Wild West day 3

We survived Kansas only to endure East Colorado. However, following along the Arkansas River all the way to Pueblo was somewhat better than feed lot after feed lot.  We stopped for lunch in Las Animas CO. before we got to Pueblo. Joyce learned all about the history of Bent’s Fort, and the surrounding area.  Interesting thing about that town is they converted to reversed osmosis water softening for their city water because their water was so hard. Then all their water pipes collapsed because the filtered water cleansed the system and all their old water pipes collapsed because they were only held together with years of mineral deposits.   Once we arrived at Pueblo, we decided we were so close to the Royal Gorge that we would head on up there. It's still there in case you were wondering. However, it about burned up in a big fire in June of 2013. Consequently, access to the bridge was blocked. Supposedly they will reopen in August. We couldn't wait that long so we took the freebie road (dirt path) to the edge of the gorge. Neither Joyce nor I were fit to traverse the rock strewn path out to the "good" view point, but rocks are rocks and water is water. I managed a few photos to satisfy my photographer's urge. Then there was a fire... Sadly, it will take several years for the area to recover. In the meantime, the tourist industry is suffering and there may be a lot of places go out of business. The commercial area leading up to the gorge might look like a ghost town soon. Anyway, when we left the gorge we started looking for a home - for the night. In contrast to the impact of the fire, all the campgrounds close by were full except for "tent" sites (no elect.). It was still early, though, so we looked up a few campgrounds up by Pikes Peak, which is our victim for tomorrow. The first one we called said he had space so we took it. It was about 40-50 miles away, though. We took a nice county road up through open range country to get there. It was a pleasant drive with only an occasional car truck to share the road with. Arriving at Cripple Creek, tired but relaxed, we found the Eagles Landing RV Park. It was not pretty, but served the purpose well enough. It seems a big part of the campers here are here for the long haul. Many even have large propane tanks sitting out beside the camper.  The campground is open year round. Can you imagine spending winter months here? Tomorrow we're heading up Pikes Peak. After that, we should be able to find nicer Federal parks. We have to prepare for "dry" camping though as we have to trade convenience for beauty.