Sheep Creek Bay: Sheep Creek is one of many contributors to Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Seen is Sheep Creek Bay, framed nicely by the red cliffs and hills, which is a part of the large and long reservoir. This is near Wyoming and it is easy to visualize how the reservoir is opening up and becoming wider as it exits the deep canyons to the southern part of Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Viewpoint: A group of hikers stop at a viewpoint near the Canyon Rim Campground to view the river and canyon below. The viewpoint is near the Red Canyon Visitor Center. The river is hundreds of feet below the canyon rim and at one point is over 1,500 feet below the rim. The Flaming Gorge Reservoir was created in 1964 when the Flaming Gorge Dam was completed. Waters from the Green River began to fill the deep canyons and wider open valleys along the route of the river. Today the reservoir is 91 miles long. The rugged Uinta Mountains sits on the eastern side of the reservoir and the pine forest and canyon lands of Ashley National Forest are to the west of the reservoir. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
As I gather photos and begin Part 2 of the 2025 Year In Review, we are already rolling down the backroads in 2026. We are traveling to Houston to see Marilyn’s parents and help out as we can. On our trip to and from we will search for hidden treasures or sites within the state of Texas.
This portion of the look back at 2025 travels covers a couple of local Colorado trips, a journey to Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, and an extended trip in the fall across Oklahoma on Route 66, the 13 mile stretch of Route 66 in Kansas, a short portion of Route 66 in southwest Missouri, and a journey into the northern Ozark Mountains located nearby. After leaving Oklahoma we drove south for a family visit with a few stops along the way before returning home to Colorado in mid November.
A late summer journey took us to Grand Junction, Colo. for a week of exploration and the attending of the Peach Festival in nearby Palisade, Colo. We traveled through dinosaur country and Dinosaur National Monument before crossing into Utah.
Our sole destination in Utah was to visit the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in the northeast corner of the state. We enjoyed magnificent scenic areas within the huge recreation area which extends into southern Wyoming as well. Almost perfect weather allowed us to take in views of the canyon as well as other scenic areas within the park. Flaming Gorge is truly a boaters and fishermen paradise.
While in Wyoming we wrapped up our time at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area and traveled in a northwesterly direction as we headed to Idaho. We did make a unique discovery in the small town of Kimmerer, Wyo. as we visited the first J.C. Penney store in Kimmerer. The store opened in 1902 and was housed in two smaller locations before moving into the current location in 1929. The store has operated at that location since that time and is considered the “Mother Store” of J.C. Penney Co.
We traveled the backroads of eastern Idaho before taking a tour through a portion of Yellowstone National Park before entering Montans at Gardner, Mont. We spent a weekend celebrating a friends birthday in Montana before returning to the road. This trip was a little shorter time wise but loaded with many memorable moments and some magnificent scenic views.
Our trip across Oklahoma into southern Missouri began in mid-September. Oklahoma has the most drivable miles of Historic Route 66 boasting over 400 miles of the original roadbed. In addition to the high number of miles, there are two major museums on this stretch of the road including the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Okla. There are many well-known sites along the Oklahoma Route 66 as well. We spent almost two weeks traveling this stretch of the Mother Road and enjoying the iconic sites.
We drove the short 13 mile stretch of Route 66 in Kansas before entering Missouri. We traveled the historic highway a short distance to Springfield before visiting the northern end of the Ozark Mountains. After visiting the Ozarks we traveled south toward Texas where we stopped along the way at several locations. Our return to Colorado provided a few more stops before we arrived home in mid-November.
2025 was a special year for us and our RV travels as it marked our 10th year of RV travel. We bought a used RV in 2015 because we weren’t sure if we would like this style of travel. Well, 10 years later and now on our third Pleasure Way van, we are back on the road with no plans to quit!
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Kemmerer Store: The Kemmerer store is known as the Mother Store of J.C. Penney Co. and features typical merchandise as well as many historical items. Shown is a view of the store’s interior which was typical of the stores built in the early years of the company. The Mother Store of J.C. Penney Company opened in 1929 in Kemmerer, Wyo. and still exists as a typical Penney’s store with several historical features from the early days of the company. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Chairs: The Oklahoma City bombing took place 30 years ago on April 19,1995 when Timothy McVeigh drove a rented truck filled with fertilizer to the front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City and exploded the truck taking down the entire building and killing 168 people. The heart of the Oklahoma City National Memorial is the display of 168 bronze and granite chairs that rest on a glass base. Inscribed on the front glass panel of each chair is the name of an individual who perished on April 19, 1995. The chairs are displayed in nine rows, which indicate the nine floors of the Murrah Building. Shown are the chairs and reflection pool as seen from the terraced landscape on the north side of the pool. This visit was emotional and moving but we both were able to visit the memorial. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Boots Court: Boots Court Motel sits near downtown Carthage, Mo. on Route 66 and Highway 71. Built in the 1930s and opening in 1939, the motel became a popular stopping point for travelers on both routes. The sunset provided excellent atmospherics the evening when I photographed the Boots Court Motel exteriors. Shown is a final look at the motel’s remodeled and refinished exterior and the green neon tubes which were all replaced in 2024. A close look at the front building reveals the four original rooms complete with an attached garage. There are four more units and garages on the opposite side of the building. The wing in the rear of the property was added in 1946 shortly after Arthur Boots sold the motel he created. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Arcadia Round Barn: The Arcadia Round Barn in Arcadia, Okla. was constructed in 1898 by William Odor and his brother-in-law J. Henan Keely. Assisting the two were some local farm hands. The base of the structure is rose rock; a reddish rock found only in Oklahoma. The upper portion of the barn is constructed of bur oak, which is also native to Oklahoma. Today the barn serves as a local museum with photos and history of the barn as well as a nice collection of tools used daily on the farms in the pioneering days of Oklahoma. There is a section on Route 66 as well as an assortment of books and souvenirs. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Gary’s Gay Parita: A view of the front of the gas station at Gary’s Gay Parita in Paris Springs, Mo. reveals just a sampling of what visitors will see while roaming around the grounds of the station. The original gas station burned in 1955 and business ceased. Gary Turner and some relatives constructed this replica Sinclair station in 2003. The purpose of the station was to provide a place for travelers to stop and see items from the period when the original station was in operation. Gary’s Gay Parita is the essence of Route 66. Neighbors and businesses working together to please the visitors. They are the reason that Route 66 is as popular today as ever. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com