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On Tuesday evening of this past week I had to go to a joint Farm Services Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) informational meeting on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in Eads, CO. Lena and Sofae came with me. To make the trip a bit more enjoyable, we stopped to see several little-known roadside attractions on the way there and back.

Here are the most memorable of them, along with the photos, which I posted in my Facebook albums. (Make sure to read the captions, as this more or less narrates the story, making it that much more fun.)

Wonder Tower of Genoa
Who has ever heard of Genoa, Colorado? Even more so, of its Wonder Tower. This tower has seen better days, but in its heyday, back when it was built in 1926, the tower was the highest point between New York and Denver! From its top and with the help of a telescope, which was once mounted there, one could see six states. Now with the telescope gone, the tower's roof leaking, broken glass, torn carpet, moldy walls and junk piled sky high, the tower is well on its way to becoming a footnote in Colorado history books. Unfortunately, time on the Wonder Tower is running out fast and at only $1 entrance fee, it is well worth the visit. Wonder Tower of Genoa photo album.

You should especially consider going, if you, like me, are a hoarder. (One look at this museum's collection and you will start cleaning up and getting rid of stuff before it is 100 years old.) See this little gem of a tower before it gets condemned, the tower's owner of 43 years kicks the proverbial bucket, or the city of Genoa becomes a ghost town. Speaking of the city of Genoa (the city with very few buildings still intact), it must must be one of the very few remaining cities in America with an unpaved "business district."

John Martin Reservoir State Park
A beautiful and mostly desolate state park with a small swimming beach located in the Arkansas river valley, a few minutes from Las Animas, the county seat and the only incorporated municipality in Bent County, Colorado. Pictures are mostly of Sofae enjoying the water, but also a few pictures of the park itself and the "majestic" dam over the Arkansas River, located within the park boundaries. John Martin Reservoir State Park photo album.

Junkrassic Park
For 20 years a very talented retired farmer turned artists in southeastern Colorado has been making humorous sculptures out of discarded farm implements. Here is a look at some of his best work. You can see the rest for yourself on a permanent free display in front of his house at 35574 County Road JJ in Cheraw, Colorado. Junkrassic Park photo album.