Day 16: 18 Days, 20 States, 28 Destinations

Today is the last and final leg. It feels a bit like we're on The Amazing Race, 

except that we're not racing anyone. We're all just ready to get home.

Got up this morning, loaded the car for the very last time (Madison learned the packing order early on and has been a big help there), and left the Gaylord.

Marsha tried to surprise us with a taste of home for breakfast, but the GPS took us to a Krispy Kreme warehouse instead of an actual store. That was a bummer. So, we went to Dunkin Donuts instead. That works, too, because even though Winston-Salem is the World HQ of Krispy Kreme, there are three times as many Dunkin Donuts here (six DD to two KK). Don't get me started on that. Don't get me wrong, though, either. I like DD and we certainly eat our fair share whenever we visit Boston.

We ran into road construction again (wouldn't be the last time, either) as soon as we left Nashville, but luckily it didn't slow us down any. Before long, though, we were in the Tennessee mountains, and from there throughout the rest of the trip it was all familiar territory. The Great Smoky Mountains look a lot like the Blue Ridge Mountains, especially since they're right next door to each other.

Somewhere along the way we encountered our very last time zone change, and for the very first time on the whole trip we knew it was coming and were actually prepared for it. At least we caught on eventually. Still never saw a sign for it, though.

Marsha spent yesterday and today calculating miles traveled, number of states and destinations (cities and National Parks) visited, and how much we spent on everything. Here is the official recap: 18 days, 20 states, 28 destinations, 4 time zones, and 6300 miles driven. AWESOME! 

Surprisingly, we also came in under budget. We were actually over budget in every category except food, which was the real shocker, as much as we love to eat. Either we just spent less than planned on food or she grossly over-estimated that one. I think the latter is probably true, even though for every expensive meal out like Mesa Grill or Lola, there were a lot of breakfasts at McDonalds and lunches of M&Ms and Fritos.

It's always interesting to see how fast food chains differ around the country. You only see In-and-Out Burger and Taco John's out west, and you don't even have to cross the Mississippi before Hardee's turns into Carl's Jr. You may find McDonalds from one side of the country to the other, but I actually think Dairy Queen (or DQ, as they're know now) has them beat on market penetration. In just about every tiny little town through which we passed, there may not have been a McDonalds, but there was always a DQ. Hence, we ate there a couple of times. 

The other thing that didn't go as anticipated was relaxing in the hotel at night. I took plenty to read, but spent all my free time on the blog. It was a bigger time commitment than expected, especially since I did most of the driving and could only write at night or in the morning. Definitely worth it though, to share our adventure and to be able to read back through it in the future.

Once we made it to Asheville it was home free all the way. We go to Asheville a lot, so I can drive that in my sleep (not that I would actually try it). After just a couple more hours on the road, we made it home with the chocolate intact and lots and lots and lots of laundry.

We picked up the mail, and started sorting it and the dirty clothes. Unfortunately, the downstairs AC wasn't working so the house was a little warm. Luckily, though, the upstairs unit was. We called our repairman and, thankfully, he told me how to get it working again until he can come over. It's a good thing we have two floors, or we'd be back in another hotel for the night. We still had take-out, though, so it will be another night before we have a home-cooked meal.

Tonight we get to sleep in our own beds again, get relaxed, get caught up on Food Network. And think back over the last two weeks as we travelled across America and back.

That was one incredible adventure!

Day 15: Lost in Opryland

Last day before we head home. After two-plus weeks and everything we've done, it feels like we've been gone forever.

We enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant/bar so much, we went back for the breakfast buffet, which was also pretty good. Then we drove by the Arch again, trying to get a better photo (which you can see on yesterday's post). Finally, it was time to hit the road. Only one goal for the day: drive to Nashville.

We got on the highway and immediately crossed back into Illinois. Feels like we're coming full circle, since we'd already passed through there two weeks ago at the very start of the trip.

We hadn't been on the highway very long before we got stuck in yet another traffic jam for 45 minutes. I have a theory about traffic jams (one that would be sorely tested today, but in the end still held true). It's like that scene in The World According to Garp where Garp buys the house after the plane hits it because its been "pre-disastered," with the odds against another one. In the end, we went through road construction four times today, but only the first one slowed us down.

