Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – Ponderosa Loop

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument - Abert's squirrel on Ponderosa Loop Trail

Outside the visitor center is a large shelter covering stumps of petrified redwood trees. One of the signs state that years ago before this area was protected as a monument, the area was littered with petrified wood; for 100 years visitors would take souvenirs and now the stumps are all that remain. Shelters protect some … Read more

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – Visitor Center

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument - Entrance sign

My first real adventure into the Rocky Mountains was to visit Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. The drive to get here from Colorado Springs is easy compared to some other mountain passes I have been through. Temperatures are definitely dropping compared to lower elevations but I have no complaints about that – finally, it feels … Read more

Manitou Cliff Dwellings

Manitou Cliff Dwellings - Fake cliff dwellings built by museum owners

Garden of the Gods was too busy and I was at a bit of a fork in the road. Difficult hikes are off-limits due to my foot pain, and also I know I can’t fully commit to bigger things like national parks because time is limited. Luckily, Colorado has no shortage of things to see … Read more

Garden Of The Gods Visitor & Nature Center

Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center - Scenic view of the "Garden"

Doing a bit of free-styling now with my destinations. Left my stealth camp in Wyoming and decided to drive south on I-25 until something strikes my attention. Sadly the wildfire smoke or hazy clouds are blocking my views of the Rocky Mountains. Also sadly I am deciding to pass on by what I can only … Read more

Wyoming Stealth Camping Breakfast Rewards Program

Sneaky but delicious continental breakfast

This part of the trip is the consequences of my seat-of-the-pants style travel. Time to pay the piper. In this area of the world there aren’t a ton of options for camping other than RV parks and I’m not keen on bailing out to a hotel every night when I basically have a tent on … Read more

Panorama Point

Panorama Point highpoint Nebraska - Panoramic view

Final stop in Nebraska for this voyage is a race against the sun to reach the highest point in the state. This one in particular has extremely easy access but it comes at the price of driving way out in the middle of nowhere basically on lots of washboard gravel roads. Don’t trust your GPS … Read more

Courthouse Rock & Jail Rock

Courthouse Rock

Another 20 miles east down the road from Chimney Rock you will find a pair of geological landmarks known as Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock. Look for the tombstone-shaped marker that says Seybolt Park for the entrance road. (Not shown here because I missed it: the Historical Marker found directly on NE-88 as you are … Read more

Chimney Rock National Historic Site

Chimney Rock - View of the rock

After seeing that I was only 23 miles away whilst at Scotts Bluff, I drove 23 miles to Chimney Rock to continue my westward expansion Oregon Trail larp. 23 miles later I arrived. The entrance sign this is a National Historic Site which I believe considering the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails all passed through … Read more

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Scotts Bluff National Monument - Views at the summit

I’m continuing to head south through the western part of Nebraska today as I creep slowly towards the final target of New Mexico. I’m now in the city of Scottsbluff to check out Scotts Bluff National Monument. I didn’t even have this on my original list of points of interest which frankly is an embarrassing … Read more

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument - Skeletal displays of Agate Waterhole mammals

From the Nebraska welcome sign I continued following highway 71 all the way down to River Road and came in to Agate Fossil Beds National Monument from the east. If I had to do it again I’d pick another route as large parts of that are gravel and I had farm semi trucks blasting past … Read more