After breakfast and a relaxing morning in Denver, I dropped Jamie off at the airport and immediately missed him. It was such a short visit! But it also marked the last phase of the trip. From here, it would be only another week until I got home. Rocky Mountain National Park was pretty much my last major stop on the trip, so from this point, everything day would bring me another few hundred miles closer to home. And as you can see, this was day #63 of the trip. I’d been gone from home for two full months, way longer than I’ve ever been gone before. I’m actually a little surprised the homesickness didn’t hit me earlier.

I drove south toward Colorado Springs, where I spent the late afternoon driving through and then walking around Garden of the Gods, which is a beautiful, dramatic place of red rock spires. There were plenty of families on afternoon walks and groups practicing their rock-climbing skills. Unfortunately, the clouds moved in and the sky turned dark about an hour before sunset, so my photographic opportunities were limited, but I enjoyed the scenery nonetheless. I found a campsite at Pikes Peak RV Park and then wandered around the town of Manitou Springs in the evening, checking out some little shops and galleries. I sampled a little of the spring water at one of the many springs in the town, but I don’t think I’d want to drink any more than a sip, even if it has magical healing powers. Not the pleasantest water I’ve ever tasted. I walked around looking for a place to eat dinner and a few places looked nice, but I was feeling kind of restless and I guess a little homesick, so I wasn’t in much of a mood for dinner. However, the idea of ice cream and coffee appealed to me, so I decided to just skip the whole idea of dinner and have desert instead.

The day dawned bright and sunny, and I enjoyed my leftover pancake along with some coffee from the Silver Moon Inn’s continental breakfast. As I headed out the door to load my bag in my car, I stopped short at the sight of an elk right next to my camper. And then I realized it was not just one elk. There were a half dozen more in the parking lot, and dozens more in the street outside of the hotel! A bunch of the hotel guests were out there with their cell phone cameras, watching as the herd moved down the street and through the hotel grounds, one bull at the front of the group and another way behind them. They moved leisurely through, munching on plants and leaves along the way, making their way through the playground, along the streamside, and into the neighboring convention center, where they finally all lay down in the grass. I guess after a nice big breakfast, they like to take a nap.

I had way more reason than a sunny morning and a herd of elk to be happy that morning — I was going to meet my husband, Jamie, in Denver! I was missing him so much and was so excited to see him that I didn’t care about finding things to photograph on the way to Denver — I just wanted to get there. We met at the hotel and caught up over a few drinks in the bar before going out for a nice dinner. It was so wonderful to see him!

The next morning, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at Snooze, and then decided to drive out to Red Rocks, where we walked around, checked out the amphitheater, and ate lunch in the cafe. We then decided to drive into the mountains to Loveland Pass so Jamie could get a taste of the mountain scenery I’d been enjoying. It was a fantastic, totally relaxed day with absolutely no agenda. I left the camera in my bag and just enjoyed the ride. Exactly what we both needed!

I woke up in Estes Park to the sight and sound of rain. Lots of rain. I actually welcomed it — it’s like a day off! I ate breakfast at The Egg and I — an absolutely delicious apple cinnamon granola pancake that was bigger than the plate it sat on. Once again, I couldn’t even eat half of it and wound up with leftovers. I spent most of the day working on my laptop and hanging out at a cafe called Coffee on the Rocks, and then wandering around town to do a little shopping. I ended up having a great conversation with the owner, Brian, at a nice little jewelry store called Tesora Bella, and I bought a beautiful necklace there too.

During one break in the rain, I took a drive into Rocky Mountain NP and got a few photographs of a beautiful stand of aspens in their fall glory before the rain started again. To finish off my leisurely day, I had a great dinner of lamb korma at Nepal’s Cafe.

I left Granby and headed for Rocky Mountain National Park, which was only a half-hour away. It was cold and cloudy, and as I progressed up the winding scenic byway through the park, it got windier and windier and there were times of blowing snow and rain. Even with the uncooperative weather, many of the scenic overlook parking areas were crowded, which shouldn’t have been a surprise, since it was a weekend and Rocky Mountain is so close to Boulder and Denver. I was in a little bit of a funk that day, not feeling great, like a cold might have been coming on, so I didn’t feel up for a lot of hiking, especially in the cold and wind and at such elevations, but I did a couple of easy short hikes. Rocky Mountain is full of beautiful rugged mountain peaks, and at the upper elevations, it’s particularly striking to see how stark the mountains are above the timberline. There are some truly spectacular vistas, weather notwithstanding, although in some cases I caught only brief glimpses of how far the mountains stretched into the distance, as the clouds kept rolling through and blocking the views.

As the road descended into the eastern part of the park, the weather cleared a bit, and the scenery changed. Stands of aspens still clung to some of their yellow leaves, streams ran through meadows, and I saw lots of elk, some of them so close to the road that traffic was stopped and rangers were managing the crowds. Even though I was happy to see some remnants of fall color at the lower elevations, I bet it had been spectacular a couple of weeks earlier.