Eventually, we got back underway through Illinois farm country. Again. If there's one thing we've seen more of than road construction, it's farmland. Saw lots of corn, as expected, but not a single bale of hay. So now I have no idea where Illinois stands on the whole small rectangle vs. large roll debate. That all changed, though, when we crossed into Kentucky, which was all large rolls all the way.

Halfway through Illinois, the thought occurred to me that we might pass through Metropolis, and sure enough we did. We had come full circle once again, since we had stopped by the Superman house on our very first day.

Gary, Indiana, and even Marceline to a degree, could learn a thing or two from Metropolis. By sheer luck of the draw, the name of their little town is most-closely associated with Superman, and they've embraced it whole hog. In addition to the giant Superman statue in front of the courthouse and official recognition by DC Comics, they also host an annual Superman celebration.

We'd visited the tiny hamlet of Metropolis a few years ago and I was anxious to see if it had changed any. Previously, it was was a little run-down (except for the statue). The Super Museum even more so. I was thrilled to see that things were much improved. 

The Super Museum has been repainted, the street lights all have hanging planters with fresh flowers (can you beat that?), and they even installed a tourist information booth next to the statue.

What's more, the outside of the booth answered my biggest question: whether or not the Lois Lane statue honoring the "First Lady of Metropolis," Noel Neill, had been installed. Sure enough, it had. Just a few blocks from Superman.

We were also surprised to see that the little town is growing. They've added a new hotel and new fast food options since we were there last. The annual Superman Celebration is clearly paying off. 

From there it was just a short drive past one of my favorite-named towns, 

Paducah, KY (which has an awesome movie theater, by the way), on our way to Music City.

We got there around 6:00 and checked into the Gaylord Opryland, which we'd only really seen from across the parking lot at the Grand Ole Opry. Now, we knew this place was big, but like Yellowstone, we weren't quite prepared for just how big. I started to get an idea when they gave me a map of the inside of the hotel.

We had plans to meet my old friend, Hal, and his daughter, Claire, for dinner. So, it was off to the room real quick to drop off our suitcase (just one -- we'd wisely consolidated since we only had one leg left to go) and freshen up. You know those freaky horror movies where someone is running down a long hall and the further they go, the longer the hall gets? Yep, that's what it was like going to our room.

The one thing that really puzzles us is how they manage to fill all those rooms, especially without a casino. There's so many restaurants inside and things to do, you could spend a week in there without ever going out. I mean, the Opry is popular, but it doesn't hold that many people.

Hal picked us up in the Magnolia section, which was clear on other side of the hotel. We actually got a little lost trying to find our way there. Later that night after dinner, I had to go back to the room for a few minutes, and really did get lost. Even tried to put my key in the wrong door. Luckily, an employee helped me get back on track.

Hal took us near downtown to The Pharmacy Burger Parlor and Beer Garden, one of the best new restaurants in Nashville with award-winning burgers. It was really crowded, so we had to wait just a bit, but surprisingly it was only 30 minutes, just like they said. They have a really cool automated system where you input your cell number and it calls you when your table is ready. That was awesome. The food was fantastic and the service was quick. Can't beat that. And can't wait to go back.

Afterwards, Hal took us on a quick tour of downtown, past Broadway (the main drag, not to be confused with the one in NYC), Music Row where all the producers' offices are, and the absolutely ginormous brand new convention center. This place is so unbelievably huge (shades of Gaylord), a street runs underneath it.

From there it was back to the hotel to explore. It's like the Bellagio with the layout of Caesar's Palace or even Wall Drug (confused). In fact, it's the biggest hotel in the US without a casino. As I said, this place is unbelievably ginormous. Imagine Disney World with a roof.

There's actually several attractions inside with DreamWorks characters. Marsha had her heart set on the narrated boat ride around Delta section, and luckily it was still open despite the website and hotel information telling us it wouldn't be.

