Limestone Fenceposts

Limestone fenceposts are a unique feature seen primarily in rural north-central Kansas.  We saw them while driving US highway 281.

Early settlers needed a way to fence in their land, to protect it from roaming herds of buffalo.  However, the plains were nearly treeless, so wooden posts could not be used.  A layer of stone was located (the topmost layer of the Greenhorn Limestone formation) that was accessible to quarry. The stone could be drilled and split into post-like structures. It was not easy work, and the posts were heavy...at least 250 pounds each. 

Between 1884 and 1920 miles of these stone posts were cut and placed.  They are still visible today.

World's Only Corn Palace

On our way south this fall, we stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota to see the World's Only Corn Palace.

100 years ago the current Corn Palace was built on Main Street. Known world wide, the Palace attacts hundreds of thousands of visitors yearly. A new theme is selected each year for decorating the outer walls of the Palace. Thousands of bushels of colorful corn, grain, and grasses are used to cover the building.  There are up to 12 different colors of corn alone, all grown specially for the Palace.

But the Corn Palace is more than a visual point of interest. The indoor arena is adaptable for many purposes: exhibits, dances, stage shows, meetings & banquets, proms & graduations.  It boasts a regulation size basketball court, and hosts district, regional, and state tournaments.  The weekend we were there they had just held an event for 600+ pheasant hunters!

A New Winter Home

After leaving Gallup, New Mexico we entered Arizona and drove past Petrified Forest National Park. At Holbrook we turned south, crossing the Mogollon Plateau, over the Mogollon Rim and through parts of Tonto National Forest. A summer fire in the Saguaro Lake area had blackened the landscape; the damage to plants was still evident.  Then it was on through Phoenix and south to our winter campground.  

New this season is moving into a park model home at the RV resort.  This will be the first winter in about 10 years that we have not lived in our motorhome!   As with any move, the challenges of finding a new place for our old "stuff" soon became evident.  But we are gradually getting settled...

Aztec Ruins National Monument

Designated a National Monument in 1923, and a World Heritage Site in 1987, this large settlement planned and built by the ancestral Puebloans centuries ago rivals Chaco Canyon sites.  Located near Aztec, New Mexico along the Animas River, ruins include a huge Great House which may have been up to three stories high, and included some 400 individual rooms.  The Great Kiva has been reconstructed on the original site, so one can enter and observe the engineering used to form these great ceremonial structures.  

A self-guided walking tour takes one around the site, through the ancient doors and inside intact rooms.

Chimney Rock National Monument

 Designated a National Monument in 2012, the twin pinnacles of Chimney Rock can be seen for miles. Many centuries ago this land was home to ancestral Puebloans.  They left behind stone structures including a Great House Pueblo, a Great Kiva, multi-family dwellings and pit houses, all viewable from trails leading through the site.

In later years, the towering formations served as  landmarks for explorers, settlers, and prospectors heading into the rugged country now known as Colorado.

Located just 17 miles west of Pagosa Springs, a day trip offered us a chance to experience this unique monument.

Lobo Overlook Colorado

Lobo Overlook, advertised as being "as close to the top of the world as you can get by vehicle",  was a drive manageable even for our our CRV.  From the summit of Wolf Creek Pass on US highway 160 (elevation 10,857) access to the overlook area was via a 3 mile dirt, tower access road.  At the top, the Overlook elevation is nearly 12,000 feet above sea level.  A section of the Continental Divide Trail is accessible from here; picnic tables and a pit toilet are available.

Colorado Scenic Drives

 From Pagosa Springs there is access to numerous scenic drives taking one deep into the forests and wilderness areas.  Often access is via windy, narrow dirt roads that snake their way through the trees.

One drive took us south of town along the San Juan River, through rolling meadows, where we saw these deer.  Remnants of early settlements, no longer inhabited, were passed along the way. Often just a cemetery remained.

Another drive took us on Mill Creek Road, east toward the Nipple Mountain area, and panoramic views of the upper San Juan Valley.