As I hiked the little loop around Sprague Lake to catch the last afternoon light, the clouds once again moved in and rain started to pour. The mountains disappeared behind the clouds, and I took that as a sign that it was time to go find dinner and a room for the night. Low temps were once again getting down into the twenties, so I wasn’t even going to bother looking for camping. I found a room at the friendly Silver Moon Inn in Estes Park, and arranged to spend the next two nights there. I was craving some ethnic food, so I walked through town to window shop and have a nice quiet dinner at Sushi Yama.

I left Salida and drove north on 285. I was back in the mountains! Snow-dusted peaks and clusters of aspens beckoned. Near the town of Nathrop, I turned off on an unpaved road to the west to investigate the ghost town of St. Elmo. It’s well-preserved but not too prettied up, and apparently it’s a pretty popular tourist destination in the summer, but I found it pleasantly quiet on this beautiful fall morning. Just a handful of other visitors milled around as I took pictures of the buildings and rusty old details. I thoroughly enjoyed it and ended up spending quite a bit of time there. One of the other visitors there told me about another good accessible ghost town further north towards Leadville, but I didn’t find it. I did, however, enjoy my brief visit to Leadville, a quirky, vibrant town with a rich mining history and some nice Victorian architecture as well.

From there, I continued north on Route 24, past a stretch of mountains named after Ivy League schools and more mining towns, including one very intriguing area that looked like a company town had just picked up and left the neat rows of houses that stretched across a mountainside. Unfortunately, gates blocked the road into the area and stern signs warned of all kinds of environmental hazards, so I got some pictures from a safe distance. I joined the interstate on I-70 near Vail, as it’s basically the only major road through the mountains in that area. It’s a pretty stretch of interstate, surrounded by mountains, but one heck of a climb for a little hybrid car pulling a trailer! After passing through the impressive Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel, I took Route 40 north, hoping to get to the town of Granby before nightfall. Sure enough, I found my way to the Trail Riders Motel (another cool old-school motel, complete with a swell neon sign) since I was still in high elevation/low temperature territory. At this point, I was kind of missing sleeping in the camper, but I’m not crazy about waking up when it’s 24 degrees outside. I was also finding that many of the campgrounds with showers were closed for the season, and if it’s going to get that cold at night, I want a nice hot shower in the morning!

After checking in at the Trail Riders and catching a nice sunset and alpenglow over the distant mountains, I had a very good salad at a restaurant called Maverick’s, and I’d ordered a half-size appetizer of chips and guacamole, which still easily could have served 2-3 people. Fortunately, their claim to have “award-winning guacamole” seems to be well-founded, because I liked it so much, I took the leftovers with me for lunch the next day.

I had breakfast at the Hot Springs Inn in Ouray and started out on the road toward Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I took my time, enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery on the way, but soon the mountain scenery passed and I found myself driving through starker, more desert-like surroundings. At Black Canyon, I visited all of the viewpoints, taking the short hikes and enjoying the interesting geology. It’s an impressive gorge, to be sure, but for me not as photographically rewarding as the scenery I had found the day before. Still, it was definitely worth visiting, and it was a warm and sunny day, perfect for walking. It’s also not a terribly well-traveled park, so I enjoyed the quiet and solitude.

After leaving Black Canyon, I drove on to Salida, CO, where I stopped for the night. The nights were getting cold (below 30 degrees), so I decided to go for a hotel room again, and wound up in the Days Inn. I headed to the popular Amici’s for dinner, where I had a very good (and large) vegetarian lasagna that also provided me with lunch the following day.

While getting my free breakfast at the Region Inn, I ran into the nice young German couple who I had met the day before at Bisti, and they told me I missed some excitement. Apparently, after I left, an older man who was hiking in the area had a medical emergency and had to be transported to the hospital by medevac! I’m glad he was able to get help quickly, and I hope he’s okay now.

I left Farmington and drove north on Route 550 into Colorado. It was not easy to leave New Mexico, because I would dearly love to revisit Santa Fe, Taos, and the surrounding areas. But I was also eager to return to Colorado, because I’ve only been there very briefly, through the Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde. I was eager to see the Colorado mountains in their fall glory.

I was not disappointed. The highway took me through Durango and then north into the mountains, which were adorned with swaths of trees sporting hues of yellow, gold, and orange, punctuated by the contrast of white aspen trunks and dark evergreens. I passed horse farms and clear lakes, and there were a couple of places where I could capture the beautiful green of the Animas River. The skies were brilliant blue, and it was comfortably cool. It was just spectacular.

