Barreling along through south and west Colorado today.  Trying to get everything wrapped up in the next three days.  Tomorrow, I should just about finish up Colorado.  Then Thursday — a little trip over to Utah to visit a friend.  Then hopefully start on Wyoming at some point on Friday.  Or something like that.

It heated up again today — upper 90s.  And when I turned Sparkle’s A/C on — it still worked — thank god!  The mountains had been so pleasantly cool these past few days.  I don’t know if there’s just a new weather pattern or things are hotter since we’re on the western side of the mountains now.  So it was back to the water today for the dogs to keep them cool.  Lots of river and lakes around despite the rather desolate, rocky landscape.

Picture time.  Leaving Pagosa Springs this morning, I found the second neon KOA sign of this trip.  Well, this one’s been repurposed — but clearly from the tent logo on top, that’s what it was.  It would have read “KOA” where it now says “POOL”:

 

 

From South Fork — love the little pots o’ gold:

 

 

Two big two-polers (my name) from Gunnison:

 

 

A goofy plastic sign from Gunnison:

 

 

Three signs from Montrose:

 

I’ve never seen a star-topper like this one before:

 

 

Two from Paonia.  Clouds usually add to the photo and make the subject look more dramatic and pretty.  But these clouds were so nice, they practically outdid the subject:

 

 

I’ve seen a number of these cute signs around Colorado.  They are used for Conoco gas station convenience stores.  I’m betting there are some in Utah, too.  This one from Fruita:

 

 

Also Fruita.  An adorable Mission style coffee kiosk:

 

 

This vehicle also in Fruita — at the Dinosaur Journey Museum:

 

 

 

We arrived in Utah at dark — just in time to see Dinah (and T-Rex — see Flickr stream tonight) lit up at night.  I guess her eyes only roll during the day:

 

 

OK — midnight here.  Good to get a good night’s sleep since I have many miles to cover tomorrow.  By the way, no tickets yet!  Only one warning.  Now I’ve probably jinxed myself.

 

Gorgeous day — many, many miles covered.  Little one and two shot towns.  If I was a landscape or cloud photographer, I would have taken thousands of photos today.  But I took less than 100.  A normal day, I shoot about 150 or 200.  About 99% of them are used either at the blog or the website.  I don’t futz around taking different angles of things.  I just stop, hop out, take one or two photos and back on the road.  Signs I usually only take one photo.  Buildings usually two.  But for something complex, I might take five.   For a one-photo stop, I’m usually there for 30 seconds.  Sometimes, like today, I’ll drive an hour or two just for that 30 second photo.  Nuts, huh?

But despite the low volume of shooting today, I’ve got a bunch of photos for you.  The day started in Salida — so let’s begin there.  Maybe the smallest Elks sign I’ve ever seen — usually they’re two or three times as big:

 

 

Also Salida and another fairly small sign.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a forked arrow tail like this one before:

 

 

Moving on to Alamosa.  Probably repainted a time or two — and there must have been neon there, too.  I’m guessing that the pole on the right was what I call a “light stick” with flashing bulbs running along its length:

 

On the building itself — this imprisoned neon sign behind wire mesh.  I believe this protection solution preceded today’s plexiglass:

 

 

I have to include this one simply because I had a Chihuaha named Spuddy.  He came with the name.  Whereas this sign was obviously changed from something else TO Spuddy:

 

 

From Fort Garland:  a Tastee-Freez cone sign lopped off from its horizontal text sign and reused here by Old West Cafe:

 

 

Also Fort Garland — this place looks like it’s been closed for a while.  I’m glad I got to see it before it gets repainted into something lifeless:

 

 

On to Alamosa.  The “Campus” is a reference to the nearby Adams State College.  We all know two signs are better than one.  The restaurant is on a side street and I guess they thought this would help make them more visible:

 

 

A funky Safeway sign & building:

 

 

Gabe’s was originally a hunting & fishing store — hence the fishie inside the circle:

 

 

Another wire mesh encased sign:

 

 

Moving on to Center.  This street light is located smack dab in the town square.  It doesn’t work anymore but I guess the town is attached to it.  The lettering on it looked 1930s or 1940s.  Seems like a crazy amount of mechanisms for what it did:

 

 

Also in Center:  a nice Art Deco number – the Haskin Medical Building:

