Somehow in our travels we kept missing the Rocky Mountains. Maybe it is 
Two cafes in one
because we spent almost 20 years with the dramatic peaks of the Sierra Nevada visible from our kitchen window in Inyokern. We both find we miss seeing mountain scenery and learning about the people and places tucked away between one range and another. This summer, fleeing the heat blanketing most of the United States, we went North to the Rocky Mountains.
We began to be aware that we were in new surroundings when the fields along the highway stopped holding corn and cotton and became pastures filled with cattle. The vegetation, as we moved higher and farther west, was increasingly full of drought-tolerant flora: sage, rabbit bush (which made us sneeze), creosote bush, yucca and so on. We occasionally spotted pronghorn antelope in some of the pastures (they like the rich forage ranchers make available to their cattle). We saw lots of signs for elk crossing as the altitude increased, but our one elk sighting was in a field close to a town! 
A luxury camping rig
A coyote ran right in front of our pickup, but we didn't see a single bear.
In the mountains, the towns are separated by creeks and rivers and streams and enormous mounds of rock which occasionally slide onto the highway. People living in mountain towns stay right there except for special events or shopping trips, so, in those towns large enough for permanent survival we could find gas stations, a couple of cafes, and motels. We try to take a walk every morning, and have had great good luck finding appealing walks just about everywhere.
We have found several two-in-one restaurants, like the one where we had lunch one day in Miles City, Montana: The Hole-in-the-Wall has a connecting door into the 600 Cafe. Here, for example, the hostess will ask "do you want the restaurant or the bar?" and you have your choice of both although only the bar will display bottles of liquor. We chose the bar side because that was where the excellent salad bar was to be found!
Independence Rock
Miles City is also the site of a lovely local lake. We walked the perimeter one morning, past a couple of fishermen and a woman who was throwing a stick for her dog to swim out and retrieve. We were almost back to our truck when we saw her load the stick into her car and drive off, the dog chasing after the car. Finally, all tired out and dried from his swim, he was allowed back inside and they left.
Montana is fighting a series of enormous wildfires; the air was so thick with smoke that it was smoggy through parts of Wyoming and the Dakotas as well as nearly all of Montana, and ashes could be seen on the ground and on vehicles as a dusty layer.
In town, we saw an elegant camper pulling an equally elegant jeep. The company is called Earth Roamer and their vehicles sell for approximately the cost of a small California house. Judging by the photos on the Internet, 
Cameron Pass
roughing it with this equipment would be so comfortable, one would hardly have to go outdoors.
In Casper, Wyoming, we found our walk in the center of the city, where the old railroad tracks had been removed and the path landscaped and enhanced with monuments. The monuments featured general education. A series of historical signs began with the ten commandments and proceeded past the Magna Carta to the Bill of Rights. A series on war and warfare featured customs and traditions of the various military branches. Probably the best set of monuments for education about government and military service that we've seen.
Of course, one of the great attractions of the West is the geology. Leaving Casper, we passed Independence Rock near Alcova, Wyoming. The immense monolith stands out from the desert floor, and attracted the first wagon trains heading west in the 19th century. The signatures of some of the pioneers are still visible.
Annual flower garden
Entering the Rocky Mountains, we drove across Cameron Pass, almost 11,000 feet high (we were beginning to feel the effects of high altitude by this time). We were struck by being almost at treeline, and delighted by seeing the early autumn colors (yellow and orange, no red) in the trees nearby.
Our most colorful morning walk took place in Fort Collilns, Colorado, where we explored the Floral Trial Garden, developed and maintained by the horticulture department at Colorado State University, with the aid of flower seed companies. Each year they plant an assortment of annual flowering plants and study which ones perform best at the high altitude of the university.
We drove through the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, a gorgeous collection of red stone pillars and posts rising up among the rolling hills. Sorry we don't have a picture to show!
We stayed in Alamosa, Colorado, in the remarkably flat San Luis valley 
Great Sand Dune and Medano Creek
near where the Rio Grande river rises in the San Juan mountains. We were interested that this oldest part of the state has tiny communities settled by early Spanish settlers, and today many of these tiny towns boast large Mormon churches.
Near Alamosa, we found the Great Sand Dunes National Park and were greatly impressed. There is a strong prevailing southwesterly wind, which blows towards the area of the dunes, which are nestled near the base of another range, so the water flows down from the northeast. Over the millenia, this back and forth erosive action of the elements has created the highest sand dunes in North America. We decided we were too old to clamber up the dunes, and the wind was discouragingly strong and cold. Still there were many who attempted the uphill slog. It's possible to rent boards to use as sleds for downhill sliding, at a nearby store. One of the fascinating aspects of these dunes is that they are so close to Medano Creek and its watery habitat.
Cumbres and Toltec Railroad
We were driving out of the high mountains when we were startled by the picture-book-perfect sight of a steam engine pulling a half-dozen cars along the side of the Rio Chama. Continuing down the pass we saw another steam train, this time pulling freight cars. Down the hill we came into the town of Chama, New Mexico, where three or four more locomotives were putting out puffs of steam and preparing to haul dozens of eager tourists on excursion rides. Chama is the headquarters of the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad, which operates a train station with several lines of track and oh, all those beautiful old steam trains. When we return we will stay a while in Chama just to enjoy all the railroad history.
We planned this trip to avoid the largest of the tourist centers and found plenty of sights to intrigue us and give us pleasure. We have learned that there are always new things to see and do in each new town. And it's the learning that keeps us young!