Denver to Lamar, Colorado

Today after breaking up camp (aka getting the RV ready to go on the road) we left the Denver area in windy weather under angry gray skies.  Chased by a straight line of blue sky lower on the western horizon that promised better weather, a front seemed to be following behind the clouds.  We hoped for good driving conditions as we plied our way south on smaller, two-lane roads.  We were rewarded with sunny conditions, but the wind held on throughout today’s drive.

Cattle graze around a windmill.

Early on we passed two cowboys driving a small herd of cattle on horseback.  They were far enough away we could not see them in detail, but you could see their cowboy hats and the cattle responding to their prodding.   So I had to wonder, “Just how do they round up cattle spread over hundreds of acres of ranch land?”  The answer can be found as usual with Wikipedia:

  “Today, cattle drives are primarily used to round up cattle within the boundaries of a ranch and to move them from one pasture to another, a process that generally lasts at most a few days.  While horses are still used in many places, particularly where there is rough or mountainous terrain, the all-terrain vehicle is also used. When cattle are required to move longer distances, they are shipped via truck.”

That explains the cattle trucks we saw yesterday.  Interestingly, if you drive a cow more than 15 miles per day they lose too much weight.  (Now that seems like a good reason to get off my duff and start walking more, but I alas digress!)

 

We passed expansive stretches of flat rangeland (above) with cattle initially followed by fields of corn, sorghum (pictured below) and even sunflowers.  We came down in altitude by two thousand feet and the mountains dropped from sight to the west.  The temperature is rising as we continue south rising to well over 90 degrees by the time we stopped today.  We elected to travel a shorter distance today and let our bodies rest.  While the urge to spread out in our Florida home draws us along, our old muscles and bones protest too loudly over the push.  So we will extend our projected arrival date to the 25^th of September and enjoy a little more of the journey.

We ended the day with a sky that darkened as the storm caught up with us again.  Dark clouds laced with flashes of lightening entertained us during dinner.  As the sun began to set, the clouds appeared to be raining in swaths of golden, orange sheets of rain with a rainbow accenting the drama.  We must be carrying a lucky aura with us down the road as nature continues to remind us with yet another spectacular end to a well-spent day just how lucky we are to see this big, beautiful country.