Waking up in the swank and classy Super 8 Motel in Sterling, Colorado we departed and headed for Denver!! For those of you that don't know, this was a major stop made by Kerouac and the rest of the beats during their travels across the country in the 1940s and 50s. Towards the beginning of our day, Colorado proved to be mostly...flat! Trekking across the state we began to notice some strange formations on the horizon. Feeling like Obi-Wan in Star Wars saying, "That's no moon, it's a space station" we soon realized that those were not clouds on the horizon but the Rocky Mountains.
As Denver also slowly began to appear on the horizon we gassed up and headed for downtown. The first thing we noticed was how fresh and clean the city seemed to appear. Not only that, but it was also very large, open, and airy. Denver was definitely a change for the two of us who are familiar with the cramped cities of the east coast. Walking around the city, we enjoyed a splendid park in the middle of the mountainous metropolis and continued on towards the Denver Courthouse. There wasn't much to do, so we figured we'd find some trouble in there. We didn't, but, it was a beautiful building and gave us a good feeling of what they city was like.
As we began to depart from the city, we noticed a strange sent in the air. Yes, the cold fresh scent of the Rocky Mountains, but ALSO the scent of a certain hops-based concoction known to the rest of the world as beer. Yes, it was the Coors factory and though it was not on our itinerary, one of us...whose name rhymes with Derick...is quite fond of their beverages. So, we took a little detour and found out how beer, more specifically Blue Moon (Eric's favorite), is made. To answer what is on everybody's mind, yes, he did sample and no he did not drive afterwards. That task was left too our trip's resident non-beer-fan.
Once again, on a day devoted to deviating from the schedule, we heading south after already heading north. We visited a favorite site of many of our favorite bands, which is known as Red Rocks Amphitheater. For those of you that don't know, Red Rocks is a park known for it's deep red colored rock formations, dinosaur remains, and concerts located in an amphitheater that is carved out of the the cliff side. What we didn't know at the time was the there was a high school graduation happening in the theater. No matter-we simply hiked around the area and paused briefly to hear the commencement speech. Anyone who finds themselves in this area absolutely MUST visit Red Rocks!!!
Heading back to the car and we set our course, for the first time during the trip, northwest to the great and vast state of Wyoming. Not to knock a beautiful and majestic state but wow...talk about the middle of nowhere. Heading into the wilderness we quickly found ourselves alone with our car, the road, and the Rocky Mountains staring us down from above. Certainly a gorgeous place to be, but a very lonely place to live.
Quickly moving towards our final destination of Rawlins, Wyoming. We stopped in a town that we knew very well but never visited called Laramie. For those that don't know, this was the where Matthews Sheppard had gone to college. Matthew Shepard was a gay student and a victim of a brutal hate crime in 1998. His death caught national attention and his story has been told in the Moise Kauffman play, The Laramie Project (which we participated in at LVC). The town doesn't appear to have changed much in appearance since that time. We left with on a somber and reverent note.
Moving on through more nothingness, we finally arrived at RV World Campground in Rawlins, WY around 9:30pm (Mountain time of course). We pitched our tent and hit the sack hard and fast. However, we did have to wake up in the middle of the night to strategically place the car in front of the tent so that the 40mph winds would not blow it over.
Overall...a very tiring but full day. We look forward to what Utah and Nevada will bring us tomorrow!!
- Eric and Katy
P.S. Pictures were added to our previous posts. Look for them and for an update on our adventures in Utah and Nevada this Sunday.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Day 3 - IA/NE/CO photos
One of many wind turbines we've seen during our travels :-D
(as you can see, we had a lot of rain in Iowa and Nebraska)
the flat terrain...
Cows!!!
Original Pony Express station in Nebraska - circa 1860
Nebraskan Applebees!!!! (we saw REAL cowboys eating here - we know because they had REAL cowboy hats, boots, and HANDKERCHIEFS :-p)
Friday, May 21, 2010
Live from the Bates Motel!!!
The dreaded "Nebraska Day" as we called it went off with relatively few hitches to account for. We began the day in Davenport, Iowa...for those of you that are fans of The Music Man it is quite the friendly place to be...if they treat you, which they may not do at all ; )
Things were quiet until we hit a patch of rain in Omaha, Nebraska that followed us for most of our travels that day and didn't let up until about Gothenburg, NE. The landscape was absolutely gorgeous and we soon learned that a majority of our grass fed beef in the US come from there (and that Nebraska never really had any trees - most of the few scattered around the state were brought there on trains). We stopped along the way in Gothenburg to see an actual Pony Express station from the 1860s, and again in North Platte to eat at an Applebees (yes they have them out here apparently!!). We exited the gigantic state heading straight into the sunset, which was beautiful until we realized we had to drive with the sun in our eyes until it set.
