Day 8 Sunday August 17, 2025
We departed Rock Creek Station Campground at 8:30 and headed to Crazy Y Farms near Gothenburg Nebraska about 240 miles away. Crazy Y Farms is another Harvest Hosts location. They raise corn, soybeans, sweet corn, popcorn and hay. They raise yellow and white corn for Frito Lay.
We stopped for fuel in York Nebraska just before getting on Interstate 80 heading West. The corn, soybean fields and hay fields were everywhere we looked. The land is very flat. The farmers here use a lot of irrigation rigs called “pivots” to irrigate their crops.
We stopped at a rest stop for a break and Lena fixed us a Latte. First one we have had in about 3 days. I walked over to an odd looking sculpture to get a photo and had to watch where I walked so I would miss all the dog turd bombs in the grass. Some dog owners are very irresponsible with their dogs.
We arrived at Crazy Y Farms at 1:30PM and setup in one of their two guest RV sites. We were here first so we picked site #2 because it was mostly in the shade. Both have 50AMP service which is really nice. We wont have to run the generator. We ran it about 3 hours before we got here to keep the inside cooled down. It is above 90 degrees again today but there is a nice breeze. I had sent the hosts a message with our ETA and they said they were at a family gathering and for us to setup and they would see us when they got home.
Their very friendly black cat came out to greet us while we were setting up. Their dog barked to greet us when we pulled into the yard, then lay back down and went to sleep. Lena saw something on Facebook that said today was the official Black Cat Day.
After we had lunch we drove into Gothenburg to visit an original Pony Express building. It is one of two in the area. It was donated in 1931 to the town by the family that owned the land where it was located. The town had it moved to the current location in a town park and have one half of the building setup as a museum about the Pony Express. The building was originally a fur trading post and ranch house along the Oregon Trail before it was used as a Pony Express station. Then it was used as an Overland Trail Stage Station, dwelling, bunk house and then as a storage building before it was donated to the town for restoration.
We stopped to fuel up the Jeep before returning to the Motorhome. It needs a good washing but that will have to wait a few days.
Teresa, our host came over when her and Doug came back from the family gathering. She brought us two bags of popcorn and said when they get finished with the afternoon irrigation she would tell about their farm operation.
We talked a little about farm life and then she told us a story that one of their guest told them. The guests said their neighbors raised beef cattle and they had a bunch of people come to their farm and put on a protest because they were killing their cattle for the meat and they should stop doing that and just buy their meat from Walmart. Huh!
Then she said one of their guest asked them why they let their corn die and not gather it. This was in the Fall when corn has reached maturity and all the stalks have turned brown and the ears of corn have drooped on the stalk waiting to get dry enough to harvest. It is amazing how ignorant people are about the source of their food.
When she came back from doing the irrigation chores she had an armful of sweet corn for us. Then we went over to her building that is a converted chicken coop where she has T-Shirts, jelly and bagged unpopped popcorn available for sale, plus free paperback books. She told us about the corn they raise for Frito Lay and about the popcorn they raise. I forget who buys their popcorn. After their crops are in they are hired to truck the byproduct of ethanol production to several states to be used for cow feed. As you probably know corn is used to make ethanol that is used to blend with gasoline that you burn in your automobile.
Then she showed us photos of Doug’s ancestors that farm the land that they now farm. Doug is the 5th generation to farm this land. Theresa and Doug farm 800 acres by themselves. Except they hire 2-3 people to help at harvest time. She runs the combine and Doug drives the 18 wheeler to haul the grain to the market or to their grain storage silos.
After Doug came back from checking his hay all of us sat outside and talked until dark. The other Harvest Hots guest said they were too tired to visit and was going to bed. Our hosts said they have an RV they use in the Winter to go to warmer places when the farm work is not going on. It gets below zero here sometimes in the Winter so they go to some place warmer for a while.
Day 9 Monday August 18, 2025
Doug and Theresa were out in the yard when we were getting prepared to leave so we talked for a while and thanked them for letting us stay. Doug was headed to the hay fields to start baling hay that they sell to neighbors that have livestock but no hay fields.
We finished our departure prep and pulled out about 9 am headed for Fort Morgan Colorado about 225 miles away.
It is a tad cooler this morning and overcast. Interstate 80 was mostly in really good condition so the drive was nice. The landscape gradually changed to less corn and soybeans but more hay fields and more rolling land with cattle grazing.
After driving for a while we stopped at a Loves Truck Stop to take a break and get Lena a Latte fix in the McDonald’s there. This was a very busy truck stop.
We exited interstate 80 and got onto interstate 76 just before we crossed into Colorado. We also fell back one more hour as we entered Mountain time zone. It seemed as soon as we crossed into Colorado the landscape immediately changed from mostly flat land to rolling hills and very little crop land. We could see almost no houses and just a few cows. The land was covered in mostly scrubby looking grass.
We arrived at Country Roads Vines and Wine about 1:30. No one was here so we picked a place to setup, then we had lunch and relaxed. The winery doesn’t open today until 4pm. We don’t have any electrical hookup here so we are running the generator to keep cool. But it is cooler today so it should be nice outside in a few hours.
