In search of railroads

Our trip to Arizona included a side trip back to Kansas.  Not that we were homesick to see those flat prairie lands once more.  John had promised a friend that he would take measurements and pictures of the remains of railroad buildings in Sharon Springs, Kansas.  Bob draws  blueprints of railroad buildings all over the US in HO scale.  John has used those to recreate the buildings in Ellis, Kansas in HO scale.

After that was accomplished we headed back into Colorado.  The scenery quickly changed as we got into the foothills of the Rockies.  And it was a dramatic change.  We spent our first night in Florence, Colorado.  A delightful little town nestled down in a valley.  The next day we were off to find the remains of a round house in Gunnison, CO.  John had heard  that someone was using it as a model to create kits in HO scale.  Getting to Gunnison involved crossing the mountains.  At one point we were over 11,000 feet high.  I could feel it as I felt I was having trouble getting enough oxygen.  There were ski resorts all along the way although most were closed.  I'm not particularly comfortable in that situation but John kept his speed reduced enough that I was able to occasionally enjoy the scenery.  It was one picture postcard view after another.

The roundhouse was non-existent in Gunnison having been torn out years ago.  Even the tracks were removed.  The city does have an enormous museum consisting of many acres of buildings.  It reminded John of Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska.  It had several train cars, automobiles, horse drawn vehicles and other memorabilia of prairie life.  He spent a couple of hours happily puttering around while I stayed in the car with the dogs and my book.

We finally drove to Montrose, CO and decided we were too tired to go further.  Driving those mountain roads is exhausting.  I did manage to find a used book store in Montrose and found a few books to take along.  I was almost finished with the one I was reading and the thought of being without a book to read  was putting me into a greater panic than riding around those twisting, curving mountain roads.  Amy will understand.