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| Our first picnic lunch |
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| We had unexpected company |
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| They politely declined our food in favor of their own |
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| Such brilliant green almost blinded us |
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| What a cute house! |
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| So we took a quick side trip to Paris |
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| Paris, Tennessee, that is. |
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| Our first campsite was on Reelfoot Lake |
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| It was very windy and cool but not cold |
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| Hmmm, who are these intrepid travelers? Seems like they need to get their itinerary straightened out if they're going to travel together! |
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| Somehow (due to the weather), we crossed paths with our previous travels and since this road was open this time, we drove right down to the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi. S is standing here on the point. Also a landing spot for Lewis and Clark several decades ago... |
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| Two happy cows |
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| Huh? |
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| Yah! Especially the last one... (We almost left the kids behind once but that's another story) |
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| Night 2 was at a KOA |
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| Although cool, the girls couldn't pass up a good swim |
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| Or some hair dyeing |
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| Open air salon |
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| 2nd campsite (pool in background) |
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| Visited a Bass Pro shop nearby in Springfield, Missouri |
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| Looks like he's gonna get you, girls! |
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| Scott something? |
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| Ah, ice-cream for a hot day |
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| Fort Scott |
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| Hmmm, nobody can complain about prisons today... |
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| A big black rat snake |
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| The fishing lake we camped by in the Kansas grasslands |
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| Our free campsite |
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| We climbed a nearby hill - what a view! |
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| Completely by coincidence we followed this Santa Fe trail for several hundred kms |
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| This is one of many names and dates carved in the rock at this point on the trail |
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| A look-out point - something rock - where the above carvings are |
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| Picnic lunch spot on Day 4 at Fort Larned |
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| Fort Larned entrance |
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| Getting edumacated |
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| Old Bent's fort |
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| We love going into teepees (and acting silly...) |
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| Covered wagon. Love these. Thank you brothers for building me one on a wagon, as a kid - I think it lasted more than a day, too. Playing settlers and indians became so vividly real during that time... |
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| Inside the fort |
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| Seems almost cosy |
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| Approaching Pueblo Lake State Park, CO at sunset. I took this picture especially for the little clouds highlighted against the dark ones. We decided to drive on to Pueblo after not finding an appropriate spot to camp in La Junta or surrounding reservation. |
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| The campsite at Pueblo Lake. The drama here was when we were told a young (autistic?) boy was lost that evening. We watched them search the mountain nearby with searchlights and eventually he was found around 10pm. Praise the Lord. |
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| Heading into the mountains of Colorado |
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| Royal gorge |
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| It's really deep |
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| A kind man offered to take our picture |
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| Then someone else showed up and now we're 4 |
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| The Arkansas river is a long way from home |
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| White water farther up |
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| Ah... |
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| A calm section |
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| Everything is so green deep in the mountains |
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| The continental divide at this pass, the highest so far at 11 312 ft |
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| Chilly |
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| Still quite a bit of snow here |
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| Looking straight down the dam wall |
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| Up the canyon farther |
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| The rain really started around Montrose |
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| Coming into Ouray (U-ray) |
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| Yes, we ARE interested, actually - perfect day for hot springs |
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| The public outdoor hot springs - there were several pools of different temperatures |
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| This is the hottest pool - 104'. |
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| We stayed in the Twin Peaks lodge (not in this picture) |
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| Can you see Ouray? |
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| The breakfast room at the lodge |
