Fort Collins, CO 580km

First of all let me introduce you to Roberto. Roberto is our new trip mascot. He is a southern Colorado bobcat from Mesa Verde. Most of our trips seem to acquire a mascot along the way. He is very soft and Norma loves petting him. Is she missing Buster do you think?

 

This morning we left under blue skies and decided to see the Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Park which was not too far from where we stayed last night. It was worth the bit of out of the way travel. There is an area on the dunes where kids - and adults who are kids at heart - can learn to sandboard, which is much like snowboarding but on sand.

We then proceeded in the sunshine to ride over the 9, 413 ft La Veta pass. Before starting up the pass in a small town there was an electronic warning sign saying  "DENSE FOG AHEAD" . Fog? What fog? Only brilliant sunshine - sign must have not been changed. About 15 minutes later with the pass summit still 4 miles away the temperature had dropped about 12C so we stopped put on another layer. We crested the summit at 7C and hit the FOG (read cloud). Which then turned to mist and then to showers that we contended with for the next 100 km. This was the first time the rain gear has been out since we left home.

The weather gradually improved as we headed northward along the interstate. We took a toll road bypass around Denver. They took pictures of our plate and will send us a bill - we will see. The last time that happened was in Ontario 4 years ago and we still have not heard a thing. Anyway it was well worth the toll as there was very little traffic. We stopped in Fort Collins where it is cool but clear. The Calgarians would love it here - one is hard pressed to tell the difference between the two places with all the new growth and malls apparent. We are staying in a beautiful suite hotel with a lounge and the bedroom. The young girl at the desk told Doug to book on line and we could get it for $70 so he sat in the lobby and did just that! We took advantage of the location of one of these strip malls across the street and had a wonderful Japanese dinner and then went to Target to shop.

On the way along the rest stop-less Colorado interstate we took a break and found a teddy bear. We had no room for him - hopefully someone else will.

This lack of rest areas has been a real factor in Colorado as it has found us "resting" on the side of the road in not the safest places when you really need a break. We will see what Wyoming does about the rest areas and fill you in tomorrow.