 

 

A great freestanding neon arrow:

 

 

A quick little foray into New Mexico for some stuff that was too remote for the spring trip & closer to Colorado.  From Antonito, NM:  Cano’s Castle (aka the Jesus Castle and the Beer Can House).  Folk art obsession using hub caps & other metal stuff.  Sucky time of day to shoot it.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11786

 

 

While in Antonito —  this was a bit of a mind-blower.  Like the clock had been turned back 150 years or so.  Now, I know nothing about trains — but this was very impressive.   Seemed to be pulling a load of coal. The engineer (that is what you call them, right?) blew the whistle (I think that’s right) LOUD and there was all this smoke and craziness for a few minutes as it chugged through the intersection.  Wow!  You can ride this thing or just go visit the trains:
http://www.cumbrestoltec.com/

 

 

From Chama, NM.  The Y Motel is at a Y intersection.  Hard to shoot with the pine trees:

 

 

From Tierra Amarilla — what’s left of a Valentine diner.  Completely gutted inside.  Very sad:

 

 

From Dulce, NM with the dark clouds moving in:

 

 

We arrived at our final destination of Pagosa Springs, CO in mixed weather.  Rainy one second, sunny the next.  Guess that’s life in the mountains.  Neat double-outline neon:

 

 

And I found a big field for the kids before we called it a night.  I got this gigunda Chuck-it toy before this trip.  It comes in really handy for the hard-of-seeing Nik when the grass is deep.   It’s very light but hard to throw with my kids’ sized hands — so I mostly use it as a kickball.

 

 

And Fixie decided to pass on this outing.  “You guys go ahead, I’ll just wait here.  I’ll hold it til you find some real grass.”

 

 

More mountains tomorrow.  Probably two or three more days in Colorado and then on to the Wyoming part of the trip.  Since we arrived early, I banged through Flickr & this post and am off to bed just after 11 pm.  That’s a first!

Yep — we’re on a roll here with the sun and everything is running smoothly.   I knocked out Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, some small cities in the mountains.  We’re now parked for the night in Salida.  Ready for even smaller cities tomorrow in south and southwest Colorado.  Probably not such high volume shooting since those twisty roads take forever getting anywhere.  Lots of coffee will be needed.  So, tonight I’ll give you a nice substantial batch.

The dogs are hanging in.  Grem is still barking her head off at motorcycles and there are a LOT of them in Colorado.  But everybody else is pretty much konked out.  Fixie seems particularly tired and lags behind on our outings “oh no, a-NOTHER hike?”   The water is pretty cold so it doesn’t take much to cool them off.  Grippie has mastered the art of sleeping while sitting.  I don’t know why she doesn’t lay down — she can lean like this for hours:

 

Let’s get to it.  A whole bunch of signs for you from Colorado Springs:

 

I don’t recall seeing this one before and suspect that it’s new:

 

This sign at a former Tastee-Freez appears to be homemade — but apparently there are others out there like this one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/railbalancing/2823072056/

 

 

It looked like this place was vacant & for sale:

 

 

Supposedly, this was also a former Tastee-Freez — but I’m really not sure.

 

 

This sign I’ve been worried about.  The place had been boarded up for years.  Here’s a photo I took in 2008:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidenut/2864930221/

And today — the lot adapted for Dun Rovin’ Plaza — conveniently the same amount of letters in “Plaza” as “Motel”.  The Dun Rovin’ part no longer makes sense.  But I’m thrilled that they saved the sign.  Unfortunately, the building with those legs was demolished.  The plaza consists of a used car lot and Western clothing store.

 

Some bad news from Manitou Springs… The wonderful Navajo Gifts sign was covered up this summer.  Here’s what it used to look like:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintageroadtrip/7688361656/

And now:

 

It’s not clear if the Indian panels are still there underneath.  It looks like they might be — the shape of the “can” is the same.

