September, 2018
Towns at the end-of-the-line are almost always interesting. Some are at the end of a rail line while others are at the end of a paved road. Beulah, Colorado is up against the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. There's only one paved road into town.
This is a ride to Beulah with a side-visit to Cripple Creek (because I've never been there).
Kansas
Abbeyville, Kansas. The road through Abbeyville has little traffic as today's US 50 runs parallel to it just a half mile north. The old highway is usually empty.
Stafford, Kansas. I'm afraid that the Curtis Cafe hasn't been open for decades.
Kinsley, Kansas prides itself on being exactly halfway on highway 50 between the Atlantic and Pacific.
Spearville, Kansas. Yes; that wind turbine is every bit as big as it appears. There are hundreds of them within view of the town.
Colorado
Fowler, Colorado.
West of Pueblo and I'm following the road to Beulah, which is up against that taller range (the Wet Mountains).
Beulah, Colorado. There's not a great deal to see. The town began in the 1840s (under a different name). It changed to Beulah in 1876 and today seems to exist as a town of second homes and perhaps a craft or art festival on occasion. There are a couple of restaurants, but none were open.
There's only one paved road in, so that means just one paved road out. I could have continued west on a dirt road (and I considered it), but I don't much care for mud, so I turned back.
Riding into the Wet Mountains.
Westcliff, Colorado and the back view of the Sangre de Cristo Range.
Riding north along the Wet Mountain Valley.
The Sangre de Cristo.
At this point, the Arkansas River, the Rio Grande railroad tracks and US-50 all share the same valley. Not many miles east of here, the railroad stays with the river and passes through Royal Gorge on the way to Pueblo. The highway diverts north. The railroad hasn't been used for years.
Cripple Creek, Colorado. This was once a busy mining town (starting in 1890) and it had a population over 10,000. Since 1991, gambling is the thing that keeps the town alive (with a population of just over 1,000).
I stayed at the Hotel Imperial. At just $49 for the room and with breakfast just 49 cents, you can spend your time in Cripple Creek pretty cheaply. Of course, the casinos expect that you'll still be leaving plenty of money behind for them to turn a nice profit.
I waited a couple of hours the next morning for the temperature to climb to the high thirties before starting out. It would warm up soon enough as I descended.
About thirty miles east of the Rocky Mountains, looking back--that's Pike's Peak against the blue sky.
I've always liked the eastern half of Colorado.
Kansas
I see that the Nekoma, Kansas grain elevator is expanding their capacity. When you see new elevators going up, you can figure that somebody believes the price of wheat will be going down (and that it might be better to hold out before selling).
I am avoiding the noontime crush of traffic at the Nickerson, Kansas Sunshine Cafe--I'll have a BLT sandwich and rhubarb pie, thank you.
Perhaps Beulah, Colorado wasn't as interesting as I had hoped, but it's a beautiful place for a ride.