THE ROAD HOME BEGINS at LATHROP – Sept 14/15

We got on the road after lunch and extended hugs.  The itinerary was short being that we had a late departure.  Cloos and Lidia were supposed to join us this first night on the road.  They were to ride their motorcycle down and then spend the night but they were called back to Wyoming so we were solo again.

The ride down to Walsenburg, CO was uneventful and pleasant.  I thought it would be a boring drive but was pleased to have continued scenery the whole way.  The smoke from the wildfires had cleared and the mountains, although retreating, were in clear view.  We arrived in Lathrop without fanfare and quickly got settled.

Of course my first order of business was to check out our surroundings with a good walk.  Lathrop sits on the plains side of Hogback Ridge that when climbed provides a beautiful view of several mountain ranges.  We hit the trail and enjoyed a little altitude climb to the ridge as well as the far expanse of the plains to the East. 

We climbed the William Henry Jackson spur trail to the top of the ridge.  Jackson was a photographer in the late 1800’s that documented many of the natural wonders of the US.  At the top of the trail, his original photo of the Spanish Peaks to the south is displayed at the site it was taken, a fun tidbit as reward for the climb. 

After a good hike and a bike ride to check out the adjacent golf course, we settled in the hot evening sun for a cocktail and a moment to reflect on all we had been through the last month as the sun set over the mountains.  With the sky clear for the first time since our arrival, I decided we should chance some stargazing after the sun was down.  We were treated to one of the best displays in any recent memory to top off another day to remember.