road trip silliness and fun

The Indian battlegrounds were so interesting and gave us much to discuss as we traveled. 

And then places like this one, which was next door to a gas station in the middle of Wyoming, gave us a lot of silliness wherein we laughed together. We never did figure out why they had a giant Bugs Bunny, (pictured here) the shark from Jaws, Daffy Duck, and numerous dinosaurs on site. We simply enjoyed them.

We got a big kick out of the alligators in this truck, and also from the dinosaur peeking around the fence corner. Struck our sense of whimsy and silly, and we make up stories and jokes about this scene for many miles.

Colorado. Gloriously gorgeous country. Since railways were a big part of this adventure, of course we needed to ride the Pike's Peak Cog Railway. This thing is an amazing piece of workmanship. It really should not have been accomplished, but they did it and we rode it. 

At the bottom, before the ride.

During the ride up, about a third of the way, they pulled over on the way down to let us go up. 

We saw bighorn sheep! I swear the lead sheep posed for us.

From the summit, it really feels like the top of the world and that the "down" goes on forever.

 a nice stranger took our picture, then we returned the favor for her.

Could not resist this shot halfway down the mountain and totally got lucky that the flamingo came out at all. Cracked me up that it was put in a nest way up there! I'm slightly in love with the person who did this.

From Pike's Peak, we headed to Durango on Independence Day. The train was adorned with flags, and there was a small town parade just about suppertime.

This man and his little one were totally flirting with every female they saw. The other gentleman was singing America the Beautiful.

 I absolutely wanted to join this biker club. Of course, that would mean I'd need to learn how to ride. They were the Hardly Angels, with a mixed age group that looked to range from about 25 - 75. They were having a ball!

They had a calliope!

At the tail end of the parade, pun intended, was the steam cleaners who gently blasted the crowd with their hoses. The guys in these getups were having a gloriously fun time and made everyone laugh.

After the parade, we headed down to a local brewpub for dinner and a beer. Lots of fun just watching people having fun together. We continued to make up stories, and we talked with lots of folks to get their stories. The street remained closed so that a couple bands could take over. Dancing in the streets took on a literal meaning as people did just that. And the fireworks! Oh, the fireworks. Did not get pictures of them, just enjoyed.

Our country, which will always have problems, was celebrated in a grand fashion on the 4th of July in Durango.

Up next, steam trains and cliff dwellings.