Summer travels 2018

Summer Travels 18

South Dakota

My campsite and shelter.

Badlands early morning.

Few people around in June.

Certainly the name fits!

No one out in the early AM.

Walking along the road.

Prairie Dogs

Relaxed Bison

Like another planet.

Walkway into the Badlands. Drop in sometime.

Florida Camping

Great camp spot and great weather.

It never rained and the temperature was between 60* and 80*.

Both sunny and cloudy days but mostly sun.

Wildlife and no bugs!

Great Oyster Bar overlooking the Gulf. It was open-air and I ate on the second floor looking at the Gulf. 

Very private camp spots. That is the shower house in the background.

I spent three nights in a bungalow when all the camp spots were reserved. Screened porch, deck, and TV to watch the Olympics. 

Sunrise was a good part of the day. 

Topsail Hill Preserve and State Park

Loved it!

Homer Lake in November

Homer Lake in November

Click on photo to enlarge

Colors were good today.

Sun was bright and warm.

I was all alone except for a bus load of Fisher students and I knew the driver. Great to catch up on what was going on.

Grass was green from all the rain.

As I said it was real quiet.

Well worth the trip out.

I love yellow.

Yellow!

Nice place to rent for parties.

One boat on the lake.

Take a trip out to Homer Lake.

Colorado in September

Scenes from Colorado in September

(Double click on pictures to make larger.)

 From the front porch of a cabin I stayed in at Steamboat Lake State Park. Just 25 miles north of Steamboat Springs, CO.

Cabins on a stormy night.

Storm really building!

Storms don't last long in CO.

View of Steamboat Lake.

Silverton, CO

Silverton - Durango Narrow Gauge RR.

Silverton is a colorful town.

Fall color in the mountains.

Cool mountain stream.

Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument

West of Grand Junction

 This national monument is located on the west side of Grand Junction, Colorado. 

This is another example of what nature has done over the billions of years our planet has been in existence. 

The views are...... well, you see!

Mostly wind erosion. 

Only 150 miles from Mesa Verde so there is a resemblance. 

Some old guy I met on the trip.

Lots of great views!

More wind erosion.

Fun roads, rock on!

It was 60* that day, nice!

This one is a must see if you get to the area. It's right off I-70 in western CO.

Enjoy, I did!

Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde, Southwest Colorado

Look this place up and see the way Native Americans lived around 1200 AD. Native Americans settled this area about 550 AD and it was not until around 1200 AD that they built the cave dwellings. By about 1300 AD Mesa Verde was deserted and no one really knows why. 

It is possible, as you can see, to go down and wonder around in the homes of the early Native Americans. You do need to sign up and go on a tour with a Ranger to get all the information. It does require some climbing so be careful. 

These cliff dwellings were discovered in the 1880's and protected from vandalism when made a national park. 

Another smaller dwelling.

Before the Native Americans built in the cliffs they lived in pit houses and this is the excavation of one such house. They were built a couple feet into the ground and the sides were four wooded timbers supporting a roof. The walls were sticks that were mud covered. The sun is very intense in the summer so the move to the cliffs made perfect sense. 

I stayed at the lodge in Mesa Verde and all of the units had a view of the area. It was fantastic!

There were about 200 rooms at the lodge.

Very nice views and I saw deer and coyotes. 

The sunset was nice, too.

Take a trip to Mesa Verde someday.