I like small towns that have lots of character. On my list is Las Cruces, NM - Ludington, MI - New Hope, PA and Driggs, ID.
Ft. Collins appears to be a town for my list. Home to Colorado State University - it is surrounded by beautiful landscapes. The downtown area is as quaint of a place as I've seen. Art galleries, cafe's and mom & pop shops line the streets of College Ave. It's a place I wish we could spend more time. As we are just beginning our travel day - I persuade Andy to stop for a coffee. We grab a coffee and walk Henry down the tree lined streets. There are lots of people having breakfast/brunch alfresco. We get a few greetings from diners as we pass on by - mostly aimed at Henry. This is a dog friendly group!
Yes, I would really like to get to know Ft. Collins. It gets too cold here for Andy to put it on his list - even though he was ecstatic when he bought fuel for his 'girlfriend' and only paid $3.93 a gallon!
As we move on down the road - we commence with our Sunday ritual - Bluegrass Sunday. We fell in love with bluegrass music when we lived in Kentucky (1986-1995). This morning we are being treated to the Del McCoury band playing a tribute to Bill Monroe - yeehaw!
We head east on 34 through Greeley and beyond. The view flattens out in eastern Colorado. There isn't much to look at. We do pass an enormous beef feedlot near Kersey, CO - the largest we've ever seen. So many cows - so little space. The smell is overwhelming. We can't get THAT SMELL out of our nostrils for nearly 10 miles. I feel sympathy for a cyclist that passes us heading toward the feedlot. He's going to smell THAT SMELL for a very long time. Poor guy. Poor cows.
Eastern Colorado turns into western Kansas - not much of a difference in the view. Flat farm fields forever. This part of Kansas looks to be greatly affected by the drought. Miles and miles of half grown corn & sunflowers dead in their fields. Kansas is the sunflower state - and their sunflowers look to be in bad shape. This is not the prettiest state we've ever visited. We call it a day after 6 hours on the road and land in the town of Goodland, KS. Their KOA has a 3 acre dog run - a nice bonus for SuperDog.
It's hot here - 95 at 4 in the afternoon. Goodland will not be one of my choices for towns to live in - too hot & dry. My throat feels like it is clogged with dust. Andy strikes up a conversation with a fellow traveler (Bill) parked next to us. He tells Andy that if we stay in this town for more than 24 hours then you've wasted time. He's been here 4 days - visiting his sister. He has been full timing for 3 years. A full timer is someone who sells their home and takes to life on the road. We meet lots & lots of full timers. Andy would like to be a full timer - he has wanderlust in his soul. I love my family & friends & home. It is a constant conversation!
So our new neighbor Bill informs us that Goodland has a famous tourist attraction - and we are parked just down the road from it. This gets me very excited - as I am a fudgie at heart.
For those of you not raised in St.Ignace, I will explain. I grew up in the best small town in America - St.Ignace, Michigan. It is a Mayberry kind of town and I am proud to be from there. It's spectacular - surrounded by water and sits at the north end of the glorious Mackinac Bridge in Michigan's upper peninsula. A popular thing for tourist to do in my hometown is to purchase homemade fudge - hence the nickname 'fudgie" substituted for tourist.. I am the ultimate fudgie when I travel!
So Bill tells us about the World's Largest Easel in Goodland, KS. It's 80 ft tall and has a replica of Van Gogh's "3 Sunflowers in a Vase" painting upon it. It faces the highway in the hopes that tourist will stop to visit. As far as Bill knows it hasn't worked - he claims the town is dead. I can't wait to see it - so Andy & I & Henry have dinner and then head out on a quest to find the painting. It is only a few blocks away - I think you must be able to see that easel from anywhere in this small town as long as you are aware to look up - its enormous! And awesome! I'm so happy we stumbled upon it - can't imagine being here and not seeing it. See for yourself:
We end our adventure by walking over to the Dairy Queen for blizzards - after all - it is Sunday. Goodland was a good stopover. Thanks Bill for the heads up about the Easel!
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