The Delta section is actually filled with all live plants. At first we thought they were fake until our boat captain told us otherwise and showed us the banana trees growing fruit. Since it was night, it was too dark to get a decent picture, though. We'll have to go back in the daytime on our next trip. Walking around there made me think of being in Disney World at night. I couldn't help but think about how cool (literally) it would be if the park had a roof and was completely air-conditioned.

All in all, it was pretty magical and the perfect place to end our trip. Tomorrow, the final trek home.

Day 14.2: Gateway to the West

After leaving Marceline, it was just a few hours' drive through the rest of Missouri. All of which was mostly farm land, especially when our Garmin took us on a couple of little detours down two little farm roads that were practically one lane.

On our way to Marceline, we saw our second fire in the two days. The first was in Kansas, in the trees behind a farm. We had the big billow of smoke from several miles away, and several trucks riding past it, so we were sure someone had reported it. This second one was much smaller and was more of a "Hey, does that look like smoke?" As opposed to "Oh my gosh, smoke!" It was in a triangular median at an intersection. Smoldering hay that had been on fire was scattered all over the grass. Apparently, a tractor-trailer hauling hay had caught on fire because at the end of the median we saw the charred, smoking remains of the trailer. There was no sign of the truck itself, nor that anyone had tried to put it out. It looked like it had just burned out on its own.

Missouri clearly favors the large rolls of hay. Every inch that wasn't a city or town was covered in farmland. We saw a few bales of the rectangular variety, but not enough to dent the competition. 

The drive was mostly open highway and very little traffic until we got into St. Louis. Even then, all of the heavy traffic was going the other direction. This was fantastic for us, because we'd taken our time in Marceline (even cancelled our dinner reservations) and it was almost 7:30. We were hoping we'd have some time to do a few things, so we went straight to the Arch without even checking into our hotel (we hoped for the best on the chocolate).

As we got close to downtown, we kept wondering when we'd see it, then all of a sudden we did. Our initial view was blocked by some trees. From that point on, we had no trouble seeing it as we just got closer and closer. We parked in the parking deck with no problem (which, fortunately, was reasonably cool) and went straight to the park.

Wow, you just can't believe how ginormous this thing is. I mean, it's just amazingly huge. Far bigger than we expected. We kept trying to take a good picture, but I think you have to get like six miles away to get the whole thing in.

The best you can hope is to just get a section, preferably with the curve so that you can tell what it is. It's really mind-boggling when you walk around and look at it from below. I just had to know how they built the thing.

We also saw the Eads bridge, built by Andrew Carnegie. It was a marvel of engineering when it was built in 1874, the longest arch bridge at the time. People were afraid to cross it, so Carnegie sent an elephant over it first, based on the popular belief that an elephant won't trod where it's not safe. I recognized it right away, having recenty learned about it on The Men Who Built America.

The actual name of the complex is the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Jefferson being Thomas Jefferson), with the Arch being the centerpiece. It looks across the Mississippi River, showing the way West. 

Amazingly, the visitor's center is completely underground, beneath the Arch. It's quite big, too. Since it's a National Park, we had to go through security and empty everything out of our pockets.

I was the only one who entertained the thought of going to the top, and even I was iffy on that. But it was a moot point. Tickets to the top were already sold out for the day. We wanted to see the "making of" movie and rushed to get tickets. Unfortunately, the line moved very slow, but luck was still with us and we made it just before the lights went down.

The movie was absolutely fascinating. The construction crew built both sides of the Arch at the same time and then met in the middle. It was built in pre-made sections, stacked up and welded in place as they went along, inside and out. From a distance, the joints look smooth as a baby's behind. But when you look at it up close, you can see (and even feel) the welds.

When they were building the two sides, eventually they got too high for the cranes and had to attach building platforms to the backs of each side of the Arch. The tracks couldn't cover a whole side, so every time they moved the platform, they'd have to take track from the bottom and move it to the top. Then when they were done, they had to reverse this process to get the platforms back down.

The biggest challenge was the top sections. Once they got past a certain point, the two sides of the Arch leaned too far inward to be stable on their own. So, they had to add a span between two that also acted as another work platform to install the remaining sections. Half the job was building all the apparati just to build the Arch, all of which then had to be disassembled afterwards.

The most dramatic part was the installation of the final section, which was pretty tiny compared to all the rest. First, they had to spread the two sides (which also didn't quite line up) apart a few extra feet and raise the final piece up by crane attached to the span. Because of all the tension, they had to hose down the installation area to keep it cool and only had a short window to get it done. Even though we knew how the story ended, it was still a real nail-biter.

The oddest part of the movie is that it was made in the 1960s, when the Arch first opened, and hasn't been updated since. It's really dated, with overly stern narration and a bad Mannix/Kung Fu movie soundtrack. We got quite a kick out if that.

But the best part of the visitor's center was the great Lewis & Clark section on Westward Expansion. The first thing you see is a rough-hewn statue of Thomas Jefferson looking off to the distance. Behind him is a large, round room that honestly tells story from both sides. It gives equal attention to the explorers and Native Americans.

The room was full of both simple and elaborate displays that told all about the Native Americans, the explorers, and the settlers. There were also several animatronic figures in front of painted backdrops that would talk directly to you, though most of them were covered up because they were out of order. The Red Cloud animatronic seemed to be the only one working and immediately reminded us of the Old Tonto scenes in The Lone Ranger. Honestly, I think the whole area would be better served if they just took them out. It really didn't match the quality of the rest of the displays.

The best part was the circular back wall covering the Lewis & Clark expedition, with giant photos from various locations and quotes from their journals, typos and all. Most of the locations were all places that we'd just been in the last two weeks, so it was like re-living our trip all over again.

By that time, it was after 9:00 and we were getting pretty hungry. We wanted to eat somewhere nearby, but we were exhausted, too. So, we decided to just go check into the hotel and eat there.

The hotel had a great classic hotel bar, all mahogany wood with a mural of jazz musicians along the ceiling. The menu was simple and just what we wanted, served by the bartender/waiter, who was fantastic. We got there just in time, since the kitchen was only open for twenty more minutes. Just what the doctor ordered for a good night's rest. Only one more stop before home.

Day 14.1: Where the Magic Really Began

Cross another item off my bucket list. Actually, two.

We got off to an early start in Kansas City. Today was largely devoted to the life of my personal hero, Walt Disney, and visiting two locations that were very influential to his career.

Our first stop was the Laugh-O-Gram Studios or rather, the building where it once was. In 1921, Walt started his first animation company in Kansas City. By 1923, however, Walt filed for bankruptcy and bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles.

Several years ago, the building was purchased by a group called Thank You, Walt Disney, which is raising funds to create a museum. To date, they have shored up the building, which was already collapsing.

From there it was a two-hour drive to Marceline, Walt's boyhood home and the place that most inspired him. When Walt was four, his father bought a farm in Marceline, right on AT&SF train line. The Disneys moved back to Chicago five years later, but Marceline inspired his love of trains, funny animals, and was the inspiration for Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland.

Surprisingly, there were no signs on the highway that advertised Marceline as Walt's hometown. Nor does the "Welcome to Marceline" sign. However, once we got into town, there was no mistaking the Disney connection.

Fearing that it might rain, we thought we'd try to do the outdoor locations first. We went to Walt's Barn and Dreaming Tree. Since they're on private property, we thought we'd only be able to view them from the road. However, we were surprised to find a small parking lot and marked path with signs.

When Walt was a boy, he loved to play in the barn and sit under a large cottonwood tree, draw the animals on the farm, and let his young mind soar.

The tree was struck by lightning a few years ago, so it's not as mighty as it once was. However, a new tree grown from one of its saplings sits nearby.

Just up the path is a re-creation of Walt's barn. It was built several years ago by a group of Disney fans and perfectly matches the one that used to sit in Walt's backyard, inside which he worked on his backyard train set just prior to building Disneyland. That one, also inspired by the original in Marceline (which long ago vanished), sits in Griffith Park in Los Angeles.

Inside the barn, there's a little book that describes the history if the barn and what it meant to Walt. Visitors are invited to sign their names on the walls inside. With thousands of signatures already there, even on the hard-to-reach rafters, the hardest part was finding an empty spot. We even found the signatures of a few famous cartoonists.

Next door is the original Disney family home. We almost missed this, but luckily sharp-eyed Marsha spotted the sign as we went by.

From there it was a few blocks to the Walt Disney Hometown Museum which, appropriately enough, sits in the former Marceline train depot. 

The trains still come by on a regular basis. When we arrived, we were given an introductory tour by Kaye, a wonderfully friendly woman who not only knew Walt Disney, but even had him as a house guest in 1956 when she was just seven years old!

From there we were sent off on our own through the two-story museum which is chock full of Disney family photos, letters, furniture, and more. Most of it was provided by Walt's younger sister, Ruth, and her children. It was interesting getting the back story not just on Walt, his parents, brothers, and sister, but even his uncles, too. Especially Uncle Robert, who was Walt and Roy's first investor.

There were also numerous artifacts, such as a car from the Midget Autopia (which Walt had moved from Disneyland to Marceline, where it ran for many years) and even Walt's school desk, which was now back from being on loan to Disney World. Upstairs was a terrific collection of hand-made scale models of Disneyland buildings in amazing detail that one dedicated fan had spent years creating. He donated them all to the museum just before he passed away.

There's so much to see in the museum you could probably spend days just reading it all. It was endlessly fascinating. One of the more intriguing items to me was the Disney Studios stationery. Early letters just had the studio name, or Walt or Roy's name, in a simple font printed at the top. In later years, however, the stationery was designed to promote the current film, from Mary Poppins to 101 Dalmatians. Always the promoter that Walt.

Our next quick stop was Walt Disney Elementary, just down the street. It was built to replace Park Elementary, where Walt actually attended. The flagpole outside was donated by Walt and is from the Squaw Valley Olympics, which he  helped organize. Inside, the school is decorated with Disney characters painted by one of the Imagineers.

Then it was on to E..P. Ripley Park (named for the president of the AT&SF RR -- Disneyland also had an engine named for him). Walt and his little sister, Ruth, loved to attend band concerts and other functions at the park.

At the back of the park you'll find a locomotive and caboose from the Disneyland Railroad.

The park sits right on Kansas Avenue, Walt's inspiration for Main Street, USA.

Aside from a few details here and there, it's a little hard to see the connection between the two. 

There's a street sign with Mickey ears, and the Uptown Theater, which has hosted two Disney premieres (The Great Locomotive Chase in 1956 and The Spirit of Mickey in 1998), bears a plaque acknowledging the second.

Several of the shops have little Disney touches in their windows, such as Mickey dolls or use of the Disney font. But Main Street's Victorian roots seem to have vanished a long time ago (quite unlike Durango) and now it looks pretty much like all of the other small towns we've passed through on this trip.

We were told at the Museum that Walt visited in the 1940s with one of his Imagineers and took lots of photos in perpetration for design work on Disneyland. The most obvious connection, if you know where to look is Disneyland's Coke Corner and Marceline's Zurcher Building (the Emporium of its day). 

For many years, people could only see the building's physical resemblance, but not the link to Coca-Cola. That was until the building behind it was torn down, revealing a long-hidden back wall bearing a painted advertisement that young Walt would have seen every day.

After strolling down Main Street, we drove down to the municipal park and swimming pool, which was dedicated to Walt in 1956. Though we didn't see his name on the pool anywhere, the whole area, which also includes a baseball field and a pond and has crudely painted characters on the sign, is called the "Disney Sports Complex."

From there it was back on the road, headed to St. Louis. While we absolutely loved our trip to Marceline, especially the Barn, Dreaming Tree, and Museum, we felt that the town would do well to study Durango and return Main Street to its Victorian roots. We would have loved to have eaten lunch in a little cafe, but didn't see any businesses that were open. That seemed kind of odd for a Saturday afternoon. They could really use a cafe, an ice cream shop, a candy store, and a shop that sells Disney merchandise. I think with a little turn-of-the-century revitalization, special events to celebrate their place in Disney history, and better marketing, Marceline could easily be turned into something even more special.

