After quite a hiatus of having no crazy weekend road trips, my friend and I decided to do one last one before she moved onto to bigger and better things in Texas. So waiting to the last minute we decided to head towards Southeastern Colorado, instead of the stormy West. It was a good thing too since the weather forecast called for highs in the mid eighties in Southeastern Colorado. After leaving Boulder around 11 we eventually ended up retracing part of our 2010 jaunt to the Sand Creek Massacre Site. When we visited back in January 2010, the park was closed so we didn’t get to see where the shocking historical event occurred. Luckily when we arrived this time it was open and upon arriving it just felt like sacred ground. Perhaps it was the dry hot wind or intense quietness, but one could definitely feel something there. After parking in the main dirt lot we talked to the National Park ranger for a bit and then headed to the overlook of the massacre. For those that don’t remember the incident, or have never even heard of it, here’s a quick summary from Wikipedia:

“The Sand Creek Massacre (also known as the Chivington Massacre, the Battle of Sand Creek or the Massacre of Cheyenne Indians) was an atrocity in the Indian Wars of the United States that occurred on November 29, 1864, when a 700-man force of Colorado Territorymilitia attacked and destroyed a village of friendly Cheyenne and Arapaho encamped in southeastern Colorado Territory, killing and mutilating an estimated 70–163 Indians, about two-thirds of whom were women and children. The location has been designated a National Historic Site and is administered by the National Park Service.” – Wikipedia Entry

After paying our respects we headed back down my jeep and continued on our way to La Junta, Colorado and the Picketwire Canyon Area.

2-day/1-night Trip Total: 11hrs 12mins of driving 594miles, 12+ miles hiking.