Roadtrippin' Colorado Style

An old Pepsi sign on the side of a liquor store, which is open at 8:00 in the morning. You know, for all of those Bloody Mary cravings.

Just after Blanca, CO, 160 jogs to the north a bit.

An un-standard sign spotting. And I'm not talking about the billboard.

Approaching SH 150. 150 is a north-south state highway in spite of its number. The reason is that it is a new alignment from when the number was originally assigned. It used to be an east-west road ending at SH 17 north of Alamosa.

150 leads us right to the front door of the GSDNP. Remember to go early in the morning during the summer. It's hot here.

Looking down SH 150.

Nice shot of the nothing that 150 passes through on the way to the sand dunes.

Headed back to 160 now. Interesting that Alamosa, a city far larger than anything on this sign, is not listed here.

A 2 digit sign blank used for a 3 digit route.

At the END! of SH 150.

Thar' be gaters here!

Moe San Luis Valley flatness.

I noticed that CDOT is allowing logos on their business ad signs now. Here's an example of this. I'm not sure if I like this or not.

Hard to read, I know, but that CR's number is El Rancho. Street signs not invented yet down here?

What is this? The cross between a CR shield and a regular street sign? These are all over on this stretch of 160.

Well, something's for sale. We just don't know what right now.

So what's the point of the sign? :)

This is a foldable sign for when the entire town of Creede is closed. I guess.

Approaching SH 17. 17 is an important route through the San Luis Valley. For whatever reason, US 285 hugs the western edge of the valley. Since it enters and leaves the valley in pretty much the center of it, it needs to turn to get to the western edge. SH 17 is a straight shot right up the middle of the valley. Great for bypassing the extra mileage 285 gains.

At the intersection of US 160 and SH 17.

The first reassuarance shield of 17.

Really helpful spot for the school crossing sign.

Heading south on 17 towards 160.

Some oversized arrows.

At the end of SH 17. There's no end sign present.

Another folding sign with a public service message on the outside. Inside, it probably reads watch for ice on the bridge.

Crossing the Rio Grande River. Yes, the same one that makes up the border between Texas and Mexico. Its headwaters is at the north end of the San Luis Valley.

Entering Alamosa proper. What's with the lowercase letters? That's not normal.

Just after the last pic, 160 turns south. One block later, it heads west again.

Looking down 160 approaching downtown Alamosa.

One of the traffic light masts in Alamosa. How in the world is anyone supposed to read that street sign?

Another oops! Does this sign mean there's handicapped parking here, there's handicapped crossing ahead, or what? This could be more specific.

Approaching 285. Is that another goof here? What's with the arrows?

Third oops in a row!?! 285 turns left, yes, but it also heads straight, as the last pic showed us.

What's an ex reme? Is that when you get yelled at by a former lover?

Reasuarrance shield goodness.

An abandoned Texaco. Just within the last few days, Texaco announced they were pulling out of Colorado completely. The only way you'll find the star anymore is to look for the closed stations like this one.

Oops again. We need a North banner on 285.

Bouncing over two tracks. These are so close together there's only one round warning sign posted.

Downtown Monte Vista: the next town we hit.

This is where 285 turns northward again. It's also the END! of SH 15.

We've turned south on 15. And we've apparently been transported to rural Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The first 15 reassuarance shield.

Heading back to 160/285 now. Here's more 2 digit blanks being used for 3 digit routes.

At the END! of SH 15, complete with end sign.

Looking down 285 we see another 2 digit blank being misused. At least this time they made the numbers smaller to more adequately fit the blank.