I nearly forgot to include this one from Colorado Springs.   Not quite sign, not quite statue.  This cutie is from Neptune’s Lakeside Cafe:

 

The sensational El Colorado Lodge in Manitou Springs:
http://www.elcolorado.pikes-peak.com/

 

A chainsaw-carved wooden lumberjack statue from Westcliffe:

 

And last one for the night from Salida.  Freestanding neon shapes & letters thrill me.  They are little miracles of design & survival:

 

Come on back tomorrow for goodies from lots of itty-bitty places in Colorado.  And don’t forget to tune in now and then for the other photos at my Flickr stream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

I post those photos before I start working on the blog — so you’ll know that I’m alive and hard at work.  Then the blog post goes up a couple of hours later — unless I just can’t possibly keep my eyes open and have to finish up in the morning.  So far, I don’t think I’ve had to do that on this trip.

I only have one planned night off  planned.  Actually, it might be an entire day off.  I’m going to go visit a doggie friend in Moab, UT.   That’s coming up in a few days — as soon as I work my way up to Grand Junction.  I’ll let you know so you won’t think I’ve fallen off a cliff.

The sunny skies continued.  Lots of twisty windy, beautiful mountain vistas.  I think it was the Rockies — or close enough.  A real change from the past few days of city driving with endless stop lights and one way street strategies.   Sparkle’s brakes got a real workout today.  But she can handle it!

The dogs were in so many lakes I lost count.  It was hard to get Fixie to get out of the van by afternoon because she had stepped in pine needles earlier in the day.  She’s such a delicate creature.

I started shooting today in Louisville, CO.  This sign has been reworked at least twice:  formerly Pasquini’s and before that Colacci’s.  Here’s the Pasquini’s look:
http://www.boulder-buzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/pasquinis-sign.jpg

 

On to Boulder for a good chunk of the day.  I didn’t know what to make of this — just in front of the Boulder Courthouse.  This miner statue was surrounded by platters of cheese and crackers and a big empty bowl.  There were no people anywhere nearby.  And the cheese had a look like it had been sitting for at least a couple of hours, maybe overnight.  Perhaps someone made a donation to the homeless people in the park but they still hadn’t discovered it?  Or maybe this was some Day of the Dead like tribute / celebration to a dead miner in the family?  Very strange.    And I have to wonder just what was in the big bowl.

 

A couple of side-by-side strip-mall type shopping centers in Boulder.  This one with a zig-zag roofline — the next door neighbor with a curvy roof.   Lots of mid-century buildings in Boulder.   A very cool place with nature things, art things, shopping things.  I’ve been here a couple times before — but really more impressed with the whole place today.

 

A couple of signs from Longmont:

 

On to Estes Park and the Estes Ark (a stuffed animal store shaped like an ark — over at my Flickr stream tonight).  Inside was this very strange, creepy big diorama behind glass of a teddy bear family gathered round the TV.  Short clips of all kinds of animals were being shown.  There was something there called “Talking Teddy” but I’m sort of glad I didn’t meet him.  This was enough:

 

More Estes Park.  There were some very nice-looking old stone cottages and cabins behind this sign.  But too far off to make a good photo for you.  And the sun was waning so I didn’t want to waste time to trek down there.

 

A two-fer.  Actually a three-fer.  Sign, A-frame building, and glorious mountains:

 

And then it happened.  PIE!  I saw those hand-painted signs and couldn’t resist.  The Colorado Cherry Company in Pinewood Springs:
http://www.coloradocherrycompany.com/

I was tempted by the peach pie — but there was lots of fuss in the store about Bing cherries.  Bing cherry cider, jams, all that.  So I went with it.  Man, oh man.  It was maybe the best slice of pie I’ve had in my life.  No gelatinous goop.  REAL cherries, real liquid-y type filling.  Great homemade crust.

 

The kids and I arrived in Colorado Springs just before dark.  I found a big field for them to run in and get one last jolly for the day.  Grippie found spare rib bones which made her pretty jolly.   So, we’re poised for action.  I should be able to get through the Colorado Springs & Manitou Springs stuff, and then hopefully get us to some dinkier towns further south.

Another good weather day.  I tidied up the remaining things I had to shoot in Denver.  Very time-consuming stuff with traffic, one-way streets, and construction.  But… done!  Although I’ve been here before, I really got to dig in this time.   I easily have more than 500 shots from Denver alone to add to the website this fall.  Or winter.  I’m serious backed up at this point.

