Monument, Colorado

This basically was a week of travel -- getting from Iowa to Colorado, covering a distance of 750 miles. We actually stayed another three days in Des Moines waiting for a thunderstorm to pass before we moved out. Starting our trek on Monday, September 16, we went first to West Omaha, Nebraska, for one night, and then on to Gothenburg, Nebraska, where we spent two nights.

While we were in Gothenburg, we stayed at a KOA park right along the North Platte River. Listening to the local news, we heard about the concern of the folks in the area that the Colorado flood waters would be making its way along the North Platte River into Nebraska which was expected to flood its banks in the coming four or five days. Since we were parked right along the river, we made sure that we didn't stay too long. In fact, the local weather service forecast was for this park to expect flooding.

Parked at the KOA in Gothenburg, Nebraska

(North Platte River is to the left of us.)

 Gothenburg is a very small town, but it is home to the two Pony Express stations. The Pony Express station in town operated from 1860-1861, a period of only 18 months. The Pony Express was discontinued because of the Civil War and the emergence of the telegraph. To get a letter from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA took nearly 10 days using 183 riders. It was dangerous work and some riders were as young as 11 years old.

Plaque in front of the Pony Express station.

Pony Express Station in Gothenburg, Nebaska

On Thursday, we continued our trip and entered Colorado. We signed up with the Colorado Department of Transportation to receive constant text updates as to which roads were blocked because of the recent rains and flooding.  We stopped the first night in Sterling, Colorado.

Road into Sterling, Colorado,

was closed due to flooding. Luckily,

we didn't need to drive through the

the town to get to the RV park.

Then on Friday, we moved on to Colorado Springs where we stayed at another KOA park. 

Parked at the KOA in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Right across the road from where we were parked was a river that 

over-flowed its boundaries the previous week.

The waters of this river came across the road.

A dam is located a few hundred feet up the river.

We could hear the rushing waters as we slept at night.

Close-up of the dam.

Yesterday, we hit the road again and traveled just a few miles to Monument, Colorado, where we will hang out for two weeks. Monument is about 30 miles from Denver. 

A very close family friend (Stu) passed away suddenly last week. So on Friday, I will take a flight out of Denver, join up with Tom, my son, flying in from LA, to attend the memorial service on Saturday in Cumming, Georgia, about 35 miles from Atlanta. Stu will be terribly missed by all who knew him. He was one of a kind -- in a very good way.

Until next time, enjoy the life you love -- especially 

since it can turn on a dime.