards New Mexico, and make a loop through that state).  The only “rigid” rule I set for myself was not to back-track on roads already explored, and take a new path each day.

I think more than anything, I just wanted to get in a car and DRIVE.  It’s been years since I've done that, and I still have a valid California driver’s license.

I left Kansas City on a Monday morning, after dropping my brother off at the KC airport for his flight back to California.

I stopped in Manhattan, Kansas, hoping to rendezvous with my uncle (who has lived there since I can remember).  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to connect with him (love you, John!).  But while there, I did buy a cheap USA $10 Walmart “throw-away” phone, for the trip. I don’t have a “smart phone”…more on this later.

From there, I took I-70 west to Denver for a couple of nights.

Denver dinner with longtime
friends & family -- Dave and Don

Then onto the Grand Junction area, (stopped and explored Frisco and Glenwood Springs on the way)

I had a late lunch in Glenwood Springs at Doc Holliday’s Saloon.  He is buried nearby, and I went to see his “grave” afterwards.

Doc Holliday lived there the last year of his life and died at the Glenwood Hotel in November 1887.

This is just a memorial.
No one knows exactly where Doc H
 was buried here in this cemetery.

I ended up staying in the funky little town of Fruita,
 just few miles west of Grand Junction.

 A quirky junk yard in Fruita

One confession:

It’s been so long since I filled up a car with gas, that the first few times I did it, I was so busy answering the automated questions at the pump:

Zipcode?

Pin?

Carwash?

Receipt?

Name of first born child?

…..that I forgot to screw the gas cap back on, after filling up, until hearing it bang around on the rear of my car after getting back on the interstate.

A spliff for the road, anyone?

Shortly after Denver – stopped and took picture of a roadside weed store…Right off the highway…strikes me as a bit ironic, but then again, I’ll bet there’s not much problem with pedal-to-the-metal speeders along that stretch.
Shot in the dark - my guess is anyone who stops there for anything more than gasoline and snacks, creeps back on the freeway at a roaring 50 miles-per-hour speed.
It’s probably more like “let’s mooove it along here, folks”…

A cop pulled up behind me on shoulder when for the third – and last – time I got out to screw back on the forgotten gas cap, shortly after I took these photos.

”You alright here, ma’am?”

“Seriously, officer – all I did was take pictures from outside, and walk around inside for a minute”

I was driving a rental car, and doing my best not to smoke cigarettes inside Kirk.

At each gas up stop, I would pick up a few scratch-off lottery tickets, have a cig, a coffee, a scratch, and buy a few more cards to relax at the end of each day playing them in my hotel room(s).

I actually hit a few $20 jackpots with these during my trip.

Colorado National Monument

From Fruita, I turned south towards Durango (Hwy 50).  I spent a about an hour exploring the Colorado National Monument first, then headed to Ouray.  My cousin and his family have lived there for 20+ years, (he owns the Ouray Mountain Sports store). We’ve had a couple of cousins’ reunions in Ouray over the years; it’s a beautiful and quaint town, though a drizzly day when I stopped that afternoon to see Bill and his family.

Ouray.
Cousin Bill and family

My plan was to spend the night in Durango (never have explored that town), but no rooms were available, so I pushed on down to Farmington, New Mexico.

To be continued...