Day 87: Pouder Canyon

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Well, today finds us a little closer to Ft. Collins, a little further down the highway through Pouder Canyon. The mountains are very close on both sides of the road, but I believe that the Rockies are about to become history for me. I had been dreading going over them for so long that to actually be about done with them has become somewhat anti-climatic.

The bugs continue to be non-existent. I just don’t understand why they were so much a bother on the West side of Cameron Pass and no problem at all on the east side. I’m not complaining, but it is a mystery to me. The river continues to cross under the road every so often. I don’t know how many times I’ve crossed it, but I suspect it has to be at least ten times. The scenery continues to be spectacular, and the road continues to be narrow and windy.

We went through the town of Rustic today and walked by a burned out restaurant. There is another one about a hundred yards away and now they are doubly busy. It’s quite a sight to be walking among these towering hills and come upon a nice upscale, though in a rustic setting, restaurant. We have passed a lot of small primitive campgrounds that dot the road and each of them seems to be busy also. We know we’re getting close to the weekend.

I walked through a short tunnel today and it is carved out of solid rock. While walking through it I looked up and wondered what keeps the rock up there. I didn’t dilly-dally. Tomorrow, I should be walking out of the mountains and into cell phone territory. The pictures below are along Hwy 14.