Headed south

October 1 - The rally’s over and its time to move on!  No rush today since our stop tonight is Alamosa, CO, just about 120 miles.  We took our time getting up and around but left the fairgrounds around 10:30.  We certainly had a great time and met so many nice people!  You know Bill doesn’t know a stranger!

View from the driver's seat

We headed south on I-25 and got off at the Colorado City exit where we fueled up and left the RV in the back lot and drove the car on to Rye, CO.  Getting from the station into the parking area was a challenge with HUGE pit holes and I managed to clear them with the front tires, not so much with the rear.  I heard stuff crashing in the kitchen and dreaded finding what didn't survive.  Bill was parking the car since we unhooked over at the station.  Well there was cat food EVERYWHERE.  Molly's food bin took a nose dive, so we got the broom and dustpan and went to work.  Later when we opened the slides we got to do it all over again!  We went to see Bishop Castle.  Bill called ahead and it’s at an elevation of over 9,000 feet and no actual parking lot.  The parking is along the shoulder and we didn’t feel good about taking the RV, towing and trying to turn around to get back down.  It was the right decision on our part.

It’s about 25 miles from the exit and the scenery is beautiful along the way.  After a while we

I went up the tallest tower

thought maybe we were on the wrong road or something and finally saw a lady stopped along the road to take a photo and she was a local.  She said it was just up the road and it was literally just around the curve.  What a place!  Just the kind of thing I love!  There were lots of cars and NO WHERE to park an RV.  We got a space for the car right across the road from the Castle.  This man started building it by himself in 1967 as a cottage for him and his family and it’s become an actual castle with turrets and towers and a dragon!  There are stained glass windows even.  It’s 160 feet tall, 16 stories.  I went

He guards the castle

to the top of the tallest tower and it was a climb.  It’s all stone.  They host weddings inside and there’s a gift shop of course.  It’s now a non-profit, but here’s the catch:  there have been no building inspections and there’s a lot of stairs, railings, catwalks, some scary stuff.  I was across from the dragon that adorns the front roof line.  Bill went to the first level and

Proof he went up to the first level

that was enough for him.  I would have climbed the other towers but it was cold and windy up there.  When we left this morning it was warm out and I had on a t-shirt and shorts and didn’t think about the elevation.  I was the ONLY person there in shorts except for Bill.  If you’re ever in southeast Colorado, this place is a must.  It kind of reminds me of Solomon’s Castle in Florida. (more photos with the link)

On the way back down the mountain we stopped in a seasonal village along the road for lunch.  They close October 15.  We each had a quesadilla and brought ¼ each home.  This time I didn’t leave it on the counter! 

Back at the RV we hooked up and headed on down I-25 until our exit to Alamosa.  The scenery was beautiful in front of us, majestic mountains with snowy tops.  Even once we turned west we had more mountains.  We arrived at Basecamp RV park around 4.  They only have 14 sites and are in the process of adding more.  We could see the power bases in but only 14 are graveled in.  These are some of the largest and widest sites we’ve ever had. THey are almost perfectly level too.  We are 8 miles from town, so once we settled and each had an iced coffee we drove into town.  The small station we stopped at didn’t sell DEF at the pumps and it was expensive by the gallon so Bill wanted to see if Wal-Mart carried it.  I took the opportunity to pick up some fruit and Pine Sol to try cleaning the sensors in our gray tank.  Something new we heard about at the rally.  In the parking lot were 2 trucks towing 5^th wheels and one was towing a trailer with a car and one a trailer with a 4 wheeler.  NO way would we try that!

Across the street from camp

 Bill wanted to drive around the campus of Adams State College and see the athletic fields.  Small but nice campus.  As we attempted (well we did) to turn left to head back, Bill realized there were no left turns!!  Luckily the business on the corner was closed and he went into the lot and managed not to get hit or hit anything.  Phew!  As we drove along the correct one way street we passed the train station of the Cumbres Toltec Train.  We went on it the last time we were here, but really couldn’t decide when that was.  No other excitement on the way home.

The sun was setting and the skies were beautiful.  We took some photos from the campsite

Colorado sunset

of the mountains and the clouds in the setting sun.  Then I went in to make some cube steaks, salad and leftover veggies while Bill put the DEF in.  Later I worked on all the photos we took today and wrote most of my journal.  Finally turned Dell off and settled in to read for a while.