Exploring Old Territory
This summer is our 15th summer on the road. We've traveled in every state in the US (except Hawaii) and every province in Canada (except Nunavut). Given that experience, there are still new things to do and see. We left Scottsbluff, NE on August first headed for Denver. We have family, a sister and daughter there and we've stopped there at least once every year. Still, we found something new on this trip. Louise's sister and her husband have now retired and we had a nice visit with them and their family.
We've done dinners out with Elaine and Lou before but this year we had the younger generation making suggestions for places to eat. We found ourselves in old Arvada, a ten block area in the center of the old town. The old town area is thriving as an evening hot spot for the younger generation. Bars, restaurants and parks all with music make it a world of pleasant experiences. The Grandview Tavern and Grill has a back yard patio and it made for a relaxing meal and conversation. After enjoying a good meal we spent some time strolling the streets marveling at all the activity. Lou and Elaine took us on a tour of the old town, pointing out points of interest and places with family connections.
Our next stop was the Old Arvada Tavern. In Lou's memory, it was a rather drab old bar, a place he hung out while waiting to pick up his son from ball practice. Today it is alive with young people. Downstairs there is a full menu and the place was packed. Our social advisors had directed us to take a right inside the entrance and go through the "telephone booth" to the upstairs. We followed instructions and were welcomed into a world of entertainment. Like many of the bars, this one featured live entertainment on the weekend. The band for this evening was a bluegrass band. They were just warming up and adjusting the sound. We found a vacant table next to the stage. I've never been a big fan of bluegrass but a live performance would be a first. Once the band was warmed up they launched into their performance. Watching the musicians and listening to the music was a real joy. We stayed through the first set then retreated to quieter surroundings at their home for the rest of the evening.
After a week and a half in Denver we drove to Sheridan, WY to spend time with our daughter and her boyfriend. Karen works in Westminster near Denver but is dating Brent who is living in Sheridan. The occasion was the Sheridan Rodeo. We settled into Peter D's RV Park for the week on Monday evening. Tuesday morning we explored the town. If we're going to spend a week here and there is going to be a crowd, we had better know our way around town. We found the rodeo arena and got an idea of the schedule. Wednesday evening we purchased tickets to the rodeo and watched the program on our own. I had been to small town rodeo's years ago but this was a much bigger deal. For Louise this was all new. The evening began with the Indian Races. Teams of Native Americans race around the track surrounding the arena. Starting standing on the ground they have to mount their horse, no saddle, ride a loop then change to a new horse, off of one, on the next without assistance. Run one more loop and change to a third horse for the final lap. Pandemonium reigned at each change of the horses. The rider had to do this unassisted. Other team members were charged with managing the horses during the race. Some horses had their own mind how this was all to work. More than one horse ran a lap without a rider. One rider chased the horse all the way around the track then grabbed the next horse and completed the race. Another rider rand several hundred yards holding on the the horse's tail before giving up. After four nights of racing, the team with the best time would claim a $10,000 prize. Other events were pretty much what you can see on TV but far more exciting and amazing when watching it in person.
While in Sheridan, waiting for Karen to arrive for the weekend, we played a round of golf at the local golf course. We also toured King's Ropes downtown. This is a western store and more. The Kings have been saddle makers for several generations. They also stock a whole warehouse of ropes that are made on site. You can watch the ropes being made by hand. There are also several workstations for saddle work You can drop off a saddle for repair or restoration or order your own custom saddle. Behind the store is an amazing museum with hundreds of saddles of all kinds, photos, books, guns, spurs, cowboy gear of all kinds and old time photos. You can stand in one place and look from ceiling to floor to see everything on display in that area. We spent an hour and a half in a quick walk through.
Karen arrived late Friday so we met her and Brent at The Silver Spur for breakfast. From there we were off to watch the bed races. Teams with specially built beds race down the street for two blocks to a packed house on the sidewalks. Fun is had by everyone. To get front row seats, you have to park your lawn chair on main street Friday afternoon. Following the bed races is the big parade. This is a major parade with horses, cars, floats of all kinds, and audience participation. Watchers and float riders battle with water cannons at various locations along the route. Mars candy magnates live in the area and there is no shortage of Mars candy distributed along the route. Lunch followed ant then I spent several hours at the Native American Pow Wow on the lawn of the Sheridan Inn. Native dancers performed a variety of dances with narration to explain the significance of each dance.
We had ordered tickets for the Saturday night finals more than a month before the rodeo. The grandstand was all sold out so we purchased tickets in what we learned was the new stands on the west side of the arena. The rodeo clown labeled this area as the newbee section! We had front row seats, just a fence separating us from the horses and livestock. We were just a few yards from the gates and had a great view of the entire arena. All the participants were pushing their limits for the final performance of the rodeo and the show was spectacular.
Sunday was a day to relax and wrap up visits. We slept in then joined Brent's family for a birthday celebration for his sister. We said good bye to Karen then returned to the park for the evening. We would leave Monday morning to return to Denver for another week and a half. On the way south we drove over the Bighorn Mountains enjoying the spectacular scenery on US Hwy 14. We stopped for a few days near Thermopolis, WY, Camping at Boysen State Park. One of the surprises of the trip was our entrance into Thermopolis. The hot springs there has a spectacular travertine terrace visible from the road as you enter the northern end of town. There are several venues offering hot springs for swimming and soaking. The grounds are pleasant to walk, offering great views of the spring and the mineral shelf. Just south of Thermopolis is the Wedding of the Waters. An informational display marks the place where the Wind River changes its name to the Bighorn River. The river was given different names upriver and at the mouth and when it became apparent that it was the same river a compromise arrangement was to use both names for the same river. The Wedding of the Waters marks the location where the name changes. Up stream, the Wind River Canyon is a spectacular sight. At the upper end of the canyon is Boyson Dam and Reservoir. There are numerous campgrounds there, above and below the dam. All campgrounds are dry without electric which made the stay a little uncomfortable with temperatures near 100 during the day. Fortunately, breezes off the lake made for cooler evening temperatures. We stopped in Rawlings on Wednesday night and spent Thursday night at Cummins Rocky Mountain in anticipation of scheduled maintenance on Friday. We were in and out Friday morning and into Dakota Ridge RV Park that afternoon.
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