the southern figure-8 tour
Looking back at the trips I've taken, I noticed something. I have gone north, west, and east of Colorado Springs, but I haven't headed south. I decided I needed to fix that. One eight-hour car trip later, I came back with a fistful of pictures. Here they are!
Open praries, anyone?
We're past Pueblo now, continuing to head south. Let's see where this road takes us.
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Typical scene south of Pueblo. Hills, valleys, frontage roads, and trucks.
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The median widens here. I could have sworn that I remember there being a rest area here, accessable in an odd way. There were U-turns in the median. Heading south, you'd drive by the rest area, cross a deep ravine, U-turn to head the opposite direction, and exit to the area. When you left, depending on the direction you were heading, you had another U-turn to do. Anyone remember something like this here?
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If there was, all that's left is this pile of asphalt chunks.
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Another instance of the exit being in a different spot than the road. You use the east frontage road to access Hatchet Ranch.
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We encounter a CDOT carvan. This one's VMS sez: Caution/Painting Ahead/>>>>
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Advanced warning #2. Same messages on the VMS.
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And we've encountered the paint truck. These guys were moving! I'd say they were doing about 60. Didn't know they could go that fast and still paint.
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Approaching Colorado City.
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Another scenic byway sign. Not too easy to read that at high speeds, either.
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The rest area is just off of the exit. I wonder how much longer the rest area will last considering there's gas stations popping up at the exit now.
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Looking up at the BEGIN!ning of SH 165.
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Just after Colorado City, I-25 dips into a valley, curves, and climbs out of the valley. This is all seen here. Follow the line of the trucks.
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At the curve in the valley. Coming the other way, this drop into the valley is on a strong grade that catches a lot of drivers off-guard.
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Cool roadgeek/scenic shot.
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Further into the curve seen in the previous picture.
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A slight dip after the main hill, then we continue to climb out of the valley.
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Translation: white-knuckle driving necessary for the next 15 miles. And there is a stiff crosswind out here today.
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Methinks this sign would have been better a few miles back.
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Prarie land meets mountains in this scenic shot.
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And if you're going fast enough, maybe you can jump your car over the mountain!
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A mini-staging area for pothole-patching.
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There's a few narrow bridges through here. They're not marked, but they're pretty obvious in clear conditions.
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A Point of Interest lies off of this exit, which doesn't allow trucks. Any idea why?
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A closer shot of the exit.
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CDOT really should just take the "May" off of this sign. Every time I've driven on this stretch of highway, I've been tossed around by the winds. Today's no exception.
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Case in point. This truck usually stands straight. Guess which way the wind is blowing? The semi and I gave this guy a wide berth. As I passed him, I glanced over. White knuckles, fingers gouging new holes in the steering wheel, and the greatest look of determination I've ever seen.
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A LBS greets us as we approach Walsenburg. The Great Sand Dunes Natonal Park is a sight to see: I highly recommend it during any season bu the summer. It gets HOT there.
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Advertising a state park.
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All the sign commotion is directly related to this exit.
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The Cuchara Valley Ski Resort can't buy a break. Either the snow is really bad, meaning no visitors, meaning the owners go bankrupt and close it, or the snow is great and there is no owners because they all went under. This year (2005-06) is a little different: no snow and no owners.
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Here's the smallest cardinal directions I've ever seen on a LGS.
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This sign bridge is about to collapse from the weight of all those shields. They're HUGE!
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We've exited onto BR 25 so I can clinch another business route. Trust me, you're not missing anything on I-25 through here.
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US 160 is really poorly marked through Walsenburg. Newer signs place 160 on the BR. Older signs have 160 on 5th Street (you'll see this in a bit) heading out to 25. Either way, to reach WB 160, you need to go through Walsenburg.
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The BEGIN!ning of SH 69. From here, it curves northwest towards Gardner, travels through the Wet Mountain Valley, and ends at US 50.
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Going through a big rock cut to enter Walsenburg. Look closely: you can see the remnants of a road that used to cross over BR 25.
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Some of the old bridge pieces still live on the side of the ridge just off of the roadway. There's still concrete abutments on each side of the road as well.
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A little shift to get us aligned with Walsenburg's street grid.
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Seriously old signs greet us in town.
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The turn to WB 160 is barely marked. This is the only sign I saw, and that arrow is a little small to be the only one around.
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Cleaning the streets, or going for a drink? You be the judge.
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For those of you that like the old neon motel signs, this one's for you.
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To the south of Walsenburg, BR 25 turns east and climbs a large hill to reach I-25.
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So I'm buzzing along, ready to make the turn onto the interstate, when this sign catches my eye. I hit the brakes, leave a little rubber behind, make a large right, and pull over. All to get you this shot of a sign so old it needs some grey hair. I haven't done anything to this pic: the colors are the colors seen in the field.
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A close up of the sign. Definitely button-copy.
- Where to next?
- Page 2
- This trip's Index
- Page 4
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any of the orginizations listed within this site. I'm just a bored roadgeek with way too much time on his hands. All of the picts in this page are mine and mine alone unless otherwise noted. Remember, kids: stealing is bad, mmmm-k? I get quite pissy if things are taken without telling me. I don't like to be pissy. You won't like it either. If you want to link to this page, that's fine. Please shoot me an email beforehand so I can link to your page as well. K? Thanks. --Ryan
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