Rocky Mountain Road Trip
September 21 – October 25, 2016
I bought a one-way ticket to Oklahoma City and flew out there on September 21. Last year when Torrey Curtis and I toured Oklahoma, we decided that we would try to work in a trip to Colorado, preferably within a year. I had never been to Colorado, Wyoming, or Utah, so there was a good chance I'd see some of the other two states, too.
Over time we knocked around different ideas in email. Torrey wanted to see the Rockies in the fall. Besides general sightseeing all over the place, I wanted to visit a friend in Fort Collins. Our friends in Alamosa invited us to use their house as a base for exploring that area. Eventually I asked Torrey for us to nail down dates so I could buy my plane tickets. He said for me to get a one-way ticket, and he would bring me home by way of some cities in the South where he had not been. I suggested we were talking about two different trips, but he made a good point about not putting things off at our age.
However as time approached, he had two surgeries. I flew into OKC not being sure whether we would be doing this trip, or I'd be off on an Amtrak adventure by myself. His doctor cleared him to go, and so we set out from Weatherford on September 23. Torrey did almost all the driving. I drove from Alamosa to Taos while he slept. By the time we got to Davidson, we had been 5,301 miles. His Toyota Prius got over 50 miles per gallon of gas.
Use the links below to see pictures from the general areas referenced.
Colorado Springs Denver Fort Collins and Estes Park
Rocky Mountain National Park Leadville Independence Pass
Arches and Canyonlands National Parks Mesa Verde and Durango Alamosa Santa Fe
Natchez and Pensacola Savannah Charleston
Some general comments on my travel photography and about the pictures from this trip