help taking trip from dodge city to the colorado rockies?? (Garden City: rent, place to live)

[1newyorkguy]

I'm flying to Dodge for a couple months on Monday from LA. After that I want to travel back to LA via the Rockies...anyone have any tips on cheap travel? I won't have a car and renting one in dodge and dropping it off in another state is crazy expensive..at least a 100 a day.

I'm thinking of maybe taking Amtrak to La Junta, CO..renting a car and driving up to the rockies. then dropping it off in Denver and flying back to LA. I would prefer to take Amtrak all the way to Vegas and thn LA from there, but that would involve way too much bus riding time from what I've seen.

[Jim West]

Why would you only take AmTrak to LaJunta? La Junta is almost 100 miles from the mountains. On a very clear day, you can see the tops of two mountains from there. Why not ride to Pueblo which is on the edge of the mountains. You could take a car from Pueblo and take US50 up to Salida then north to Buena vista, then catch the other road back into Denver by way of Fairplay, or, go on over by Leadville and down to I-70 and back into Denver. That way, you have seen the heart of the Rocky Mountains. That area is the grandest and most majestic of all the Rockies south of Canada.

I suggest this route. You can make the loop from Pueblo to Denver in a day if you just drive, or you can spend as many days as you like. There are wonderful natural hotsprings at Salida and Buena Vista. You might get up there and want to stay. Jobs are not frequent in that area, though.

[1newyorkguy]

because the amtrak route that goes from dodge city only stops in la junta in CO

[Jim West]

Check again. Amtrak from the East (Dodge) meets up with Amtrak from the North (Denver) at Pueblo. There is an Amtrak station at Pueblo. The trains then come south to Albuquerque and beyond. I know personally that there is a station at Pueblo, but please check their website again for station listings.

[1newyorkguy]

I could only find one station in Dodge..to get to Pueblo, it drops you off in Ranton, NM and then buses you up to Pueblo. That doesn't make any sense since La Junta is closer to Pueblo.

[Jim West]

AAAARRRGGGGHHH---you are right, they changed it. Used to go into Pueblo.

Least cost would be for you to hitch a ride to Garden City, and catch the air shuttle to Denver. I havent ridden it for about 2 years, I dont know if it is United Express, Scare Midwest, or Air Mid Maybe. You should be able to get a shuttle ride to Denver for a bit over $100. Get a car in Denver and loop down I-25 to Pueblo and take the US50 up the canyon. You have not seen the mountains if you dont. Skip the Royal Gorge, it is a terribly expensive and time killing side. You can go up the way I suggested and back into Denver by either of two routes. That route takes you up the Continental Divide and past about 20 fourteeners.

That is Raton. It is Spanish for Rat Town. Early travelers on the Santa Fe trail named it.

Enjoy

[1newyorkguy]

take the US50 to where?

what would you suggest as far as cheap lodging?

[la junta econ devel]

Originally Posted by 1newyorkguy

I'm flying to Dodge for a couple months on Monday from LA. After that I want to travel back to LA via the Rockies...anyone have any tips on cheap travel? I won't have a car and renting one in dodge and dropping it off in another state is crazy expensive..at least a 100 a day.

I'm thinking of maybe taking Amtrak to La Junta, CO..renting a car and driving up to the rockies. then dropping it off in Denver and flying back to LA. I would prefer to take Amtrak all the way to Vegas and thn LA from there, but that would involve way too much bus riding time from what I've seen.

Another scenic alternative would be to ride Amtrak to La Junta. Rent car in LJ (www.VisitLaJunta.net/travel.html for phone number). Might even check out the nation's longest set of dinosaur tracks, Koshare Indian Museum, Otero Museum, Bent's Fort National Historic site there. You could then take Famous 50 (nation's longest coast to coast highway...3,073 miles from Ocean City, Md to Sacramento, CA) through Pueblo to Canon City and then to Salida and over Monarch Pass to Gunnison. From there you could go on to Grand Junction, and then take I-70 back in to Denver through Glenwood Canyon. Leave the car at DIA and fly over what you drove through!

You could shorten it by going north on 285 at Salida into Leadville and then over Independence Pass into Aspen, or straight up to Vail.

Whatever you decide, you can't go wrong in Colorful Colorado.

Just to put La Junta in perspective, we are in the Arkansas River Valley and it is true, we are about 100 miles to the mountains. We can clearly see majesty of the Sangre de Cristos, the Greenhorn Range and Pikes Peak. It is not all bad to be able to see more than 100 miles. I can get to my mountain property in 1 hour and 30 minutes....and I don't have to shovel snow or put up with the cold. I can also go 5 miles and get fresh Rocky Ford canaloupe, chile peppers, tomatoes and other fresh produce.
It is a great place to live, and a great place to work!