California - Day 2

Today we followed the South Fork of the Platte River into the Mountain Time Zone and out of Nebraska. We steadily got into higher elevations and watched the scenery change frequently. We saw the "wasteland" (as one farmer put it) of tumbleweeds, sagebrush and yellows and browns of non-irrigated land change to acres of irrigated fields, and then change again on the other side of Denver to forests of Ponderosa Pine and the Rocky Mountains. We also saw a variety of birds and animals. There were more snow geese and blue geese, two huge dairy operations, a magpie, some mule deer and about six Bighorn Sheep, two with large curls. We drove through the scenic Glenwood Canyon with the Colorado River, the railroad and four lanes of interstate traffic packed into the narrow space between the high walls. We drove past miles of vacation homes and condominiums in Vail and other Colorado ski areas. Just east of Fruita, where we are staying tonight, we drove through a huge recently developed natural gas field. With sunshine all day, temperatures varying from 29 - 53 depending on the elevation (Vail Pass at 11,000 feet was the highest), we had a mighty fine day of travel. Laurel Johnson, Tour Director