Colorado

We're back from our trip, and want to thank everyone for the tips. We did end up using several of them.

Day 1: We left LaCrosse, Wi about 8 am, got to Watkins-Mill state park just North of KC by 2 or 3. Leaving us plenty of time to grill up our dinner before heading to the Royals game. The park was quite nice, not too crowded, and had a keypad operated gate to let campers in after hours.

Day 2: We made the long drive to the Denver area. We left around 10, but made it to our campsite with plenty of daylight to spare. We ended up staying in the Pike National Forest just south of Denver. We had lots of room to spread out, but we were very close to an off-road path that was used by ATVs at 6 am.

Day 3: We drove into Denver and saw an afternoon game at Coors. Nice Park that's easy to get to, and since it was a Sunday we got to park on the street for free. It was a very hot day so we eventually moved back from our seats close to the field and into an area with a little more shade. After the game we headed up to RMNP, taking I-70 west to 119, which took us through a spectcular canyon and a very scenic drive to our eventual resting point, Longs Peak campground inside RMNP. The park was nice, and tents only which I enjoy, although at $20 the price was a bit too steep for my taste considering the only facilities the place had were running water and pit toilets.

Day 4: We drove to Estes Park, stopped at a Laundromat for a (much needed) $4 per person shower, before driving back into RMNP. We drove the old gravel road through the park, spending a little time at the top of the mountain, before heading back down the west side. After a poorly marked detour took us into the town of Granby, we stopped at a little league park to play some home run derby in the thin air. After launching a few balls into the street, we continued on, swinging through Henney where we stopped to take a picture of a fishing shop called Master Bait and Tackle. We ended up driving through Breckenridge, camping in a national forest campground in Park County near Fairplay (home of South Park City).

Day 5: We drove down to Royal Gorge Bridge, perhaps the biggest rip-off I've ever seen. They charge $20 a person to see the damn thing. We approached from the south, and were about to turn around when the toll booth guy gave us a "deal" and only charged us for 2 people. Yes, the bridge and the gorge were impressive, but the ridiculous overcharging completely soured the experience. I think you might be able to see the area from the north side without entering the "park" As we were leaving we also saw a billboard for $9 train rides through the gorge, which would have been a much better deal. After leaving rip-off city, we worked our way back towards Sand Dunes, driving close to the wildfires west of Pueblo, and up and over a gravel pass near Gardner. We camped out at San Luis S.P., but spent the evening in Alamosa where we had dinner and watched the All-Star game.

Day 6: We drove into Sand Dunes N.P., we took the primitive road back quite a ways. My Tribute didn't have any problems getting through, but we did have to get out an give a hand to a Jeep that got stuck a couple of times. After taking a quick tour, we were back out on the road, we headed south into New Mexico. we took a variety of two lane roads, eventually ending up on I-40 near Texas. We spent the night in Amarillo, staying in a motel for the only night of the trip because we wanted to hit a few bars and the nearest state park was 20 miles from the city.

Day 7: On to Oklahoma. We continued on I-40 to OKC where we headed North on I-35 and then across on a two lane road through Stillwater as we tried to avoid toll roads. We camped at Keystone State Park, a very nice place just outside of Tulsa. We drove into town for a Drillers game, that was won by Tulsa in the bottom of the 9th, and had a few drinks afterwards. After having a few more beers around the campsite and realizing it was 4:30 am, we decided to change our trip at this point. Since we didn't know what time we'd get up and since the Cardinals game was close to a sellout, we decided to head north and back to Iowa instead.

Day 8: Remarkably we were back on the road by 10:30, Taking I-40 to Missouri, up US-71 to KC, and back on I-35 to Des Moines. Despite the 450 mile trip, we made it with plenty of time to see the Iowa Cubs play the Omaha Royals. However we continued to have bad luck with Iowa state parks, where all of their campsites are shoulder to shoulder with absolutely no room for quiet, and overzealous park rangers who are far more concerned about 3 guys in their mid-20's legally having a beer than they are about the many small screaming children who think playing around other peoples' tents is a good idea. This wasn't our first bad experience with an Iowa state park, so we will likely be trying to avoid them in the future at all costs.

The trip ended up a day shorter than planned, but still very much a good time. Overall, we probably spent about $400 on gas alone, with prices ranging between 2.50 in New Mexico and 2.05 in Des Moines. I managed to cross two states off my list: Oklahoma and Texas, I only need the Carolinas and Idaho to complete the lower 48.

Sounds like a great trip! One of my dream roadtrips is hitting all major league parks in one season. It's cool that you took in some non-major league games as well. Were those AAA clubs?

Thanks for the interesting report.

Actually one game was Triple-A (Omaha at Iowa), the other was Double-A Texas League (Frisco at Tulsa).

Oddly enough, at least 2 players we saw just last week are now Major Leaguers. Jason Dubois of the Iowa Cubs was traded and called up by Cleveland tonight, while the starting pitcher for the Frisco Roughriders CJ Wilson just got a callup from the Texas Rangers.

Cool...you must have brought them luck. Isn't it unusual for a AA player to get called all the way up to the Majors? (sorry to threadjack this into a baseball conversation)

Its not really that uncommon anymore. AAA has kind of gotten a reputation as a slower league for washed up major leaguers and prospects who are close to big league ready, but might not ever make it. A lot of teams are now playing their best young prospects at AA and having them skip AAA altogether.

Hmmmm, I didn't know that. I haven't been following baseball as closely the last couple of years as I did for awhile. When your team turns to crapola, it's hard to be as enthusiastic about following things. I don't have the patience of the fans in Boston, I guess. :-)