Summer 1965 Trip to Colorado

Summer 1965 trip to Colorado. Aunt Janice was living and working in Denver and the Gregorys were living in Colorado Springs, so we decided that we would go for a visit. After we made our plans we found the Gregorys were coming back to Janesville at the same time that we were going to be out there. Camping in South Dakota. The weather was very nice but it was quite windy and this was a challenge to driving the VW. The road was a two lane road through farm country. I had to steer into the wind to keep the car on the road. Then we would come past a barn and there would be no wind. The car would go in the direction of the steering and I would have to quickly correct. As soon as we got past the barn we were back into the wind and I had to quickly correct again. It was a very challenging and interesting drive. We stopped for gas and I asked a local resident, "How long has the wind been blowing like this?" His answer was, "Oh, about six weeks." That evening we found a county park that had a campground. We parked in the parking area and found a space down the hill that was out of the wind and very peaceful. There was a family traveling in a converted school bus in the parking area. The father and I were talking about the weather and the wind. I told him that if he didn't see us in the morning he should pick us out of the trees. We set up and after the meal cleanup we settled in for the night. Around midnight Mom woke me up because the wind had really picked up. The tent was being sucked in and out by the gusts. We looked outside and could see that a big storm was coming. We decided that it would be best if we went up and got into the car. We took everybody up and Mom settled everyone in the car. Lynn was in the trunk area, Karen was on the back seat, Dave was in his crib, Mom and Sam were across the floor with their feet under Dave's crib, and I got to sleep across the two front seats. The rain had not started so I decided that I would bring up the belongings and that we would stay and sleep in the car. I grabbed all of the loose items and threw the stuff in the sleeping bags and brought them to the car. When everything was out of the tent I decided that I might as well take it down before it got wet. Just as I got the tent packed into the box on top of the car the storm hit. Mom and I sat in the front seats and watched the storm, as the wind was so strong it really rocked the car. We were very glad that we were not down in the tent. With all of us sleeping in the car the windows steamed up and no one could see inside. In the morning the children from the bus came out to play and to check on us. All of a sudden they came running up the hill calling to their father that we had blown away. I opened the window and told them that we were all OK.

We set up for breakfast and then continued our travels toward the Black Hills. All across Minnesota and South Dakota we saw signs for Wall Drug located in the town of Wall. When we arrived we found that Wall Drug and the Mitchell Corn Palace was the big thing in town. After touring the town we went into the campground and after noticing that there was going to be another storm, it was agreed that sleeping in the car again would be a good decision. We got out the kitchen and fixed supper. Then we packed it all back up and after washing some clothes in the Laundromat, we settled back into the car and the storm hit. The tents were blowing down and the campers were struggling in the strong wind to try to get them set up again. We were very happy that we had made the decision to spend another night in the VW. We enjoyed our travels in South Dakota. We saw the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, and then we arrived in a campground in the Black Hills Park. We spent several nights in the campground. On one morning when we woke up, we found that a herd of buffalos had wandered through the campground among the tent sites and we were surprised that there was no damage done. On Sunday morning we went into a small chapel in the campground. There was a pastor and his wife conducting the service. They had an old organ that she had to pump with her feet while she played. There was a large window behind the altar that had a beautiful view of the Black Hills. On a drive through the Black Hills Park we were stopped by a group of donkeys that were blocking the road. We had the windows open and one of them stuck his head in Mom's window looking for something to eat. We continued through South Dakota into Wyoming. The weather was beautiful and we rolled along. Suddenly we came around a curve and there was about 2 inches of ice. Apparently there had been a major strong storm with large hail stones, but it was concentrated in a very small area, as we carefully drove through it in a very short distance. Our plan was to spend time in Casper, Wyoming. We saw very few people or homes as we traveled through Wyoming. There were mailboxes along the roads but the ranches were so large we could not even see the houses. We came to the bypass for Cheyenne, but I must have missed the turnoff and the next thing we saw was a sign welcoming us to Colorado. We decided that we might as well continue to Denver. By the time we arrived at the campground it was late and very dark. I backed the car into a site and we settled in for the night. In the morning when we got up we found that we were parked at the edge of a very steep hill. It was a good thing that I did not back any further. Mom never would have slept if she knew that we were that close to the edge.

The next day we did some touring around Denver. It was quite a mess in some parts of the city because there had been a lot of rain before we arrived and the Platte River had gone over the banks. We went to Aunt Janice's apartment to meet her and after we settled in she decided that we should all take a sightseeing ride around town. She said that she would drive because she was much more familiar with the area. Well, we all went out and got into her VW Bug. Mom and Janice were in the front seat. Dave, Karen, and I were in the back seat and Sam and Lynn were in the trunk. Well, that was quite an adventure. I don't remember any of the sights but I do remember hanging on to Dave as we went flying through the town. The next morning there was a real treat for breakfast. All Janice had in the refrigerator was pizza and chocolate cake. We did some more sightseeing and one of the really interesting places was the Red Rock Theatre. It is a large amphitheatre set in a large hollow of red rocks. The acoustics were so good that the kids were able to go on stage and talk to us in the back rows. After we left Denver we went through Colorado Springs and found the Gregorys' house. We wrote a note letting them know that we came to visit even though they had decided to come to Janesville at the same time that we were coming out to visit them. We then went into the mountains to do some more camping. We went up one peak that was adjacent to Pike's Peak. The drive was beautiful, but Mom was very nervous as we went winding around the many curves. Especially when the drop-off was on her side. We found a campsite that was at the 8000 foot level. The weather was great and after we got our site set up we sat down at the picnic table to eat supper. Before we finished eating the sun dropped down behind the mountain peak and we were in the shade. It seemed as if someone had dumped ice water on us. We all went running for sweaters and jackets. That night we realized that at this altitude it was going to be cold, so Mom decided that she would sleep in the car with Dave and the rest of us would stay in the tent. Well, we settled into our sleeping bags only to find that we had to put on socks, sweatshirts, and anything we could find to keep warm. The next day was the 4th of July and that evening we were able to see the fireworks that were being set off at Pikes Peak. It was a very beautiful sight. While we were in the area we also went to visit the Air Force Academy. It is set in a very pretty area just outside Colorado Springs. The Chapel was very interesting. We had a very nice tour and one of the places of interest was the main swimming pool. There they had a 30 foot high tower that all of the cadets had to jump from before they would be able to graduate. They told of one cadet who came there every day until he finally got up the nerve to jump. After we finished the tour we went out to the car just before a storm began. We jumped into the car and watched

hailstones as large as golf balls come down. The noise was very loud and scary, but other than a few dents in the roof we were fine. We started our trip back, this time through eastern Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and into Wisconsin. We found that there is very little to see other than corn fields and grain elevators. We met a family from Connecticut that were returning from California. They were doing a 6000 mile sightseeing trip on a 2 week vacation. When we met them in Nebraska, they were very tired. We were very glad that we did not try to take such a long trip in such a short time. When we got back into Wisconsin we still had a few days left on the vacation, so we decided to spend a few nights camping. We found a very nice campground and set up the campsite. Not too long after we had settled in we realized that there was another storm coming. Again it was back to the car to wait out the storm. It was quite a violent storm and Mom and I just sat in the front seats while the car was being rocked around by the wind. By the time the storm was over, Mom and I decided not to wake up the kids, so we spent another night in the car. We did a lot of camping after that and we never had that many storms again.