Colorado: Day 1--Driving!

**Please see my blog created specifically for this trip! It's located at http://coloradoconversations.blogspot.com/
I'll post abbreviated versions of each post on this blog (trying to revive it a bit!), but the full posts (with more pictures!) will be at Colorado Conversations. Some of the other girls on the trip might post there as well--we'll see. You are welcome to comment on either blog, and follow the links to the corresponding posts on Colorado Conversations. :)

Evening 1--July 31, 2015

Day 1--August 1, 2015

Wisconsin to Bettendorf, Iowa

Bettendorf, Iowa to Calhan, Colorado

We left the house right on schedule: 6:30 pm! ....And then we had to stop 20 minutes down the road. Mainiac had accidentally left her phone, drivers license, and debit card in her family's car, and we needed to pick that up before heading out of state. Thankfully we discovered it was missing before we made it to Colorado!

Driving west into the sunset, we watched a rosy sunset ahead of us and the blue moon rising behind us. It was enormous and beautiful. (see picture below)

KT and El took the first driving/navigating shift, then we paused at my grandparents' house long enough to say hello, change into comfy clothes, and pick up the GPS.
I took the next leg of the journey and made it almost to Council Bluffs. Mainiac made a wonderful navigator, and kept me awake with funny stories, trivia pulled up on her phone (thank goodness for 3G!), and classic Newsboys/Michael W. Smith sing-alongs. Sometime between 1 and 2 AM I realized that driving any further would be a very unwise decision, so we switched out with El and KT and slept until we reached Kearney, Nebraska.

Blue Moon around 2-3:00 am.

From Kearney we dropped down into Kansas on a road parallel to the railroad, taking us through small towns such as Long Island and Funk.

Some might think that the drive through Kansas would be boring, since the road is so flat and straight, but I thought it was beautiful. We drove through fields of sunflowers and over the west end of beautiful Harlan County Lake.
Driving through Kansas might have been my favorite drive of the trip. Okay, maybe not The Favorite. The Peak-to-Peak Highway and Trail Ridge Road both had some fantastic scenery! But this was pretty and quiet and peaceful.

Harlan County Lake

Abandoned house close to the Colorado border

We're here!! (That's not us.)

Allow me to introduce the Colorado Crew!


El, back there reading

Mainiac, living up to her name. ;)
I think we were singing along to Fiddler on the Roof...

There's me, Kiwi!

KT finally fell asleep. (she doesn't sleep well in cars.)

 

First glimpse of mountains! Taken a little ways east of Calhan, Colorado.
You really have to squint to see it, but there's a mountain there!

Next post: Paint Mines Interpretive Park!

A Change of Plans

We are down to 

          Three-Hundred 

                    Seventy Days 

[and] 

                              Five[ish] Hours 

                                        until we take off for Colorado! 

I get rather excited when I think about it, but it's also bitter-sweet right now.
The "cousins" we planned to travel with are not able to come.
To be completely honest, that was going to be half the fun of the trip. The four of us are best friends. El and Emmers are both adventurous but cautious and sensible. KK and I are more adventurous and crazy. We would have balanced each other out perfectly!
There were so many plans, and now they have to change. Life doesn't always happen the way you plan it, so you adapt and enjoy. And sometimes the adaptations surprise you.

El and I started brainstorming immediately about who else we could invite. The two of us would be fun, but you know what they say: "the more the merrier and the cheaper!" She called up one of our dear friends who is living in Maine right now, but comes back to Wisconsin regularly. We were both surprised and amazed when she replied (paraphrase):

"Of course! I have no idea what I'm doing next year, but I would LOVE to go!! How much do you need? I can't pay all of it right away, but I can send you a check for part this week if you need it!"

How awesome is that? No questions, no "let me think about it," just "when do I pay?"

I spoke to one of my long-time best friends, Ruthie. She's spunky and crazy and adventurous too, but will be taking paramedic classes next summer (she had worked her way up to advanced EMT at 19!), so can't commit. That's another disappointment, but we'll see what happens.

Right now there's one friend pending decision, and we might have to start looking for a fourth adventurer if she can't go.
          But we'll see.
                    We still have three-hundred seventy days and assorted hours left.

--Kiwi D. Fruit