Stephen H. Long Trail 1819 — 1820

Day 14: September 6th, 2008 Ft. Morgan — Denver

Map Ft. Morgan to Denver

Regardless that it was almost 1am before I went to bed, I wake up toady already at half past six. Therefore I get up and make myself ready. For breakfast I drive over to the Memories Restaurant which is just next to the Best Western Motel. My server is really friendly, that’s the Best Western style. But in contrast the coffee service is struggling. Anyways, I still get my black brew in time. Then I drive over to the next gas station. I choose the Shell gas station where I have seen when passing by in the morning that the stop has not worked at a pump when the gas tank is full. There a real fountain of gas was running out of the gas tank. That’s the reason why I always stay with the nozzle when gassing up. But just to be sure I take another pump.

Highway 144, CO

Just past nine I am already on the road. First I take Highway 144 along the South Platte River.

Highway 144, CO

Highway 144, South Platte River, CO

Highway 144, CO

Highway 144, CO

Highway 144, South Platte River, CO

Then I cross the South Platte River and drive through Goodrich, Colorado.

CR V, CO

CR 87, CO

CR 42.5, CO

The first try to get on my backroads fails due to private property. But thanks to my GPS software it is now very easy for me to circle around this obstacle. Soon I am back on my originally planned route.

Highway 34, CO

Highway 34, CO

CR 69, CO

There are two other spots which I am not able to drive. But the rest goes really well.

CR 61, South Platte River, CO

CR 388, South Platte River, CO

Again I cross the South Platte River a couple of times.

On BUS34 I cross again the South Platte River before I am back on my backroads.

Ft. St. Vrain, CO

Ft. St. Vrain, CO

Ft. St. Vrain, CO

CR 40, CO

Prairie Dogs, CR 40, CO

It is easy for me to find the ruins of Ft. St. Vrain. There I also have my lunch break.

Historical Marker Ft. Vasquez, CO

Then I continue the short distance to Ft. Vasquez. Beside me there is only one family as visitor. The employee, again a student or high school girl, tells me that this family are the first guests of today! This is really weird for a Saturday! In the inside you are not allowed to take pictures or doing video taping. Therefore I leave all my camera stuff with her.

Ft. Vasquez, CO

Ft. Vasquez, CO

Ft. Vasquez, CO

Ft. Vasquez, CO

The museum has a small but nice collection in their exhibition. I say thank you for the visit and she tells me that they are really proud of their small but exclusive collection. The employee is originally from Longmont, which is around 10 miles from here. There she was born and raised. I tell her a little bit about my trails. But I have the feeling she is not really interested in this. So I step outside to do my video taping and taking pictures.

Ft. Vasquez, CO

Around 2pm I make myself ready for departure — or let’s say I plan to do. Somehow my charging circuit for the second battery in my car is not working properly because it does not charge the battery. First I think the fuse is blown again. But that’s not the case. Suddenly it works again and I can leave.

On the last stretch I am blocked again by a non existent bridge. Therefore I must drive back to the highway and I continue on smaller and bigger paved roads to Denver. You can tell that you are approaching the metropolis because even on the smaller roads traffic increases dramatically.

Interstate 25, Denver, CO

Interstate 25, Denver, CO

And on the Interstate the traffic is finally like hell. With this heavy traffic it is really difficult to keep an eye on the laptop and the traffic. Finally I am able to exit and this time the exit description in my software really fits. Now I only must follow the Interstate like Highway 6 to Highway 121. This time I see the Motel 6 immediately on the other side of the road. But you are not allowed to make a left turn there. Just past Wal–Mart I am able to turn around.

There are only upstairs rooms left at the motel, which is not really bothering me. Only parking will not be funny, because there is no second row for parking. Therefore you are almost forced to take someone downstairs their parking away — or you must walk to the very end of this motel. Slowly these Motel 6 are starting to really annoy me. I am really thinking if I should not switch completely to the Super 8 chain. When I see the room, I am getting fortified for this plan. The floor looks like someone has vomited on it before…

Around half past four I pack my stuff together and walk to my room. First I check my video taping of today. Then I take a look at the phone book where I could go for dinner. Unfortunately there is no Outback Steakhouse really close. The closest one is almost 6 miles away. The Lone Star Steakhouse is with 4 miles a little bit closer. But I eventually decide for the Outback.

Then I get something to drink out of my truck. It seems that my neighbors are musicians, because they are playing accordion and guitar all the time. Or maybe they are just a bunch of young people who want to have fun. On my way back I start a brief chat with one of them. They are from LA and have a gig over here. So they are professional musicians. He receives a call and must walk down to the reception. We say good–bye and I take again care of my diary and my CD collection.

Around half past six I call Harv and tell him that I am on my way. He must work approximately until 8pm tomorrow. So there will be dinner past this time, where I am happily invited. Because I also assume that I will arrive somewhere between 7pm and 8pm, this really fits perfectly well. Next I type in my receipts and take care of the next legs of my journey in the GPS software. There is still plenty of work to do…

Around eight I drive over to the Outback Steakhouse. Unfortunately I forgot to program the GPS coordinates in my GPS device. But I remember roughly where I need to go. Unfortunately the Outback is hidden so much that I miss it the first time. But when I enter the mall parking lot and search a bit more to the back I am finally able to locate it.

Today is Saturday and accordingly busy they are right now. But even so I immediately receive my table. Only the dinner takes way longer due to being busy. But this doesn’t bother me, because I am already way back in my book with reading. Anyways, also my server is not the fastest and additionally she does not really listen to what you are saying. This is so much played friendliness what you can really tell from her acting. Therefore my tip is not as high as usually.

Around half past nine I pay and drive back to my motel. Certainly I get lost and I am back on the Interstate way past my originally planned route. Back at the motel my nice parking spot is gone, of course. So I am forced to be one of these guys who takes away a parking spot for the people on first floor. My musicians are also already back. They have been either just out for dinner or the gig is already over. All in all there is a lot of action on their side. Right now I have no problem with this because I am still working on my coordinates. Hopefully they will be quiet later. Anyways, I will use my ear plugs because the Interstate is extremely loud over here!

Around half past eleven I make myself eventually ready for bed. I am really wondering when I will collapse due to lack of sleep…

The next day is in preparation…