Day 13: Black Gold, Kansas Tea

This morning we slept in again. I think the long days in the car, combined with a lot of sight-seeing, are starting to catch up with us a bit. After we got ready, we drove all the way across the parking lot to have breakfast at IHOP next door.

From there it was back to the Boot Hill Museum so that we could tour the actual museum that we'd missed yesterday.

It starts with a 13-minute video about how Dodge City came to be as part of the Santa Fe Trail, how it earned its reputation, and about the people that lived there. The most shocking part was the assertion that back in the late-1800s, the US Government hired hunters to kill all the buffalo, reasoning that without them, the "Indians" would have to move elsewhere on their own. Marsha looked this up this later in the car and found an article on the topic. It said that research shows that the idea was certainly considered, but was unable to conclusively prove that this was official US policy. And there were a few cooler heads who were against the idea. Either way, it was a terrible tragedy, and its nice to see the buffalo making a comeback further west.

One other inescapable thought on the fate of Native Americans. Our ancestors fought and shed a lot of blood to claim the West, but after all that, we didn't really do anything with it. Not that that would have justified it, but huge sections are still unpopulated and most of it is all farm land. I have to think that a better solution could have been found.

So, after watching the video, we went up to Boot Hill (or rather, the corner of it that remains). It was so-named because most of the "residents" died with their boots on.

From there we went through a small museum building with dioramas and displays on the people, animals, guns, and even Gunsmoke. Then it was down to the Front Street replica again where, this time, we got to go through all the shops. Fortunately, they're all air-conditioned (we took the chocolate in with us) and connected inside. 

There was a General Store, printing office, doctor's office, and even an undertaker. This was our favorite part of the whole experience. It was really cool seeing old photos of the real Dodge that perfectly matched the re-creation we were in.

While going through all of the displays, I learned that the local historic Railroad Depot was now owned by a theater group, which offers tours. It was getting late and we still had a lot of ground to cover, so we had to pass on that. If we ever get the heck into Dodge again, that'll be a must.

From there it was back on the road again, fortunately largely free of traffic and with cell coverage most of the way. Much of the drive was two-lane highway, but we still made good time.

As soon as we left Dodge, we were back in farm country. As the video explained, the buffalo that once roamed freely were all replaced by cattle farms. We drove through miles and miles of farms with both cattle and crops, but mostly cattle. For this reason, it seems like much of Kansas smells like cow poop. We could smell it in Dodge, and when we stopped for gas over two hours later, we could smell it then, too. Though, as my Dad used to say about the nearby paper mill, "it smells like money." 

The middle of Kansas seems to be the dividing line between the small, rectangular hay bales, which we saw in exclusivity on the western side of the state, and the large rolls. Most if the farms from the middle onward favored the large rolls, though we actually saw a few farms that had both. Blocks and rolls, living in perfect harmony.

Energy seemed to be a major theme of the day as we drove through another wind farm. These things are so huge it's mind-boggling. They really look like something out of a science fiction movie. It's hard to get a photo that truly illustrates just how gigantic they are.

The most surprising thing we saw was lots and lots of oil rigs, far more than in the arid parts of the country where we expected to see them. They were all of the small variety. We're guessing that only Texas and California have the big giant ones.

It's very odd to see an oil well sitting in a field full of crops. It's even odder to see four or five. We even saw businesses that had multiple rigs sitting out on the lot, either for sale or repair. Marsha and I finally struck a deal that she can have a pet elk (named "Elkie") for the back yard if I can have a little oil well.

We even saw several natural gas facilities. The first couple weren't very big, but clearly company run. But then, like the oil rigs, we saw a bunch of small "outlets" on farms as we passed by. Corn, cows, gas, windmills, and oil. Who knew?

As we did yesterday, we drove through a lot of small towns again today. Our main route was the Historic Santa Fe Trail, so several of the them were all founded in the same year, 1876. We also went by Emporia, Waverly, and Williamsburg, so it was like someone had just grabbed a map of Eastern Virginia when handing out place names.

