I pulled into the Low-Hi RV park and paid for two weeks. I'm tired of driving. Deming is one of my most favorite places in the SW. It's a small, quiet, railroad town loaded with excellent Mexican restaurants and some truly unique attractions nearby. All services normally needed are available. The weather is warm and sunny, but some rain might come in this weekend. Oh well, it'll still be warm.
The Liquor Control Board published it's list of enforcement actions against retail marijuana establishments. Three fines were issued for not following the rules, a bunch of warnings were issued for not paying taxes on time. I have to hand it to the LCB in WA in putting out a lot of information about what they are doing. The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division doesn't come close to what LCB is doing. In this Grand Experiment, no one in WA or...
I come here to see the wintering grounds of the sandhill cranes (Western Flyway), stay at the eclectic and funky Birdwatchers RV Park, and eat green chile cheeseburgers at the Owl Cafe. The weather is outstanding. I stood for a while in front of the chile-roasting machine in the village taking in that wonderful aroma. At dawn tomorrow I'll go out on the refuge to watch the cranes go off for work, and see what other species are around. Two nights...
USA Today ran an article by a Coloradan comparing their retail stores to Washington's. And I've had the opportunity to do the same in reverse. The two models are very different, but not without similarities. Washington does not permit retailers to grow or process marijuana. In fact, they can't even touch to stuff as it is all packaged by processors. Colorado converted medical marijuana operations to retail, so the new storefronts are probably in...
New Mexico, that is. The run along I-25 in NM from the north is sure impressive. Very wide-open range land with few signs of humans. So big it was a bit intimidating. And the Spanish Peaks in Colorado were stunning: Yesterday's storms covered them with snow, the sun was bright , and the sky was a cloudless bright blue. Back on the road tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a two-week vacation from the road in Deming.
US50 drops down from the Rockies and lands on the high plains nearest to Pueblo. I'm in a great little RV park on the plain in great weather. Town is 15 miles away. Beautiful. After I left Cripple Creek, it snowed. When the rain let up today the tips of the mountains were white. Pikes Peak was outstanding. The first snow of the year? The forecast is for general warm temperatures, but I'll be heading to Deming quickly anyway. Well, quickly after...
Going to the top of Pikes Peak would be futile, but I did get an early start to Cripple Creek before the rains became heavy. There is no end to the scenery around here, even in the clouds and rain. I passed 10,000 feet and reminded myself that I'm useless above 9K until I can get acclimated, so no walking around. Cripple Creek is rebuilding it's main street, an extremely tight schedule between summer season and winter, and it's a mess. I did get...
Best that I can tell, prices for retail pot in Colorado are about half that in Washington. I use websites of the retailers in WA and CO, which are really bad as a rule, to gauge this. I use the best sites I can find to do comparisons, but it's always flakey. Colorado does not require independent lab testing for products sold at retail ("recreation" is the word they use), Washington does and it's required on the label of the product being sold....
This is a nice place. Pike's Peak, AF Academy, Cripple Creek, many more things to see. I'm in a Passport America park (1/2 price) parked high on a ledge overlooking the town. Fun view. I went through Manitou Springs today just to check it out. A great town with hundreds of tiny shops and eateries. This seems to be a shoulder season around here, as it was pretty quiet. I suspect summer and winter are the seasons around here. Weather is coming in...
I'll head to Colorado Springs tomorrow, which involves getting through Denver. The weather has been perfect; warm during the day, cool at night. I took a day trip to Estes Park, a favorite of mine. The road has been restored since the flood last year. It's a little odd to see a road constructed in the river through a rock canyon, but you see a lot of strange roads in Colorado. Damage from the flood is everywhere, debris is on the river banks....
"Next Services 55 Miles" said that I got an hour's drive through the Wyoming Rockies to just enjoy the huge sky, the infinite rangeland, and thousands of pronghorns. Perfect weather, though cold. I decided to bypass Cheyenne, a favorite of mine, and take the shortcut to Loveland, Colorado. This is a populated area, sprawly, but nice. I'm in a Passport America park along the river alongside the road to Estes Park, up by the Rocky Mountain...
Wyoming is one of those places I forget I like. I've gone over the continental divide here a couple of times, but it was bad weather so I never saw it. This time I laid up in Ogden to be sure it would be clear. Wow. I am going over the top of rockies but this flat spot is so big I can't see mountains. Who would've thought the biggest big-sky country is in the Rockies? Neat. It's cold up here (5200 feet) and it looks like as long as I'm mile-high...