July 22, A Friend Visits!

After all of our running around yesterday, we ended up so far to the north end of Colorado Springs, that we just ended up staying at the Walmart parking lot in that area. I think we were actually closer to Monument Colorado, than the Springs! I did have to actually drive to Monument, where there was an RV park, simply to dump the tanks and get fresh water. After 2 nights in Walmart parking lots, we knew that we couldn't make it another day. It was a really nice park, too. Maybe we should have stayed there....

Since we were so far to the north, we decided that Jeff could start his route to the east from the north side. It just didn't seem necessary to drive south just to go east. So, off he went towards the east. He got a pretty early start, too, as we had dinner plans with a friend in the evening.

While I was expecting the grasslands to begin just east of I 25, I was very much surprised that the first maybe 10 miles were quite hilly, and covered with pine trees. There were some very nice neighborhoods tucked into the trees, as well. Some of the roads were even aptly named.

Once we passed through that section, it was much as I expected. There were a lot of homes and small ranchettes in the area, too. There was even 1 place with a whole bunch of weather vanes.

We passed through several small towns before finally stopping at Calhan. There are a number of old classic cars around this area. I guess that is sort of typical of small town areas.

Before we stopped, Jeff had been working to get a rock out of his shoe. He set his water bottle on the bridge rail, and a big gust of wind came and knocked it right into the creek! Luckily he was able to retrieve it, since that is where he carries his copy of the coach key.

Although not nearly the caliber of the things Jeff finds on the side of the road, I managed to find a couple of interesting items. It is somewhat interesting the type of things that get discarded, or lose their way, onto the side of the road!

I found this sign to be interesting, also. They have the mileage to Ft. Worth Texas on their ranch sign. Pretty cool. I actually thought we were further away than that.

Today seemed to be yellow flower day! I saw so many different yellow flowers along the road, and tons of sunflowers. There really is a wide variety of wild flowers, and they seem to come in almost every color. Today was just mostly yellow.

And I found a fountain that is sort of what I want in my backyard! No telling what is going to happen when we return to our house. We still have the ugly rock pile that the landscaper built, then rebuilt. Hopefully we will get it done right by someone else!

One of the highlights of the day, and maybe even the trip so far, was that David Reinhart came to town. He had a business meeting in Denver, so he arranged things so that it would happen while we were in Colorado Springs. After Jeff quit running for the day, we drove back to north Colorado Springs and found a Walmart parking lot to stop in near David's hotel. We showered and arranged to meet him at the hotel.  He had gotten a recommendation of where to eat, a brewery very close by. It was excellent!

 When we got back to his hotel, we decided to just park there for the night. Jeff and David had already made some plans to run in the morning, so it just made sense. We were hoping the Hampton Inn wouldn't mind. Apparently they didn't! It was nice and quiet, and much darker than a Walmart parking lot!

So, drumroll! We have a couple Mailboxes of the Day to leave with you. You've. Got. Mail.