In Loveland, Colorado

We moved from Las Vegas, New Mexico to Loveland, Colorado yesterday.  Loveland is north of Denver by 40 some miles and about 15 miles south of the border of Wyoming.  Looked for a campground closer to Centennial, Colorado which is south of Denver but campgrounds were all booked up.  This particular campground is near Estes Park which is one of the gateways into Rocky Mountain National Park.  The campground is very busy, packed in like sardines, but we are safe and secure.  We have made contact with the family and will get to see them soon.  

Another long, lonesome road (I 25 heading north from Las Vegas, NM( 

At small town called Wagon Mound - cut the mountain in half for I25

Up and over Raton Pass (I was driving, was scared stiff!)

Lots of snow on the Rockies 

The drive here was long.  If you take the 3 days of driving we have done since we left Picacho, it equals 996 miles.  That's a lot of driving.  Thankfully we spread it out over 8 days.  Again, Buddy did great.  Along the way up the I 25 corridor through Raton Pass in New Mexico, Trinidad, Pueblo, Colorado Springs and through Denver, we were shocked a the amount of traffic.  3 accidents slowed us way down, at times stopped.  In Denver we got caught with a thunderstorm and it came down so fast that the high speed lanes of the interstate were flooded.  As I type this now another thunderstorm is passing through.

Dropping down through the canyon beyond the Pass

Pikes Peak had it's own personal weather 

Traffic picked up getting closer to Colorado Springs

Air Force Academy in the distance

Found the traffic (5 lanes in both directions) and the thunderstorm in Denver 

Reservoirs are at max - officials talking about the snow melt to come yet

The day before we left Las Vegas, we drove to a small town called Cleveland (HAH!) in the Mora Valley to visit the Cleveland Roller Mill.  This is the only intact WORKING flour mill in the US.  The great-grandson of the owner of the mill from the 1870's restored the mill to working condition starting in 1974 when he graduated from college.  He researched and restored every piece of machinery.  During a festival called MillFest, the owner and volunteers fire up the mill and grind flour, people can see how grinding wheat into flour was done in the 1860's to the 1940's when the mill was shuttered.  In 1987 when the mill/museum was opened to tours and the public, the museum houses some rare photos as well as the working machinery to give a glimpse into the past. 

On the Santa Fe Trail heading to Cleveland, NM

I could stare at those mountains all day

Original building

All original machinery - and it all works

Those long post-like - those are elevators to move the grinder grain around mill

An elevator opened up to see inside of it

Original water wheel mechanism (in basement - outside is the actual wheel)

Sluice that feeds water from Mora River

Outside looking at water wheel - fascinating! 

In contrast - a hand grist (flour) mill from same time - primitive 

How did they know back in 1870 how to build a mill like that and know enough to grind and grind and grind again to make the finest flour?  Amazing technology for the time.  We were amazed at the technology and engineering feat for that time period.