Eventually, the climbing road became steeper and turned into a series of switchbacks. Snow-covered peaks loomed from behind the nearer mountains, and patches of brilliant red rock began to appear in the mountainsides. The Million Dollar Highway is a stunning drive, especially in the fall. I took hours along the highway, stopping and taking lots of pictures of the mountains, the foliage, and the abandoned mining operations. I passed through the town of Silverton without making any real stops, but it looks like it would be fun to explore further. The day was passing quickly, and I knew I still had some miles ahead of me. The sun was setting a little earlier each day, and in the mountains the sky darkens even sooner.

With sundown nearly upon me, I arrived in the charming old mining town of Ouray and found a room at the Hot Springs Inn, which was a very friendly and comfortable place to stay (another good recommendation thanks to TripAdvisor.com!). Upon the recommendation of Rufus, who I had chatted with in Farmington, I had dinner at O’Brien’s Pub – the fish & chips were good! I then wandered around town a little and ended up buying myself a cute hat at High Country Leathers, a couple of books at the very welcoming Buckskin Booksellers, and treating myself to a “scrap cookie” at Mouse’s Chocolates. What is a scrap cookie, you ask? Well, for one, it’s delicious. Oh, and huge. But if you need to know more, they are cookies they bake from the leftovers of whatever kind of chocolate candies they’ve made that particular day. I really could not tell you what all was in my particular cookie, but whatever it was, it was better than good. I had intentions of only eating half that night and saving the rest for the next day, but I couldn’t resist. I polished it off, along with a cup of coffee from the Hot Springs Inn. A delicious end to a fantastic day!

I awoke to a beautiful cool desert morning but could tell that the day would warm up quickly. I went to the Eklecticafe for breakfast, which was a nice treat. On my way back to the campground, I made a detour to Spanish Valley Road, as my new friends the previous night had suggested. Sure enough, there was a salvage yard filled mainly with old Volkswagens, but there were some other old gems there as well. My timing was perfect: just as I was taking some pictures of the hubcap gate, the owner drove up and let me in to photograph while he worked in the garage.

One of the odd and sometimes sad things about photographing discarded vehicles is the random object that is sometimes left behind when the car is abandoned. This is understandable — a lot of these cars look like they’ve been in accidents, and personal property is often forgotten and left in the car after such traumatic experiences. I’ve seen stuffed animals and toys, tools, clothing, coffee mugs, luggage… all kinds of stuff. At this particular salvage yard, sitting on top of a Karmann Ghia was an old woven suitcase and a canteen, both of definite vintage origins. I took some pictures and left them in their place.

I got back to my campsite and should have been ready to check out, but I realized I was perilously low on my supply of clean clothes, so I took the opportunity to do laundry and catch up on an episode of Mad Men. I’ve barely missed TV on this trip, but two shows were on my must-view list: Project Runway and Mad Men. Thank goodness for iTunes and campgrounds with wi-fi!

Armed with fresh clean laundry and burning questions about Don Draper’s future, I headed out on the road towards Farmington, New Mexico, by driving south on Utah 191 and then southeast into Colorado on Route 491. In the town of Dove Creek, I found another treasure trove of old rusty cars — some of the usuals, like a Galaxie 500 and Ford Fairlane, but also a couple of DeSotos, which I rarely see.

Apparently, this part of Colorado is bean farming country — I’d never given much thought to where in the USA our legumes originate, so this was a small moment of enlightenment. I passed a number of small towns with signs for bean companies, one of which declared simply, “OPEN. BEANS.”

Near Cortez, CO, my jaw dropped at the sight of a huge field of junked cars, with the LaSal Mountains as a picturesque backdrop. I could have spent the whole rest of the day there if there hadn’t been a big sign warning me to “KEEP OUT.” I have a problem, don’t I? I promise, I really did not stop at every junkyard I saw.

I continued on the highway passing Hovenweep, a notable area of ancient Native American ruins. I had been tempted to try to fit a visit into this trip, but I knew it is an destination that warrants more than a cursory visit. Next trip! I was also near Mesa Verde National Park, another scenic area with a fascinating array of cliff dwellings. I visited Mesa Verde briefly on my first trip to the Southwest over 15 years ago, so I didn’t put it on the agenda for this trip, although I would definitely like to go there again.

I continued south into New Mexico, passing through the town of Shiprock, with its towering namesake formation in the near distance, and headed east on Route 64 into Farmington, where I planned to stay for the next couple of nights. I had chosen Farmington because it’s the nearest town to the remote and otherworldly area called the Bisti Badlands, which would be my destination for the following day.

I decided to take a break from the camper and instead checked in at the Region Inn, which was an inexpensive but pleasant place to stay. While I was unloading my car, one of the other guests came up to ask about my trailer, and as usual, we ended up chatting for a while. His name was Rufus, and he travels to the area frequently to conduct fire and rescue training sessions. He very kindly gave me some great advice on scenic routes in Colorado that would come in handy later in my trip. After talking for a while, I got settled in to the hotel and had dinner at their on-site Mexican restaurant, called Tequila’s. It was a pleasant surprise — the food was quite good, and I had enough for leftovers!