Loveland
The drive from Cheyenne to Loveland was about an hour. We ended up having a delicious dinner at a restaurant called The Bent Fork when we got to Loveland. Our lodging for the night was the Fairfield Inn & Suites at Loveland and Fort Collins. This was our 8th and final hotel stay of our 10-day road trip.
I initially chose Loveland as the location for our overnight because it is located a little less than an hour's drive from Rocky Mountain National Park. My plan was to have us spend our final day of vacation exploring the park. This did not work out. The park was so popular at the time that a timed-entry system was being implemented. I tried to reserve a time slot about two weeks in advance but there were no more available. I was forced to find another way for us to spend our final day in Colorado. I decided to keep our hotel reservation in Loveland because I found some nearby attractions.
Leave a lock.
Our final day in Colorado began with a rather pitiful complimentary breakfast experience at the hotel. The same person responsible for the reception desk was also responsible for the breakfast area. As hard as she tried, she just could not keep up. The waffle irons were not working. The juice machine was not functioning. We were constantly running out of utensils and grab & go food items. I just had a bowl of cereal and then packed the car to leave.
Colorado Model Railroad Museum
For today's excursion, we drove about 30 minutes east to the town of Greeley, Colorado. (Good news! Traci was finally able to return her damaged merchandise to a Walmart along the way that actually had someone working the customer service desk!) The reason for our visit to Greeley was to see the Colorado Model Railroad Museum. Model railroading was a hobby of mine from junior high school until I left home to go to college. This visit to the Colorado Model Railroad Museum was a real treat for me. I am happy to say that it turned out to be a treat for Traci as well.
The train layout in this museum is extensive! The details of the layout are mind-blowing as well. There are impressive models of rural and urban environments. There is a scene of a building on fire surrounded by model emergency vehicles with flashing lights. The building is even spewing out smoke and emitting crackling sounds. There are all types of trains riding along the tracks - over trestle bridges, through tunnels, across city streets, etc... These trains are normally controlled by a computer; however, on the day of our visit, the computer was having issues. Therefore, a team of technicians had to walk around the layout and communicate with each other via headsets to make sure the trains did not collide with each other. Even though they were busy monitoring the trains, the team members always made time to discuss aspects of the models with us. The Colorado Model Railroad Museum was worth the drive.
simulated building fire with smoke and sound effects
Dearfield Ghost Town
We had seen a lot and done a lot during this road trip but there was still more that I wanted to see. Since we were in the western part of the U.S., I wanted to take the opportunity to visit a ghost town. Colorado has several scattered throughout the state. I chose to visit the Dearfield ghost town which is located about 30 minutes east of Greeley. This ghost town is unique in that it is the remains of an African American community that was thriving during the early 1900s. By 1930, it had met its demise by the Dust Bowl from which the community never recovered.
Today, there is really not much left from the community other than three dilapidated buildings on the side of the road in the prairie. You would probably miss them unless you knew to look for them. There is now a plaque in front of the buildings providing a brief history of the Dearfield community. Continue...
