Fort Collins, Colorado and the Cache la Poudre River in Colorado

July 4, 2009

We are staying in Greeley, Colorado about 30-miles from Fort Collins. Our motorhome is in the Greeley RV Park with FHU, dirt interior streets some shade and an OK place. Nothing great but OK for what we need. We have stayed there before and will use it again.

Pinto beans by the pallet in Colorado supermarkets

Before we "officially" start this travel log I want to share with you something that I found fascinating. Keep in mind that we are from Florida and things are a bit different. Some things are "big-time" different. This is one of those "big-time" differences. In Florida, and indeed back east we purchase pinto beans in the dried bean section of our grocery store in those 1-pound plastic bags. Sometimes you can find a 2-pound plastic bag of pinto beans. Of course back east we do not eat pinto beans for every meal plus snacks.

Out here folks are born eating pinto beans. They don't even bother putting pinto beans in plastic bags......NO sir! They sell their pinto beans out of a huge container wheeled in with a pallet jack.

OK, enough of this pinto bean stuff. I guess you can tell that I was fascinated by the way this Wal Mart was selling pinto beans.

Now let's get into our adventure for today.

Sign on US 85 in Ault, Colorado as we turn to Ft Collins and the Cache la Poudre River

We saw this sign is in Ault, Colorado on our way to Fort Collins where we are going to follow the Poudre River high into the Rocky Mountains.

When we saw this sign we were heading north out of Greeley, Colorado on US 85. If we would have continued driving north on US 85 it would take us to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Instead we took SR 14 to the west and Fort Collins.

You will want to follow our Scenic Drive up the Cache la Poudre River on Scenic SR-14 in our Poudre River Scenic Drive Log & our Poudre Canyon Scenic Drive Log and our Comanche Peak Wilderness Log. Enjoy them all.

Joyce calling attention to a "Charmin-Plant" in the Poudre Canyon along the Cache la Poudre River

Joyce and I have been laughing about this plant for years now. When we were following the Oregon Trail one year we learned that this plant was prized by travelers on the Overland Trail as good toilet paper. Once you feel the leaf you will know why it is as soft as "charmin". Here Joyce is checking to see if the leaf is actually as soft as it supposed to be. She says it feels really soft.

Cache la Poudre River in the Poudre Canyon west of Ft Collins, Colorado

This is the Cache la Poudre River.

The Cache La Poudre River begins high in the peaks of Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park along the Continental Divide. It first flows north and east through Roosevelt National Forest before tumbling down the slopes of the Front Range. From there it meanders through the city of Fort Collins.

From its headwaters to the confluence with the South Platte River east of Greeley, the Cache La Poudre River drops 7,000 feet. Highway 14, follows much of the river, and is a scenic byway between the towns of Fort Collins and Walden. We are driving Scenic Highway 14 today.

Scenic highway 14 up Colorado's Poudre Canyon west of Ft Collins, Colorado

This is some of what makes highway 14 so scenic. Much of it is in terrain like this.

Highway 14 is also know as the Poudre Canyon Scenic Drive as well as the Poudre River Scenic Drive. Whatever, it is certainly an extremely scenic drive. High in the Rocky Mountains Scenic SR 14 enters the Comanche Peak Wilderness which is an extremely wild and beautiful place.