Day 57 - ending at New Raymer, CO - The Great Plains Trail - Sort Of

July 10, 2023

Day 57 - ending at New Raymer, CO

Day 57 - Brush, CO to New Raymer, CO

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Up at 4:50am to work on report for the day off I took two days ago. Got that posted. Started packing at 7:10am. The mosquitoes were bad this morning, the same as last night. Ready to leave at 8:28am.

Today's destination was supposed to be Jackson Lake State Park near Orchard, Colorado, according to my pre-trip plan. After that I would be back on the Great Plains Trail. Looking at the map, I decided I could save myself a day by going straight to Pawnee Buttes Trailhead near Keota, Colorado. So that's my new destination for today. Once I get there then I'll follow the GPT.

I arrived at Home Plate 2 in Brush for breakfast at 8:35am. Left at 9:42am with ice in my thermos. Stopped at 7-Eleven for Gatorade and was then on my way west on US-34 to Fort Morgan, Colorado.

In Fort Morgan I turned north on Barlow Road so I could ride along the South Platte River on trails through Riverside Park. The trail path I took ended at Rainbow Bridge, which isn't used for vehicles.

I was across the bridge just before noon, so stopped to take a break. 11.3 miles is the noon report for today. I'd better get moving.

The next section of today's riding would be on CO-52 going north. This highway goes somewhat uphill, and there was a strong north wind. So it was slow-going work - for 28 miles. And the highway has no shoulder, for the most part. It was busier than I expected with traffic. A carnival crew was going from one town to another and all their vehicles were using this road. They were spread out from the time I first got on the highway to when I finally got off. I don't think I've ever been on a road that had more cars meeting going opposite directions right where I was at. I was constantly rolling off the highway into the grass to let them pass each other. The big surprise for me today was looking up and seeing a truck and car coming at me. The car was passing the truck. I got off the road just in time.

At 3:50pm, while still on CO-52, at the crest of a hill, I could see Pawnee Buttes - 18.5 straight-line miles away!

Finally, at 4:09pm, I met up with CO-14, the highway going west to New Raymer. 2 miles and I would be in town hoping to eat at Pawnee Station, a place I've been to before. When I arrived at the restaurant both me and a truck driver were disappointed to see the place closed for the day.

I rode on into New Raymer, looking for the city park. I needed water before I continued on. They'll be none available tonight at Pawnee Buttes, nor tomorrow night where I plan to stay. On my way to the park I noticed there was an RV park next to the city park. A fellow came out of a nearby house and I asked if they ran the RV park. The guy said his uncle does, and he would be back shortly. The nephew also said there's a water faucet in the park. I checked the faucet in the park. It's shut off. The uncle showed up a little later and I asked him about camping at his RV Park, since Pawnee Buttes was 18 miles away and I was kind of spent. He quoted $10 for site #7 with water and electricity. I went for that. Later I asked him what the name of his place is, since there is no sign: Wally's Last Resort RV Park.

Pawnee Station should be open for breakfast tomorrow morning at 7:00am. This evening while putting up the tent I was fairly light-headed. I think I used up all my energy today and didn't drink enough water, trying to conserve. So I made up for that this evening with a bottle of Gatorade and a couple bottles of water. Also decided I better eat supper, so I had that out of my lunch bag. Feeling better now. I'm surprised the steak supper last night and the steak breakfast this morning didn't carry me through.

Not making it to Pawnee Buttes this evening messed up my routing/schedule. I'll need to re-figure tomorrow. But it sure is nice to have a place to stay tonight.

Jeff

Spent: $13.63 plus $3 (breakfast) + $5.08 (Gatorade) + $7 (campsite) = $28.71