Driving through Colorado was interesting, to say the least. The sky was dark and it was difficult to see the large cliffs and wind turbines surrounding us but we pressed on. That is...until we arrived at a twelve mile dirt road that was suppose to take us to our campsite. Minor snag. My cool and confident partner maintained her composure whilst I drove us out of the literal middle-of-nowhere to a Super 8 Motel in Sterling, Colorado (from here on out we'll call it The Bates Motel for dramatic effect). We checked in and crashed on the bed bone-tired and weary from one of the most intense days of driving we had scheduled for ourselves on this trip. Luckily we had a good time and even got to sleep in beds made of sheets and not sleeping bags.
We head out today for Denver, CO and Laramie, Wyoming. The landscape is FINALLY changing - the fields of farms and cows have been replaced with fields of little scrub bushes and the occasional rock wall (can't wait to see the Rocky Mountains!!!!).
Stay tuned until next time kids...we'll probably be writing from San Francisco!!
- Eric and Katy
Things were quiet until we hit a patch of rain in Omaha, Nebraska that followed us for most of our travels that day and didn't let up until about Gothenburg, NE. The landscape was absolutely gorgeous and we soon learned that a majority of our grass fed beef in the US come from there (and that Nebraska never really had any trees - most of the few scattered around the state were brought there on trains). We stopped along the way in Gothenburg to see an actual Pony Express station from the 1860s, and again in North Platte to eat at an Applebees (yes they have them out here apparently!!). We exited the gigantic state heading straight into the sunset, which was beautiful until we realized we had to drive with the sun in our eyes until it set.
Driving through Colorado was interesting, to say the least. The sky was dark and it was difficult to see the large cliffs and wind turbines surrounding us but we pressed on. That is...until we arrived at a twelve mile dirt road that was suppose to take us to our campsite. Minor snag. My cool and confident partner maintained her composure whilst I drove us out of the literal middle-of-nowhere to a Super 8 Motel in Sterling, Colorado (from here on out we'll call it The Bates Motel for dramatic effect). We checked in and crashed on the bed bone-tired and weary from one of the most intense days of driving we had scheduled for ourselves on this trip. Luckily we had a good time and even got to sleep in beds made of sheets and not sleeping bags.
We head out today for Denver, CO and Laramie, Wyoming. The landscape is FINALLY changing - the fields of farms and cows have been replaced with fields of little scrub bushes and the occasional rock wall (can't wait to see the Rocky Mountains!!!!).
Stay tuned until next time kids...we'll probably be writing from San Francisco!!
- Eric and Katy
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Day 2 - IA photos
Casino Riverboat on the Mississippi River
Incredibly strange (but FUN!) walkway that glowed that was across a road near the casino/Mississippi River - that's Eric in the picture
Outside view of the bridge we were on
Day 2 - IL photos
Chicago!!
outdoor theater in Millennium Park
A silver sculpture in Millennium Park - can you find us?
Lake Michigan
Day 2 - IN photos
These things were all over Indiana
Michael Jackson's old house in Gary, Indiana seemed to be in a very run-down section of a run-down town...there was some graffiti around the house, which obviously contributed to the purpose of the fence. Still, it was really neat to drive through the town and get an idea of where it all began.
Day 2 - OH, IN, IL, IA
After packing off our tent, we set off to see Michael Jackson's childhood home in Gary, Indiana. We also spent quite a bit of time in Chicago's Millennium Park near Lake Michigan, followed by 2 hours spent trying to drive 10 miles out of Chicago. Surprisingly, Iowa had a lot of rolling hills when we entered the state. We checked in our hotel, then ate dinner at a DELICIOUS local restaurant (think cinnamon butter and biscuits). Our waitress told us there was a great view of the Mississippi down the street, and when we got there we discovered a casino on a riverboat on the river!!! The riverfront also had a long hallway over the highway with psychedelic lights, which was strange but incredibly entertaining.
We drove another 500 miles today, putting us over 1,000 in 2 days.
It's nearly 1 AM and we're setting off for Nebraska and Colorado at 6:30 AM, so you'll have to wait for me to upload today's photos. We're camping the next three nights, but you can count on more updates by the time we get to San Francisco this Sunday!!!!
KB
We drove another 500 miles today, putting us over 1,000 in 2 days.
It's nearly 1 AM and we're setting off for Nebraska and Colorado at 6:30 AM, so you'll have to wait for me to upload today's photos. We're camping the next three nights, but you can count on more updates by the time we get to San Francisco this Sunday!!!!
KB
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