I lived in Colorado for 25yrs. I've hiked the Pawnee Buttes many times, starting when there were no Wind Turbines in sight. The last time was a Christmas Day 2014. It started off a beautiful, clear, 58deg day, but the incoming blizzard caught me before I made it back to the trailhead. Just on the south side of the ridge you camped on, down in the draw, I lost vision in the swirling snow, ran off the road, and high centered my Outback. After 2hrs of shoveling and dark setting in, I knew I needed to call for help. 4.5hrs later when my friend finally reached me, the gravel roads were 2ft deep with drifts 3-5ft due to the 45-80mph winds. 3.5hrs later after digging out his lifted Dodge Cummins multiple times, and my Subaru, we manage to get both vehicles back on Hwy 14 and headed for home in Greeley. THANK YOU, Matt for being such, a true friend!! I crawled into bed at almost 3am, 18hrs after my adventure started, and slept like a ROCK!!! Sometimes the adventures that weren't planned, make for great stories, lessons learned, and fond memories! I now live in The Columbia River Gorge Scenic area of Oregon, so maybe we will see each other exploring the backwoods of the PNW. Keep up the great content!!

I have lived in CO since 94', I have not explored the eastern plains too much and haven't seen really any videos on people checking it out. Nice work on finding something new to show the rest of us.

Somewhat interesting history on those windmill water pumps. The first Aermotor was sold in 1888, with 24 windmills in total being sold in the first year. La Verne Noyes died in 1919. He left the Aermotor Company to a tax paying trust, with 48 colleges and universities as beneficiaries. Aermotor continued to innovate and manufacture windmills throughout World War II and helped to produce the top secret Norden bombsight. During the latter part of the century ownership of the Aermotor Company changed hands and had its operation moved and expanded to new venues, including the country of Argentina; Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Brentwood, Missouri; and Conway, Arkansas. By 1981, 80% of all windmills manufactured in The United States had their genesis in Conway. In 1998 Aermotor was purchased by Kees Verheul, as owner and president. It now operates from a 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) facility in San Angelo, Texas. In 2006, the company was purchased by a group of West Texas ranchers, and the name restored to its original from 1888..."The Aermotor Company". The company also manufactured galvanized steel fire lookout towers including a "7 x 7" model which supported a 7-by-7-foot (2.1 m × 2.1 m) steel cab at heights from 35 feet (11 m) to 175 feet (53 m). Hundreds of this model were in use in the southeastern U.S.; a dozen survived in the Northwestern U.S. in 1984. I wonder if you could find any of those original fore lookouts on your adventures back in the northwest? 🤔 Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aermotor_Windmill_Company

This series is becoming the Colorado I didn't know existed. Beautiful filming, and I always enjoy the subtle humor 😁

Such a good transition from the modern, electricity producing windmills to the older, water pumping windmill. And those buttes sure are some beauts!! (Couldn't help myself...)

The only thing unexpected to me was to see you get of your truck and hike😂. Great video. Jason

Love the diversity. Prairie is a nice change. Good going!

This series has been very good, this video was especially Your channel has consistently gotten better and better with the balance between build videos and adventure videos. I can’t wait to see the camp kitchen in use.

That part of Colorado is certainly different from what most people expect but it has its own kind of beauty. Thanks for exploring and sharing!

Fantastic production. I have pinned this place on my map as I would definitely enjoy that hike.

A very unique and different view of what most other content creators show of Colorado. Thanks! I enjoyed it.

Pawnee is a hidden gem. Colorado is not all mountains. 👌

Another great video, Donald. I like how you always seem to make the best of things. I know you were looking forward to the mountains, but now you have an excuse to go back. And will be better prepared for the altitude. If you ever decide to cut back on the exploring, you have a great future in wildlife documentaries. Even if the locals don't approve.😂😂 Thanks again for taking us along on this journey.

Bravo Donald!

Such an enjoyable episode, Donald. Something a little different. As always, your very literate commentary is appreciated.

This video had a pbs feel to it. It was really good!

Always great when our misadventures turn into awesome experiences. Nice trip!

Nice to see a different side of Colorado, instead of the high mountains. Another great video.

Ahh, the plains of Eastern Colorado. Their motto: "On a clear day you can see all the way to Kansas." 😆 But seriously, you should have driven a little further south and gone to the paint mines near Peyton. Very unusual and beautiful. Maybe next time.

What a beautiful area. And as an avid birdwatcher I enjoyed your bird shots.

Another Great video. Thanks for taking us along.

Beautiful country!

This unexpected travel route was very interesting. The Aermotor Windmill company still exists in San Angelo , Texas. Their numbers are slowly diminishing as solar powered electric submergible pumps replace them. The pumps are easier to repair and service. Stay safe traveling.

Beautiful footage - and the views from that campsite look amazing. Cheers!

What a great end to the series. Pawnee national grasslands is one of the places on our list for this winter. That butte trail is also about the only thing I saw to do besides drive and camp out there. 😂

We live just southwest of Denver in the foothills, and love dispersed camping around the area. One of our kids live in Windsor, so we’ve been considering venturing towards these grasslands. Thanks for the video!

