Friday, August 19, 2005
The Junction RV Park, Ordway, CO - Aug 18-19
We found this RV park by calling the Ordway Chamber of Commerce. It is located behind a service station at the intersection of CO 71 and CO 96 in Ordway (which, we suspect, IS the Ordway C of C). With lots of trees and good-sized sites, it's a great place if you need to stop in this area. Sure beats the KOA in La Junta for price! There were two reasons for this stop, one being we needed a stop no more than 200 miles from St Vrain State Park in Longmont (our actual destination) that was not on I-25. We don't like traveling the interstate through Pueblo, CO Springs & Denver, preferring the route north via the plains to Limon, then I-70 to Bennett, and to Longmont via CO 79 and CO 52. This is much less stressful on driver, navigator and cats!
Bent's Old Fort in La Junta was the second reason for this stop. We had read of it often but had never been able to visit. Bent's Old Fort was basically a fortified trading post, built by Charles & William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain on the Santa Fe Trail near a ford across the Arkansas River, the boundary between the US and Mexico at that time. It was built and located to take advantage of trapping, hunting and various trade routes. It was the only place between Independence, MO, and Santa Fe, NM, where travellers could refresh themselves and their livestock, repair wagons and replenish supplies. The old fort was active until 1849, when it is thought that William tried to burn it. He constructed Bent's New Fort about 40 miles downriver in 1853. In 1920, the DAR was given 4.5 acres that contained the fort ruins and erected an archway near the site's entrance. In 1954 the State of CO purchased the land for the CO Historical Society, and in 1960 Bent's Old Fort was designated a national historic site. After much research into the old fort, reconstruction began on May 27, 1975 using a custom built machine capable of producing 4,000 adobe bricks per day, creating a total of 160,000 bricks, each measuring 4x9x18 inches. The site was completed and opened to the public on July 25, 1976, just in time for the Colorado centennial. When touring the fort, there are costumed docents to answer questions and give guided tours.The town of Rocky Ford, famous for producing cantaloupes, is located between Ordway and La Junta. We found many stands open and were able to purchase a freshly picked delicious cantaloupe. Unfortunately, it was enjoyed by only Willie, since Doug detests them.
# posted by Doug and Willie @ 8:00 PM 
