David Sipe’s Folkart

   We were driving west on US 160 in Colorado and spotted these carvings on the hillside. We had to turn around to get a better look!  David Sipes and his partner Nancy Segel, have been creating art here for about 20 years so there’s a lot to see. When we pulled into the driveway loop Nancy came out to greet us but unfortunately we had a deadline and only had time for a short chat. If you like folk art to buy or just admire this is a must stop!

  We didn’t wander around but I suspect that wheelchair access is not very good.

   Navigating around the driveway loop should be possible with most RVs. There’s also room to park along the side of the road. Art  37.32351, -108.35314

Sauls Creek Dispersed Camping

  British Petroleum has gas well leases in this section of the San Juan National Forest.  We were expecting ugly, torn up forests and were pleasantly surprised to find beautiful, healthy trees and grassy meadows. The network of roads all lead to gas wells but the wells are mostly hidden in the trees. This is a popular area and since we arrived late in the afternoon the camping spot that we found was close to the road and dusty. The little dots along the roads on this map indicate that camping is allowed on the roads open to all vehicles.

  Some spots are very nice. The first ones are large and easy to access but are also sloped and dusty so scoping out the other spots is a good idea. Boondocking  37.23726, -107.5426

Giant Buffalo Bill and Buffalo

  The statues are located on a small hill at the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center. The cultural center is really just a visitor center with  Kansas state maps, brochures, and a  gift shop but it’s one of the nicest ones that we’ve seen, featuring plush seating, free WiFi, and free coffee. A large interpretive panel outside has historical information about Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley.

  The visitor center and the interpretive panel are accessible.  A long ADA compliant ramp climbs up to the base of the statue.

The parking lot is large enough for any RV. Cultural Center  39.12682, -100.86917

Wolf Creek Pass Overlook

  We finally reached the mountains! US 160 climbs 2,500’ from South Fork Colorado to Wolf Creek Pass then starts an eight mile downhill run with 7% grades. The overlook is about six miles from the summit and provides sweeping views of the valley of the West Fork of the San Juan River and the surrounding mountains. 

  The view for wheelchair visitors is obstructed somewhat by a railing.

   Driving over the pass is fine with any RV-  just downshift and go slow. The overlook is at the bend of a hairpin curve. The parking lot is small with one entrance/exit and not much turning room so I don’t recommend it for long RVs. Pass  37.45028, -106.88915

Lake Como Road Boondocking

 

  Since this was just an overnight stop we took the quick, easy, and dusty spot at the informational sign clearing right off of Hwy 150. Hwy 150 dead ends at Great Sand Dunes National Park. We did not go to Great Sand Dunes because very little is accessible.  Lake Como Road continues into the mountains, getting rougher as it goes before dead ending too. There are camping spots along Lake Como Road, before it hits the mountains, where most people go if they’re planning on a longer stay. Lake Como Road  37.52197, -105.60121

Winona City Park

   Another little city park. This one doesn’t have signs identifying it as a campground for travelers but I found a couple of comments on the internet about staying overnight so we decided to try it. Long haul truckers park on the road closet to US 40 so we stayed on the opposite side of the park near the grain elevators. This may be a noisy place at times but we spent a peaceful Saturday night and went on our way the next morning. Winona  39.05759, -101.24524

Downs City Park

   As we drove across Kansas we noticed that almost every little town has a city park right along the highway. They all are similar in design - a road looping off the highway and running for about 1000’ before returning to the highway. They have trees and a rectangle of grass with picnic tables. Some have electricity. Some are free, other have a small fee.

  Downs City Park has restrooms, picnic tables, a playground, basketball court, volleyball court, Little League field, and free electric hookups. We plugged in to the electricity on the power pole and spotted more outlets on the fence posts. Stay limit is three days. Park  39.50899, -98.54148

The World's Largest Ball of Sisal Twine

      Apparently there’s a quite a competition to have the largest ball of twine, however, Cawker, Kansas will always be the winner because people can walk right up to Cawker’s ball of twine and, most importantly, they can add more twine to it! In fact, every August the town sponsors a "Twine-a-thon". :-D

  The shelter that houses the ball of twine is accessed by steps but the ball can be easily seen without leaving your vehicle.

  The parking lot is large enough for any RV. Don’t miss the restored gas station across US 24 from the ball of twine. It’s a one room hotel!  Twine  39.50921, -98.43381

Cloud County Historical Museum

       Arriving on a Friday afternoon, we found a locked door even though, according the the information online, the museum should have been opened.  Just as we were ready to drive away the curator came out and offered to give us a tour. The tour was a little rushed because she was involved in a big project but we managed to get a peek at most of the exhibits – lots of items donated by local residents including some from the WWII German POW camp located a couple of miles from Concordia, Kansas.

 

   A wheelchair lift accesses both floors of the museum.

   All of the parking is diagonal on-the-street. It’s okay to park across the spaces. Museum  39.57073, -97.65911

Marysville City Park

  The park has four RV sites and a large grassy tent camping area. All of the sites have electricity. There’s a dump station with a potable water faucet nearby. It’s all free with a stay limit of five days.

   The sites are just gravel areas along the side of the park road with a curb that must be hopped. We were surprised at how many RVs were crowded into the four sites. Since the RVs sites were filled we parked in the playground parking lot. Park  39.83784, -96.64633