Brush to Last Chance, Colorado on SR 71 in eastern Colorado

It is July 30, 2009 and we are headed back to Florida after a wonderful summer out west. We left Cheyenne, Wyoming this morning and are driving south in this travel log through eastern Colorado on SR 71 between Brush and Last Chance.

We continued south on SR 71 where we went through places like "Last Chance," Limon, and Ordway. South of Ordway we picked up US 50 and headed east through places like; La Janta, Las Animas and Lamar. In Lamar we headed south on US 287/387 which took us south into the Panhandle of Oklahoma and on into the Panhandle of Texas where we stopped in Dumas for the night. It was a long day of driving.

Brush, Colorado east of Greeley in eastern Colorado

As we turned south on SR 71 in Brush, Colorado this sign was warning us of what to expect. There aren't many places where you see signs like this, but it was not the last one we would see on this day. If you want to look for this route on a map find Brush, Colorado (it is 60-miles east of Greeley, Colorado). SR 71 heads south out of Brush through the community of Last Chance then into Limon, Colorado. The Gas they were telling us about was in Limon.

SR 71 south of Brush, Colorado in eastern Colorado

Joyce took this picture out the front window of the motorhome as we were traveling south on SR 71. We saw about 75-miles of this.

SR 71 south of Brush, Colorado in eastern Colorado

Thirty six miles south of Brush we arrived in this small community. No gas station and no stop light but there was a stop sign where SR 71 intersected with US 36 that would take us to Denver if we were so inclined.

Last Chance, Colorado

This is the name of that community. Last Chance for what, I do not know, but it was not gas. I guess it got the name when there was a gas station in town. Who knows?

Texas Montana Trail Monument in Last Chance, Colorado

We stopped at this roadside park in Last Chance. It commemorates the Texas Montana Trail that was so important in the early history of eastern Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Wild Texas long horn cattle were rounded up and driven from Texas along this trail to buyers wanting to build herds in Wyoming and Montana. Of course some of the cattle never made it to Wyoming and Montana since there were miners in the gold camps in Colorado to feed. Price was the deciding factor on whether the cattle stayed in Colorado or kept going north to Wyoming or Montana.

The book Centennial had a chapter or so dealing with moving cattle along this trail to establish herds in northern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming.

SR 71 south of Last Chance, Colorado

Traveling south out of Last Chance we continue on the last leg of our 77-miles to the next gas station. We could have taken more pictures but they would have looked pretty much like this. Remember we are traveling in eastern Colorado.

Click here to continue our journey south on SR 71 through the towns of Limon and Ordway.