The dogs got some grassy parks in the morning.  A somewhat scary fast-moving river later.  And an incredible undeveloped area — maybe 50 acres? — with hundreds, if not thousands of prairie dogs.  Since it was somewhat fenced, and I knew there was not a chance of my dogs catching anything, I let them rip.  The prairie dogs were unfazed — chattering away and popping just underground when the dogs got close.   An “after” shot:

 

A few more of the “lesser” signs on Colfax — I’m already feeling nostalgic:

 

This was not my finest work.  I had crammed way too much onto the map — but it all worked out okay.  I cross stuff off as I shoot things so I’m sure not to miss anything.  There’s also the “list” that goes with the maps that plots things out in order of the most efficient route.  Also check things off there so as to not miss anything.  If you’re curious about the madness of my methods, click on the link at the righthand column of pages for “how-to plan a roadtrip”.

 

This statue is at the Denver International Airport — which is way, way far away from the city.  Truly one of the most hideous and inaccurate statues I’ve ever seen.  Huge, too.  There’s no way you can even approach it – which is pretty poor planning & placement.  You have to pull over on the superhighway on the left hand side and pray you don’t get a ticket for doing so — and don’t get into an accident pulling back out.

 

In Littleton, I found what must be one of the oldest Taco Houses:

 

More rabbits!  This one in Greenwood Village.  Practically tame.  He/she let me get about five feet away and didn’t look the slightest bit worried.  I’m glad the dogs were far away in the van.

I ended the day at Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver.  Every time I’d been to Denver before it was off-season and closed.  So I was determined to get there finally.    This time of year, it doesn’t open til 6pm on weekdays.  But that was just as well since I wanted to see stuff by day and the neon at night.  I think dusk is actually the best time to shoot since you still get shapes and lighting and silhouettes of people, etc.

First, a couple of the vintage ticket booths:

 

 

 

And there are lots of fun rides, of course.  This is not the crazy Six Flags type place with gigantic, high-tech coasters & all that.  It’s truly a vintage, fun, nostalgic, old-fashioned park.  Everybody was having a great time.  I’ll include one ride shot — I’m partial to rockets & spaceships:

 

 

And now for some neon and ambiance:

 

 

And so.  Lakeside was the perfect way to bid farewell to Denver.  Tomorrow, it’s on to Boulder and eventually south to (or near) Colorado Springs.

What an absolutely awesome and busy day.  Sun galore!!  I shot three times as many photos as normal.  I was a demon — fueled by the possibility that it might rain later than afternoon or tomorrow.  But checking the forecast tonight, it looks like another glorious day ahead.  Today, there was only about two hours of clouds — and not bad timing for what I was shooting at the time.

I didn’t neglect the dogs despite my record-setting pace.  They got a good early morning run at a huge grassy church lawn.  On these hot days, I try to wear the buggers out while it’s cool and then have little mini pee & play sessions a few times during the day.  Ideally, another big run just after I stop shooting at dusk.  Mid-day today, we checked out the Josephine Dog Park which is right off the main drag of Colfax.  There is only one big area.  So there’s no way to separate yourself from “problem dogs” (aggressive or ball-stealing types, marauding packs).  Most people at these dog parks come to “hang out” with their dogs.  But what that really means is they come to talk to each other and barely interact at all with their dogs.  Which means their bored dogs flock to me since I have treats and toys and happy active and interesting dogs.  Those dogs tend to be three times the size of mine.  Which means Grippie, the blind dog, gets bumped around.  Nik, the nearly blind dog, gets his toys stolen.  Grem can hold her own with the big dogs although she’s 100 times smaller than them.  Fix goes to find laps and petting from strangers.  Since Grem’s recall has gotten pretty damn good over the years, I don’t really need dog parks to contain her.  But today I saw a lot of rabbits — yes, rabbits in downtown Denver.   So… I thought it best to play it safe so Nik and Grem didn’t go on any hunting expeditions and cut into prime shooting time (or worse).

So, things were pretty calm at this dog park today.  Only a few interested big dogs which seemed to already be hot and tired just from being there.   I let my dogs run until their tongues were dangling on the ground.  Then back in the A/C after a dousing them all with water from the van.  No kiddie pools or fountains at this park.  But so handy that I’m sure we’ll be back:
http://www.doggoes.com/parks/colorado/denver-area/josephine-dog-park-interim

Sparkle’s running great.  By the way, I spoke with the Firestone Illinois district manager — and then the Albuquerque district manager.  I won’t be getting the full $788 back for the improper A/C hose installation back in May.  But they’re sending me a check for half that — which is more than I expected.  So I got the hose replaced twice — the second time for free and the first time at half-price.  Of course, nothing can compensate for the time (six hours in ABQ; about 12 hours in Illinois).  For a hose.