We are setting in their parking lot right beside a very busy street. There is a rather steady stream of 18 wheelers going by. A mix of grain hauler and livestock haulers. Sure hope they don’t continue when it is bedtime. I checked Google Maps and there is a cattle feed lot a couple miles down the road so I assume they are going there to load up cows.
The wind picked up and was blowing really hard about 4:30. We looked out to the West and a mean looking cloud was hanging low and coming toward us. I thought a tornado might be coming our way. I had air leveled the motorhome since we were only going to be here one night. I quickly put the jacks down to help stabilize the motorhome. The winds blew the cushions off the outside seating under the patio at the winery and one went flying across the parking lot and into the corn field across the street. I went to get it but it was across a ditch that looked muddy so I gave up. The wind was getting worse so I pulled all the slides in to protect the slide toppers from damage. The winery owner came about 5 pm to open the winery and he retrieved his cushion from the corn field.
When I opened the door to the motorhome to walk over to the winery the wind caught it and pulled me out off the motorhome but I landed on my feet. I was holding on to the door with both hands so the door was not damaged. Sure glad Lena didn’t try to go out first because she could not have held onto the door.
Another Harvest Host couple was here and they were in the winery when we went in. The owner of the winery has said he has been open since 2019 but was making wine as a hobby for about 10 years prior to that. He makes about 8,000 bottles a year and sells all he makes. He has 8 rows of green and purple grape vines behind the winery. He buys most his juice from California.
The reason so many trucks are coming down the road beside us is there is a detour in town due to road construction and the trucks are coming by here to get to the slaughter facility that is across the field behind the winery. He said they will probably stop coming about 8 tonight.
By 6:30 the wind had almost completely stopped and it turned into a beautiful evening setting out on the patio at the winery watching the sun go down. By 8 pm the temperature had dropped to 70 degrees the coolest temperature we have had on this trip. This is the third Harvest Host site we have used and the only one with no electrical hookup and we don’t need air conditioning tonight. We will probably sleep with the windows open. Like I told Lena just like I planned it.
Day 10 Tuesday August 19, 2025
The temperature was nice and cool last night so didn’t need the AC and slept with the bedroom window open. After breakfast we pulled out about 8:45 and headed for the KOA campground in Glenwood Springs West, Colorado.
We stopped and topped off the fuel tank after about an hour. As we were going around Denver Colorado I took note of the elevation there. The city is called the Mile High City and for good reason the elevation was right at 5,280 feet. We switched to Interstate 70 as we were going around Denver. So far I76 in Colorado gets the prize for the worst road we have been on. It really needs some TLC.
We were soon climbing up the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and oh what a beautiful sight it was going through the mountains. We climbed to over 11,000 feet elevation. Lots of up and down hills and around curves but the motorhome performed perfectly. There was lots of traffic and many 18 wheelers so the driving was a little stressful but I kept my focus and we didn’t have any problems.
We have noticed that about half of the Rest Stops along the interstates have been closed, especially the ones we needed to stop at for a bio break.
We got to the campground about 2 pm, checked in and was escorted to site 212. It sits right on the banks of the Colorado River. A really nice site, covered concrete patio with tables, chairs a gas BBQ grill and a fire pit.
We rested awhile and took the Jeep to a car wash to get some of the road crud off as we could barely see out the windows. Then we went to Miner’s Claim for a good meal. We each got a 10 ounce center cut filet mignon. It was delicious, cooked just right and very tender. We each had to get a take out box because we couldn’t eat it all. I won’t tell you what the bill was but it was more than a McDonalds Happy Meal. 🤯
We are sitting outside by the river and it is about 7 pm and 91 degrees and by 5am it is supposed to be 55 degrees and then 95 by mid afternoon tomorrow. Cool night and hot days. We are hoping for some cooler temperatures soon. We thought it would be much cooler here.
Day 11 Wednesday August 20, 2025
We decided to try out the Wild Coffee Shop just down from the Miner’s Claim restaurant where we ate yesterday afternoon. Mistake!
We always ask for whole milk with our Lattes but they that made them Oat milk which was a $1 extra per cup bringing the price to $8 per cup, ouch. The mistake may have been caused by a very loud taking man that was setting at a table right by the counter or the girl might have not understood our Southern accent, who knows. We also ordered two pastries, a cinnamon bun and blueberry scone and asked for them to be heated. The Lattes were not bad but the pastries were extremely dry.
Then we drove down I70 to the town of Rifle, yes that is the name of the town. There is another town a few more miles down the road named Parachute. We drove several miles up into the hills to visit Rifle Falls State Park. We paid our state parks fee and walked up the trail to the falls. There were three main streams of water cascading over the hill down into a stream. We walked quite a ways up the trail past the falls and checked out a couple of the limestone caves. I stooped over and went into one but not very far.
The temperature was nice this morning for a short hike. After we rested awhile we drove on up the road to the end of the pavement to the Rifle Falls State Fish Hatchery. From there we drove down another road for several miles where there were numbers of homes scattered throughout the valley. Many of them were harvesting hay.
