Keyhole State Park, Moorcroft Wyoming

We arrived at Keyhole State Park late Friday afternoon, April 25th.  The weather was beautiful.  Temperatures in the upper 60's.  It was partly cloudy, but sun was shining through.  We were excited at the prospect of meeting new volunteers and getting to know other RVers.  We got our rig setup and were ready to explore the area.

Keyhole State Park

T & I will be responsible for the camp ground called Homestead.  There are 45 campsites and our responsibility will be to keep the campsites clean and the toilets supplied.  We've been here four days and have seen four campers.  In all fairness, the season hasn't begun, so people aren't out camping yet.  Add to that, the temperatures dropped into the 30's with winds of 20 to 40 mph and snow and rain.  No one in their right mind would be camping in this.  Now having said that, T and I are camping in this mess.  WHAT ARE WE THINKING?  Really, though, it isn't too bad.  I've made hearty soups every day and the weather forecast is predicting clear skys and warmer temperatures by the end of the week.

The nearest community is Pine Haven.  You can't call it a town.  There is a gas station/market and two restaurants and a golf course.  The next nearest town is Moorcroft, about eleven miles away.  Neither town has a stop light.  The "coffee shop" in Moorcroft is a Truck Stop.  Now being fair, the place is called Coffee Cup Fuel Stop and the coffee is good and there is a large "dining area" with free wifi.   There is a Post Office, a library, a bank, another gas station, a small market and a Museum.   There are two restaurants and a Subway in town.  We will of course try out both restaurants.

To go grocery shopping we will have to go to Gillette or Spearfish, both about an hour away in opposite directions.  Once the weather clears we will head out to see what these towns are about.

Sadly, we will be the only hosts here for at least two more weeks.  Stay tuned.

Colorado: Manitou Springs & Colorado Springs, USAF Academy

We left Las Vegas, NM and went to Colorado Springs.  We stayed at the USAF Academy FAMCamp.  There were quite a few RVers there, though  the weather hadn't warm up all that much.  

 We went over to Manitou Springs a couple of times. The town is famous for its hot springs and the fact that it sits at the base of Pikes Peak.  One day we walked around town had lunch at the European Cafe and I had borscht (beet soup) for the first time.  I found it to be surprisingly good.  The next day we went back, rode the Cog Railway to the top of Pikes Peak and when we got back down we had lunch at The Heart of Jerusalem Cafe, excellent Mediterranean food.

Manitou Springs

The Manitou Springs Incline, also known as the Manitou Incline or simply the Incline, is a popular hiking trail rising above Manitou Springs, Colorado, near Colorado Springs. The trail is the remains of a former 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge[1] funicular railway whose tracks washed out during a rock slide in 1990. The Incline is famous for its sweeping views and steep grade, as steep as 68% in places,[2] making it a fitness challenge for locals in the Colorado Springs area. The incline gains over 2,000 feet (610 m) of elevation in less than one mile.

Manitou Incline

They say there are something like 2024 steps to the top.  I was excited at the thought of walking to the top and I had planned to walk up it right after our Cog rail ride. The first look at the "incline" was a bit daunting, but I was game.   I walked up 200 steps and got to thinking, "I am not prepared for this.  I don't have any water, nor snacks to tide me over." So I returned to the bottom.  That sounded like a good excuse to me.  Maybe the next time I'm in the area, I'll give it a try.

Balancing Rock-Garden of the Gods (Glo beside rock)

Garden of the Gods

We also drove through the "Garden of the Gods." An amazing area of beautiful red rock formations.  It reminded me in some ways of Sedona, AZ.  If you are ever in the Colorado Springs area, you MUST see visit this park.  It holds a special place in my heart, because my sister, Marsha, and I visited here on a trip west in 1996.

Helen Hunt Jackson wrote of the park, "You wind among rocks of every conceivable and inconceivable shape and size... all bright red, all motionless and silent, with a strange look of having been just stopped and held back in the very climax of some supernatural catastrophe."^[6]

Pikes Peak

At the top of Pikes Peak the temperature was 20 degrees with a wind chill of 9 degrees.  To say the least we didn't spend a great deal of time outside.  The views were magnificent.  They say you can see for 300 miles.

USAF Academy Chapel

Ken & Sue Moloney

On our ride up to Pikes Peak we met a neat couple, Ken & Sue  Moloney.  We happened to meet up with them purely by accident the next day at the USAF Academy Chapel.  They are full-time RVers like us who used to live in Tempe, AZ for many years and Ken served some time in the Air Force.  We hope to see them again in our travels.














Weather was magnificent the whole time we were in Colorado; cool in the mornings warming up in the afternoons.  However the morning that we were leaving there was frost on the ground it was 29° outside.  Our water pipes were frozen.  Though it didn't take long to fix it,  I was thinking we need to get used to that for a little while anyway.  

We decided we needed to get on the road toward Moorcroft, WY, because the weather forecast had winter storms coming in and we wanted to be sure we were at our destination and off the roads before  the snow arrived.

Truth or Consequences,NM, Las Vegas, NM, Fort Huachuca, AZ

While at Fort Huachuca, we enjoyed time with Brian and family and enjoyed our granddaughter Sammy.  She's graduating from Kindergarten this year and is very proud of her graduation picture.  "It looks just like Mommy's.  Can we put it on the wall with yours?" She is adorable.  I'm not biased in the least. 

The desert is blooming 

We left Fort Huachuca on Friday, April 18, and drove to Truth Or Consequences, NM.  Not a bad trip, since most of it was Interstate driving.  Not how we usually travel, but what the hey, it got us where we were headed in a reasonable time and we’ve traveled this area before, so we weren’t interested in taking the slower route.

We stayed at the Monticello RV Park in Elephant Butte, NM, just outside of Truth or Consequences (T or C is how it's known by the locals.) The RV Park is off the beaten path but for $11 a night you can’t beat it.  The $11 is the Passport America price, regular price is $22.  If you RV you should definitely be a member.  It saves us a ton of money.  

Truth or Consequences is a quaint little town. Built in, I think, the 1930s. It originally was called Hot Springs. Situated off I-25 between Albuquerque and Las Cruces, this little town got its big name in 1950 as part of a publicity scheme to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Ralph Edwards’ hugely successful game show on NBC radio.  

Now reading that there were hot springs, we had every intention of spending a little time in one of the many hot springs in the area.  BUT... we forgot our bathing suits, and of course the area is into nude bathing, so we didn't get to participate.

I'm standing in the middle of the street at Noon.
The cars you see are parked.

Turtleback Oasis (a health food store)

US Post Office on National Historic Registry

We spent the afternoon wandering the streets. The uniqueness of the names of little places was quite interesting.  Names like: Happy Belly Deli,  Turtleback Oasis, The Dude Motel, and Passionate Pies.  We enjoyed just reading the names and of course we indulged ourselves at Passionate Pies.  We sat outside and enjoyed the sun while people watching. Went to the Geronimo Springs Museum which told the story of the town and Ralph Edwards. Across the street was the US Post Office. It is on the historical landmark registry. It was built in 1939.

Elephant Bute Dam- built in 1939

Elephant Butte Lake

After spending the afternoon in town we went to Elephant Butte Lake dam. Of course, took a few pictures.The sad part was the Elephant Butte Lake is so dry that there are very few boats.  It's not anything like it used to be. It is really hurting the economy there.  It looks very similar to Lake Powell in Arizona which at one time was a magnificent lake.

On Saturday, April 19, we headed to Las Vegas, New Mexico.   We stayed overnight at Storrie Lake State Park.

A sad picture of Storrie Lake, almost completely dry.

We had planned to spend a day there taking in the sites and wondering through the historic areas.  But, alas, the rains came, the temperature dropped into the 40s and the wind started blowing.  I don’t enjoy the cold.  So we opted not to take in the sites and headed off to Colorado Springs.