Enough talk.  Lots of photos for ya.   I’m pretty sure all these shots are from Denver.  These are the killer blue skies I started the day with:

Such a wild sign — no idea what it said originally.  Evidently, this was a gas station.  There was a Husky station sign on the lot but the pumps were gone:

Visible from the interstate and I’m nearly always having an accident gawking down at it.  So I’m glad to see it up close and be safer now:

J

ust another wonderful neon bulb liquor sign.  Clouds making creamy blue backgrounds by mid-day:

 

Who could not love a giant hammer:

 

Or a giant pigeon:

 

Denver is chock full of great Art Deco buildings:

 

Every roadtrip, I include at least one parking garage sign here at the blog.  So here’s this trip’s contribution:

 

From a Rite Aid store downtown — a modern mortar & pestle:

 

A ghost sign downtown:

 

Another ghost sign north of downtown.  So many of these signs around the country have been repainted — and since this one faces south for daylong sun, I suspect that if it is authentic, it’s been retouched, a lot.  Still, fun stuff:

 

From the Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Building — an incredible Gothic style Art Deco building with painted murals and other fancy details:

 

I don’t know if this sign always advertised for Gold Star Sausage.  I’m betting not:

 

Maybe the coolest bulb liquor store sign I’ve ever seen.  OK, maybe in the top 20.  I’m sure it isn’t lit anymore but what really turns me on is the shape of that arrow:

 

Starbucks abound in Denver.  Like on every corner.  Denver-ans must need lots of coffee during those long winters?  They also seem to smoke a lot.  Like in no other city I’ve seen.  And there’s also all those medical marijuana stores everywhere.  Lots of homeless people.  But really, I love this town.  Maybe as much as Chicago.  But I’d never live in either of these places because of the COLD.  I don’t know how people do it.  Anyhow, it seems not as much as they used to, but Starbucks has done a lot of repurposing of buildings.  This one was a former Red Barn:
http://www.barnbuster.net/

 

More signs:

 

I imagine this one had a lot of wood grain originally:

 

This, that and the other:

 

After a hard day’s work, I treated myself to some quiche which I acquired at the Botanic Gardens.  I know you cheated and already looked at the photo and assumed it was cheesecake.  White and green asparagus and a couple kinds of cheese.  It was rich enough to be cheesecake.  The dogs agree.  I’m really watching the sugar and fat these past few months.  So, this was quite an indulgence.  And by next year, I may have finally gone vegan so my roadtrip food photos will go further downhill to shots of carrots or tofu chunks.

 

OK then — we’re all full and happy and tired here.  I might be able to wrap up Denver tomorrow or by Saturday morning if the sun continues to cooperate.  I think I’m pretty much on schedule.  But we’re not even halfway through this trip yet.

Don’t forget about the “higher quality” subjects & photos over at Flickr from today as well:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

The day started out sunny and full of promise.  But by early afternoon, the usual happened:  clouds moved in and the grey commenced.  With some on and off rain.  I tried to be patient and wait and relax.  But that’s just not my style.  I would pull over, watch the clouds, with my brain pacing.  I’d shoot and grimace at the viewfinder.  Give up and try to take a nap.  But then a ray of sun would appear and I’d jump out — too late, sun gone.  I shot a lot in the grey anyway.  Which means those photos will be placeholders at my website til I can get here again and replace them.  And, you know how it is, a lot of this stuff might be gone by then.  So, best to shoot now regardless of conditions.  Unfortunately, the predictions are for more of the same, or worse, for the next couple of days.

Here’s the innocent way the day began — ah, clouds, sun, blue, shadows, color….   From Lakewood:

 

 

From the Lakewood Heritage Center which has a lot of neat relocated buildings and other stuff:
http://www.lakewood.org/heritagecenter/

This gas station is a recent addition — info about it in the next photo:

 

 

From Denver (yes, at a curve in the road):

 

 

This one in Englewood is a mystery to me.  I don’t remember seeing it before — but then it wasn’t painted these bright colors — see Google Street View:
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=4155+South+Broadway+englewood+co&hl=en&ll=39.641454,-104.987851&spn=0.00352,0.006244&sll=39.641475,-104.988165&layer=c&cbp=13,287.2,,0,-6.93&cbll=39.641366,-104.987857&gl=us&hnear=4155+S+Broadway,+Englewood,+Colorado+80113&t=m&z=17&panoid=0U9GWb0SZRk9lVjaBXNzOw

Maybe a restaurant originally?  Not a clue:

 

 

Also Englewood:

 

 

From Denver:

 

 

Also Denver — not sure what that “Wheel” on top means:

 

 

Detail from the long-closed Webber Theatre in Denver — later Kitty’s South (adult books, videos & entertainment).

 

 

More Denver – with the weather getting progressively worse:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last one for the night — from Glendale where I ultimately gave it up for the day.  The Riviera bar is gone but the new restaurant, Las Delicias, has kept the sign and added panels below with their name.  Thank you!  And the pigeons thank you, too.  An old photo here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chi_cowboy/3062390001/

 

 

That’ll do it for today.  If not for the  fact that I’m trying to take photos, the weather is quite tourist-friendly.  Highs in the 90s, lows at night in the 60s.  Rain cooling things off mid-day.  Helpful if you’re one of those orange cone workers — god knows, we’ve had our share of construction work detours on this trip.  Tis the season.  And today south of Denver — TWICE I got held up for about half an hour at an intersection because of a crawling, stopping, backing up, 20 mile-long train.  What’s with that?  They can’t build a bridge for cars or the train?  I guess locals think it’s normal but it seems so 1800s to me.  Night.

 

Weather looked kinda gloomy this morning .  So, we went to check out a dog park in Brighton.  It had a nice little marshy area which was fun for the kids to splash and explore.  Real nature inside a dog park — the way it should be.  Some of them can be so flat and lifeless.

And then out came the glorious sun.  It blessed me all day long except for an hour-long downpour in the afternoon.  Then back at it — shooting til 8pm.  Had some trouble getting on-line tonight.  And so, now — very, very late.   After midnight & I might not make it through.  [I didn’t — had to finish in the morning — sorry to keep you in suspense.]

No need for talk — it’s the photos you want.  From Northglenn:

 

 

From Commerce City:

  

 

More Commerce City:

 

 

I love these little guys (prairie dogs) — but I guess I wouldn’t if I had a yard around here.  They make Gremmie bonkers with their little noises and tunnels.  I can barely get her to pee in Colorado because she’s spending the whole time scanning for these noisy rats.

 

From Denver proper:

 

At the Riverside Cemetery — this log cabin gravemarker:

 

The storm had just passed in Arvada — the sun behind me; dark clouds behind the sign:

 

From Golden:

 

I usually don’t include nature shots — but this was pretty incredible.  A little drive up to see the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison takes you through an otherwordly landscape:

 

Back to Denver proper:

 

 

Fun fonts:

 

I’ll close with a couple of night shots for you.  This from Denver:

 

Last one from Aurora:

 

More Denver area tomorrow — and most likely the next day, too.  And don’t forget, there are lots more photos from today — and every day on this trip over at Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

Today was all about remote eastern stops in Colorado.  A very low volume day.  And then the rain clouds moved in upon us in the afternoon.  All day long I could see the black clouds hovering over Denver.  Big green patch on my iPhone indicating thunderstorms in and around Denver.  So, no rush to get there!  To the west, beautiful white clouds — the benevolent, non-interfering with the sun type.  To the east — horrors — sci-fi movie scary.  The dark clouds chased us all day and ultimately triumphed.  Hopefully, it will be better tomorrow.  Tonight, those clouds have either exhausted themselves or moved on.  I know the crops and livestock here all need the rain so I won’t whine too much.

So, a very quick sampler for you tonight.