We returned to Rifle and went to the Rifle Heritage Center Museum. This only cost us $4 each which was the best deal we have had since we have been here. They really have done a nice job of preserving the history of the local area. It was a two story building and it was full of history of the area. One of the volunteer ladies told us there were many stories about how the town got its name.
Then we made a stop at Walmart for some fruit before returning to the campground to catch up on some chores.
Day 12 Thursday August 21, 2025
After breakfast and cleaning the windshield on the motorhome and dumping the holding tanks to get ready for our departure tomorrow we drove the few miles to the Sopris Alpaca Farm.
They have about 100 Alpacas and two Scottish Highland Cows. They have a really nice Boutique Shop where they sell several items that’s made from the Alpaca wool. In the past they did their own weaving but now they don’t have time with such a large herd of Alpacas to manage. They shear them once a year and provide the wool to a nearby weaver to produce the products made from the wool. Lena bought three dryer balls made from the wool.
They have one Alpaca that is blind and is expecting a baby at any time. One thing I find interesting is they do their “business” in the same spot over and over. There were a few piles in the paddock which they all used over and over. A cow or horse does their business anywhere they happen to be when the need arises. The lady we talked to said it sure makes their job of keeping the paddock clean much easier.
They are know to spit on you but not as bad as llamas. We rubbed a few of them on the head but they didn’t spit on us, thankfully. She said they make good pack animals for people taking long hikes.
Then we rode several backroads before returning to the motorhome.
Lena fixed some of the sweet corn we got at Crazy Y Farm a few days ago and it was probably the best we have ever had.
Late in the afternoon when it cooled off some we sat outside by the Colorado River and watched the geese in the water. They were enjoying the cool water. The ground is dry here but the river is flowing strong. Almost every hay field we passed in the last few days has had an irrigation system running. It must be coming out of the mountains. When we first got into the Rocky Mountains past Denver we could see some snow on top of the mountains at the high elevations.
Day 13 Friday August 22, 2022
We had reservations tonight at Buzzard Belly General Store a Harvest Hosts in Cisco Utah that would have been a 175 miles drive. When I checked the weather forecast yesterday it was supposed to be about 93 degrees in Cisco. This Harvest Host does not have electrical hookups as most do not, just a rare few like the two we have stayed at on this trip. So we would have had to run the generator to try and stay comfortable, but this host require the guests to not run the generators after 9pm or before 7am so we were probably going to be rather uncomfortable trying to sleep.
So I checked on our route for another place to stay and found a small RV Park in Salina Utah at the same exit off I70 where I have planned a fuel stop. So I called the RV Park and reserved a site for one night for just $35/full hookup 50AMP service. It would have cost us about half that to run the generator for about 6 hours. Then I canceled the reservation at the Harvest Hosts.
The first hundred miles of today’s drive was really nice, fairly good interstate and beautiful views of mountains on both sides of the road and the Colorado River running beside the road.
When we got into Utah the scenery changed drastically to what I would call the desert, rolling hills, no mountains close by and barely anything that even looked green. I told Lena there was a whole lot of nothing out there. And it was getting hot. We did not see anything alive in the form of wildlife except five black crows sitting on posts. And they looked like they were lost. This went on for about another hundred miles then we got into some more WOW scenery as we began to climb up into the mountains again. The rocks, etc. were several different colors and unusual shapes. There were several scenic turnoffs along this route and we stopped at three of them to get a better view of the surroundings and take some photos. It is hard to imagine how different the scenery here is compared to North Carolina. It looks like another world almost compared to what we are accustomed to.
We got to Salina about 2:30 and setup in site 8 which is a short pull through but this park is small and the row behind us look like long term so they will not be big RVs pulling around behind us.
Stacy, the park hosts came out and I paid her. She said she has lived in Marion NC in the past. She asked me yesterday when I called if I was from the South. Not sure how see figured that out.😂
After setting up we walked to a Mexican Restaurant a few yards away. Had a really good meal and had enough extra for another meal tomorrow.
We are still hoping for some cooler weather before we actually begin the tour with the caravan. We will arrive at the meeting point tomorrow but the official start date is not until the 25th. I planned to arrive two days early in case we had some kind of issue on the way.
Day 14 Saturday August 23, 2025
We had a very peaceful night at this small campground. We only have a 175 mile drive today so we were a little slow getting ready. Our planned fuel stop was across the street at the Mavericks Station.
We had a variety of very interesting terrain today. We saw several feed lots where cows are finished off before going to the slaughter house. We even saw some corns fields today. The first we have seen in several days. Also lots of hay fields and several large open sided barns with large hay bales in them getting ready for Winter cow feed.
All but 13 miles today was on I70 and I15. I15 was the best road we have had this trip so far. We got to Zion River RV Resort about 12:30, checked in and setup in site 12 which is a concrete pull through site. This is a nice RV Resort, it even has paved roads and the Zion River runs down behind the sites in front of us.
It is 100 degrees here today but the prediction is a little cooler weather next week. We sure hope so. It was nice enough at 7 pm we sat outside for a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment