Going home through Monument Rocks and New Jerusalem Badlands

We left Denver.  It was a foggy morning and we drove through it for about an hour before it cleared up. 

A few years ago, we had driven through fog where there had been a fatal accident.  Al drove cautiously.

Hi friends from afar! Missing you in Kansas!

At Oakley in western Kansas, we turned south on 83.  We decided to stop to see the Monument Rocks and also the New Jerusalem Badlands.  

About 20 miles south on 83, you turn east toward Monument Rocks.  Follow the gravel road for 6 miles.  These are on private property.  The owner graciously allows people to come and enjoy the scenery during daylight hours.  There is no fee to go there.

Yes, this IS in Kansas!

On the backside of this chalk rock pyramid were nests of cliff swallows.  They were not too keen on us invading their spot.

Here are the mud nests they have built into the walls.

The limestone is quite soft and changes of the rock formations are seen from year to year.  They ask that you do not climb them (like you see on the historical picture).  You can see below that in a matter of time, some of these rocks will fall away.

The New Jerusalem Badlands were recently opened to the public.  We had never been there before so we knew we wanted to!  This time we took the dirt road south.  We had come in from the north.

 There were signs that the roads might not be passable if wet, but luckily we were able to get through.  The road turned west back to 83.  

We had to go a short ways back north on 83 and then there were signs to go to them.  I think we drove about 5 miles.

There was a gravel parking lot and visitors were required to purchase a daily vehicle permit for $5 or else have the annual Kansas state park vehicle pass.  There wasn't anyone there to check at the time, but evidently they do so at times.  Worth the $5!

There were a couple of trails you could take.  A short 1/4 mile trail or a longer one.  We chose the 1 1/2 mile trail.  There are also 2 hour naturalist guided hikes available but you need to arrange that ahead of time.  That would be fun!

The New Jerusale Badlands display a mile-long stretch of 100-foot-tall spires and cliffs of eroded Niobrara Chalk.

Fossils from the flood!  Just to think the world was covered with the ocean!  (You can read about it in Genesis 6-9 of the Bible.)

Well, the day was passing and we needed to get to Sylvia to visit a friend and then get home before midnight!  Al was scheduled to work the next day and he would need his beauty sleep!

Not all work in Denver

We put in a good amount of work while we were with the kids, but we also had time for some "play".

We took walks - 

If they live here long enough, perhaps Grandbaby #6 will play here!

I won't hold my breath that any subsequent grandbabies will, since I believe my daughter moves more than any other person I know!  She does not let any grass grow under her feet!!  However, there is talk of a home in the mountains, and that could be their "for good" house.   -   well, until that "mansion" in the sky!  The King James Bible calls it "mansion" but the real word is mone, meaning "a staying, dwelling, abode".   I wonder what that will look like?

"In My Father's house are many dwelling places (some versions say "room").  If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you."  John 14:3  

A promise to look forward to those who believe in Jesus and who follow Him! 

Bear loves loves loves to chase bunnies!  He doesn't catch them, but he loves the hunt!

I need to bring my big camera lens and sit down and get photos of migrating birds!

When Mindy lived here, she and I LOVED going to the Parade of Homes or just driving around looking at houses.  We did a little of that too!

She drove me to a shopping/restaurant area.  It all used to be part of Lowry Airforce base.

"The Francis B. Lowry Airfield, first established in 1937, was and is an integral part of America’s history. The War Department tasked Lowry Airfield with training more than 55,000 men annually for World War II combat. Following WWII, Lowry Airfield became Lowry Air Force Base and continued to serve the Air Force into the 1990s.

The Lowry Air Force Base was closed in 1994 as part of a national downsizing of the US armed forces. In order to ensure that the almost 1,900-acre site would be efficiently and suitably re-incorporated into the surrounding community, the Denver and Aurora City Councils approved the Lowry Community Reuse Plan. The Lowry Redevelopment Authority (LRA) was also created to acquire and redevelop the base. The Reuse Plan called for a mixed-use, master planned community consisting of tree-lined boulevards and quiet residential streets. The community would also carefully integrate office and commercial space into Denver’s newest neighborhood — to be known simply as Lowry."

Of course, eating together was part of our time together!

Then...dessert at another spot!

This place had unusual flavours, like Earl Grey Ice-cream.  Hmmm, interesting.

We ate more while we played games.

You know the saying, don't you? " "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" is a proverb. It means that without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring. The exact origins of the phrase remain unclear, though it was recorded as early as 1659. "