From Sterling where the day began.  Shooting into the sun so the background is wiped out.  I’m assuming mid-century but not positive:

 

From Brush, CO — the Kozy Kort Motel.  I don’t know what the purpose of that top mesh covering was.  But evidently, it’s been there a long time.  This undated eBay postcard shows the sign when it was green and still had the TV panel:
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Kozy-Kourt-Motel-Brush-CO-Postcard-1-3-/00/s/MTAyOVgxNjAw/$(KGrHqF,!ksE7!N-quvbBO8VWQcVY!~~60_57.JPG

 

From Fort Morgan.  Apparently, one pole sign was not enough.  The other one there to the right has a more modern AAA-approved sign.  I can’t imagine that the second sign was built for that.  Must’ve been some other “announcement”?  Like “pool” or “color TV” or something?

 

And then.  Here they come.  In Simla, while shooting the mid-century elementary school.  Sinister, no?  (the clouds — not the buildings!)

 

So.  We are parked for the night here in Brighton — with big plans for the Denver area for the next two or three days.  The forecast for tomorrow looks good — fingers & toes crossed.

We had a swell time in Nebraska these past couple of days.  Today, we left with a whimper though.  All grey pretty much all day.  And then late afternoon, Colorado gave us a wet welcome.  Turned into torrents so I had to call off shooting around 6pm.  But it’ll be good to get a couple more hours of sleep tonight.  I’m nearly two days ahead of schedule — so I’ll be taking my time.  If it rains, we stop and wait.  And I’m not going through the massive amounts of Denver area stuff unless we’ve got sun.  We should be in Colorado for at least a week.

The dreary day began in North Platte.  I even waited out holes in the clouds for nearly two hours.  Playing in the river with the dogs.  But the sun just never happened.    You can see the dilemma in the background in this shot.  The Hub sign appears to be reworked or refurbished.  The sign company signature lower right is modern.

 

 

Still in North Platte.  The “Scout” panel appears to be backlit plastic.  Looks like it always was:

 

 

From Paxton.  It’s hard to tell if this has always been the Ole’s Big Game Bar.  That lightning bulb makes me suspicious that this was originally an electric company or some such sign originally.

 

 

From Ogallala.  This one has a lot going on!  The letters must have been neon originally.  The background has a very cool 3-D ribbon-like design:

 

 

I had never been to Alliance before — so I felt compelled to go check out Carhenge while there.  I dunno.  Didn’t do it for me — but I know a lot of people adore it:
http://www.carhenge.com/about_us.htm

 

 

 

This work of art in a front yard in Alliance appealed to me more:

 

 

In Angora.  I don’t know what this building was — cafe, part of a motel? — but it was both pretty and sad there all alone.

 

 

In Minatare — apparently, long closed:

 

 

Let’s pause to give thanks to Sparkle.  More than 4,000 miles so far on this trip — and nearly four weeks to go.  More than 322,000 miles on her and I don’t give it a second thought.

This is at Lake Minatare.  I just beaches where you can drive on the sand.  Yes, the kids got to run and swim.  You can just barely make them out waiting in the van in this photo:

 

 

A bunch of stuff from Scottsbluff.  I’d never been before so that’s always super fun for me:

 

 

I had to patronize Scotty’s (see Flickr photos tonight).  Went with the grilled cheese and onion rings.  The small portions suited me just fine.  I think this was about $3.  The white bread was super crunchy and buttery at the same time (how’d they do that?).  And the onion rings were crunchy tasty.  Onions are supposedly toxic to dogs — but I always give them a bite of everything I eat.  They say dogs have less taste discrimination than we do (made up for with their better hearing and sense of smell).  But I don’t believe it.  You should see their faces light up when they get fried anything.

 

 

A couple more signs from Scottsbluff:

 

 

From Bridgeport.  A supermarket chain — but I’ve never seen their adorable signs in person before:

 

 

From Sidney — not much left here — but still beautiful.  Looks like it said “Bowl for Health” on top:

 

 

Also Sidney.  I had read that the Wilson & Tobin drug store would be taking their signs with them to their new location at installing them there.  I’m not real pleased with the results.  Here’s the old location:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mytravelphotos/6911161047/

 

 

 

And one more — to prove we made it to Colorado — and  just before the major downpour.  From Julesburg.  This sign has me scratching my head.  I stared at it quite awhile.  Surely, it must be repurposed.  But the letters appear to have been cutout & possibly backlit.  I don’t know — too tired to agonize over it right now.

 

 

Alright — pull out all the stops for us with your travel and weather gods.  Enough grey & rain.  I’m eager to get serious tomorrow.