Life is a Highway

We bugged out of Dodge early yesterday to get ahead of any tornado warnings. As a result, had no time to visit Matt Dillon or Miss Kitty. Got to Colorado and spent last night in Manitou Springs just outside of Colorado Springs. We did stop along the way to visit Bent’s Old Fort which was an important trading and resupplying spot on the Santa Fe trail.

Today, we had wanted to drive up Pike’s Peak (over 14,000 feet) but the last 6 miles were closed due to ice so figured if we couldn’t go big, we’d just go elsewhere. We were really disappointed in this but knew there was a likelihood we would not be able to go all the way to the top. We moved on to Royal Gorge and spent several hours there. This was a very pretty spot but somewhat spoiled by all the commercialism. I described it as tourist attraction vomit. There were Jeep tours, ATV tours, dinosaur tours, zip lining, bungee jumping, rafting tours…the list goes on and on. I just wanted to see something beautiful – which I did after I got through all the tourist crap. We took a gondola across the gorge and then walked back on the bridge. One of the most amazing things about this is it was built during the New Deal with workers working 965 feet over the river for less than a $1.00 a day.

Tonight we are in a neat little town called Salida.

Be sure to check out the pictures below.

Yesterday we left St.Louis – after we finally found our car. We were definitely a couple of hicks yesterday. We had parked in a parking garage and when we went back to get the Jeep yesterday morning, we entered by a different door than which we exited. Then realizing our mistake, we had to walk about 2 more city blocks lugging suitcases, backpacks, and various paraphernalia to get to the right door and up a flight of stairs. Once there, our Jeep was just a few feet away. It added about 30-45 minutes to our departure time. It wasn’t funny at the time but by the end of the day, it was.

We had a very pretty drive through Missouri. I was really surprised at how pretty it was. Went to Independence, MI and toured a very nice museum there called the National Frontier Museum. Independence was significant during the westward expansion as pioneers had to register there before going further west. Very interesting. We stayed at and Bed and Breakfast there last night.

Today was a long day across Kansas. Partly because we got a late start, then road construction, then stopped at a couple of times to explore. One place was the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. This is an 11,000 acre preserve maintained by the National Park System. The pictures don’t do it justice but it was beautiful rolling grassland. There were several trails through the grassland but we didn’t do any of them, mainly because of time and thunderstorms in the area. Then in Hutchinson, KS we stopped at the Cosmosphere Space Museum. I could never remember the name of it and kept calling it the Cosmetology Museum but I knew that we would never stop there! Anyway, that was a cool interesting place as well. We drove all the way to Dodge City today and didn’t get here until 7:00pm. Needless to say, we’re tired. On to Colorado tomorrow.

On Saturday, we were in Louisville and spent most of the day at Churchill Downs. Toured the museum and did a tour of the barns and back side of Churchill Downs. Didn’t see any Derby horses as that was not allowed. That night, we went to Opening Night of Derby Week. It was at the track at Churchill Downs. We were in the home stretch section. There were 11 races that night that we got to bet on and watch. Let me just say it is a good thing Randy and I don’t bet on the ponies on a regular basis or else we would be broke! Had fun though. It certainly was special to have that opportunity.

We left Louisville Sunday morning and traveled to St. Louis, MI. Spent today at the Gateway Arch National Park, took the tram ride to the top of the arch (630 feet high) and then did a river boat ride up the Mississippi River. And walked over 12,000 steps!

We have had gorgeous weather this whole trip. It rained last night but by this afternoon the sun is out again and in the mid 70s. Heading across Missouri tomorrow.