This video is definitely showing a trend that you’re on. It’s more refined with good filming and editing. It was a joy to watch!

That's where I usually camp on the first night (if I make it that far) heading west from Minnesota. It's a different story when that soil gets wet!!

Very enjoyable to watch.

Awesome video! I love watching the wildlife. And those prairie dogs are just downright cool 🙂

Not the Colorado you think about. Those grasslands were pretty good nonetheless. You know what those cows are saying during that stare down? Moooooove! 😂😂🐂🐂

Thanks for taking us along Donald.

Loved this series!

These flat landscapes just make me want to take a mini bike to Aspen

Good to see areas not normally seen! That is why I go places I go as well. Thanks for the videos! George.

You've pulled a rabbit out of your hat with this eastern Colorado trip . Really enjoyed it. I'm working on getting out on my own trips more often.

You picked the right old windmills to visit - the ones still pumping. In a lot of them the bearings are mostly gone and haven't been greased in decades, but the vanes still rotate in a stiff breeze, and they make the most ungodly continuous racket, screeching and skrawing and rattling of metal on metal. They may seem like a picturesque thing to camp next to, but if the wind picks up you won't get any sleep.

... yeah , Colorado is basically Kansas until you reach I-25 ... safe travels ...

Excellent video my man. Enjoyed it throughly!

Great video! As someone going on the road full-time next I've enjoyed this series.

Who would have thought that as a kid,a propeller on the front of your bike could turn into a huge windmill? Still mesmerizing.

Thank you Donald for your video and remind me sometimes it’s better not to know what you’re going to do. Keep up the great work.😎👍

Even if things don't go to plan there are many other great adventures awaiting us.

Another good one 👍

Altitude sickness is a real thing.....I used to travel there for work and yeah.....

Nicely done Donald....I love grasslands....spent time in Owyhee in some really nice grasslands and have always looked for grasslands ever since.

Peaceful place

Nice trip 👍😊

Great series! And a hike! Watch out, backpacking might be in your future 😄

Great episode and series Donald.

You can win the staredown with Bossie, but the eyes are always watching...watching... 👀👀

Great video as always Donald👍

Always entertaining buddy ❤ thanks for sharing

Lovely.

Beautiful video - well done

Reminds me of the wind turbines on the Condon to hwy 206 to Wasco To Biggs Jct .in Oregon . then in to Washington to Marys Hill Hwy 97 to Goldendale ..

Cool episode Donald, you need to go and spend sometime in Wyoming, it will amaze you for sure.

Nice edit. Had a TV quality feel to it.

Good stuff!

Very nice! 👍😊👍

Donald - the cows are not what they seem.

Wonderful episode. Far too many people neglect features like our National Grasslands. Often the unexpected can be a worthwhile adventure. Comanche National Grasslands several hours to the South is similarly beautiful and contains petroglyphs, dinosaur tracks, historic missions and ranches, as well as portions of the Sante Fe trail.

Did you run across any intercontinental ballistic missile silos out there? They may be non descript really, barbed wire fence and a big blast door on tracks covering the silo.

Technically we refer to that part of Colorado as Kansas lol. I feel like "Colorado" ends at Denver. Frankly they can have the eastern plains if they want

HI DONALD 👋 BREATHTAKING BEAUTY COLORS VIEWS LANDSCAPE SCENERY WEATHER WILDLIFE DRONE FOOTAGE VIDEO 📹 NICE TO SEE 👀 FOR MILES ALL AROUND YOU 😀 LOOKED LIKE MINI CANYONS STARTING ALL AROUND THERE . THE COWS LOOK AT YOU LIKE WHAT ARE YOU UP TO OR WHAT YOU WANT 🤔 L.O.L. LOVE THE DIFFERENT COLORS OF GRASSES . DO THEY GET SAND GRASS SPURS IN THE LATE SUMMER / FALL OUT THAT WAY 🤔 AWESOME VIDEO SHOTS ! THEY WERE SUPPOSE TO ADD SOMETHING TO THE WIND TURBINES TO PROTECT THE MIGRATING BIRDS & PREDATOR BIRDS SO THEY DON'T HIT THE BLADES , LIKE WHAT WE PUT ON OUR VEHICLES SO THE WILDLIFE HEAR OUR VEHICLES COMING TOWARDS THEM ! DEFINITELY NEED THEM FOR THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES SINCE THEY DON'T MAKE MUCH / IF ANY DEPENDING UPON THE TYPE OF ROAD / NOISE ! BE SAFE ! HAVE FUN ! ENJOYED 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS ON YOUR ADVENTURES 🙏 & THE HISTORY TOO 😀 THANK YOU 🙏 😀

Great video Donald! I would love to support your channel but my $1700 social security check does not go very far so I must be very frugal. I know how much time and effort goes into making these videos and I appreciate traveling vicariously with you in your journey.

Dude! I live in Loveland! What are you doing here?

Welcome to the Spanish Inquisition

I don't camp so maybe this is a dumb question. But with dispersed camping, do you feel the need to have a gun or other weapons for safety?

Most of Colorado was Kansas. Thats why the Kansas state flag has mountains in it. And we are comming to get our land back.

Open range, or rodent haven? 🐁