(Late September, 2020) As the saying goes, “There’s gold in them thar hills!”, and we were determined to find it. Or at least, the Aspen gold of fall color high in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado. We had just spent a week at the Alamosa KOA, photographing around Great Sand Dunes National Park, and our plan was to move on to Durango, Colorado. Our hope was to arrive in time for the peak of fall color in the San Juans.
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The Durango North / Riverside KOA is a lovely campground nestled amidst majestic Ponderosa Pines on the shore of the whitewater Animas River. The park features stunning mountain views and the soothing sounds of whispering pines and rushing river. The campground is conveniently close to historic sights, fine dining, and shopping in Durango, as well as high mountain adventure in the San Juan Mountains. The campground is a great place to relax, enjoy stunning mountain views, fish the Animas River, and explore the many area attractions.
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(Late September, 2020) Towering waves of sand breaking on the shore of a mountain-rimmed cove. That is the impression left by the dune-field at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. This was our first time visiting the dunes. We were excited to see and photograph such a breathtaking land of contrasts. Great Sand Dunes did not disappoint.
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The Alamosa KOA Journey is a well-maintained campground set in the San Luis Valley, a Colorado high desert basin nestled between the scenic Sangre de Cristo Mountains and San Juan Mountains. The campground is close to many local attractions, such as the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Blanca Peak, Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, and championship Cattails Golf Course. The Alamosa KOA Journey makes a great base for exploring the local area.
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The La Junta KOA Journey is a quiet and well-maintained campground set on the High Plains of eastern Colorado. Right on the historic Santa Fe Trail, the park is close to Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, Koshare Indian Museum, and other attractions of historical interest. The La Junta KOA Journey is a convenient and relaxing place to stay while visiting the La Junta area.
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(Mid-September, 2020) If you’ve ever driven the empty spaces of the Great Plains, then you’ve seen them. That lonely farmhouse sitting abandoned in the fields. Boards weathered to grey with no hint of paint. Empty windows. Door standing agape. Roof with missing shingles – or altogether gone.
Perhaps, instead it is a forlorn and leaning barn slouching into ruin; or a solitary windmill with battered and missing vanes; or even a proud old wooden grain elevator standing silent sentinel over rusted railroad tracks. You have just seen a Prairie Ghost – sad relic of past lives and of bygone eras.
In this post we’ll pay our respects to several of these ghosts of the prairies and high plains. Join me now along lonely roads – coming away with melancholic memories …and few photographs.
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