It's also fun looking at all the details as we drive through small towns. You never know what interesting things you'll see, such as the ATM yesterday that dispenses water, to today's standout -- a chiropractor with a giant Statue of Liberty in his front yard. His office is an old, one-story house and he even had a bunch of large flags all along the roof.

Since we didn't make it to the drive-in movie in Pueblo, Marsha did some quick research and found an AMC Dine & Screen theater in Kansas City, KS, just a short jaunt from our hotel in Kansas City, MO. Marsha bought our tickets using her iPhone and even picked out our seats. This gave us yet another deadline towards which to race, but this time we had a little more wiggle room (thanks to almost no traffic, a major highway, and no road construction) and didn't pull up this time with five minutes to spare.

The theater was fantastic (not to mention pricey), but we loved it. It was beautiful inside, with classic movie posters and even some expertly decorated "window displays" (though one revealed a major spoiler). We ordered dinner from the full menu and even had dessert. The only (slight) downside was that they couldn't get Madison's Coke right, nor were they able to recognize that there was something wrong with the mixture. We could easily tell inside the dark theater.

Keeping with this week's Western theme, we went to see The Lone Ranger, which was perfect timing. Like most good Westerns, it was filmed in Monument Valley. We were just there! So cool to see vistas on the big screen that we'd just seen in real life. Of course, even with superb filming and projection, you still can't capture the awe-inspiring majesty of the real thing.

From there it was a quick drive to downtown Kansas City, MO, just across the Missouri River. We had some trouble finding our hotel because their sign was out. What's more, police had roads blocked because a concert next door (Matchbox 20) was just minutes from letting out. We were racing against the clock yet again. Fortunately, our luck still held out and we got parked and checked in just in time.

The hotel is awesome. It's the Ambassador (classic name) and seems to be an older hotel that's had some major updating. Our room looks like an urban penthouse and is quite roomy.

No Harry Potter on TV tonight, so we just conked out watching Seinfeld. At least it doesn't smell like cow poop anymore.

Day 12: Getting the Heck Into Dodge

This morning we slept in late and got off to a slow start. We even called down and asked for a later checkout. Well, that was mostly because when we finally looked at the time, we realized that we only had 30 minutes left.

Fortunately, Madison was feeling back to normal (could have just been the high altitudes), but I think all of us needed the extra rest. With several days in a row of getting up early, spending hours on end in the car, and then doing something at our destination, it begins to take its toll. In that respect, I'm glad that we've only got four more days. But we've still got plenty to do and lots to see.

Once we hit the road, we also hit our first (and thankfully, only) traffic jam of the day just a mile or so from the hotel. We managed to find our own detour and get moving pretty quickly.

Most of today's trip out of Colorado has been on a two-lane highway. Fortunately, there wasn't much traffic and there were a fair number of passing zones. Even better, we had good cell coverage for pretty much the whole day. Even better than that, we passed through plenty of small towns, so there were no worries about stopping for gas. All of which made for a pretty relaxing ride while Marsha fixed all of the typos in my previous posts.

We have also finally put the mountains behind us until we cross through eastern Tennesee on our final leg home. Nothing but flat land straight ahead. If there were any mountains, we'd sure be able to see them.

Saw a lot more farms and even a couple of tumbleweeds to go with the few we saw yesterday. The most surprising thing we saw was more oil rigs than we saw in the arid areas yesterday. These were also of the small variety, but several of them were right in the middle of fields full of crops. That was sure unexpected. 

Most of the farms were of the family cattle farm variety. But when we passed our first industrial cattle farm, we immediately noticed a major difference. We could smell it for miles afterwards.

The oddest thing we saw was a freight train hauling the usual box and tank cars. But mixed among them were three fuselages of passenger jets. They were each the complete body from nose to tail, with some type of green covering, and minus the wings and stabilizers. I'm guessing they were heading somewhere for final assembly.

The second oddest thing we saw was an ATM that dispenses water. I thought it was an ATM as we were driving by, until I saw the word "water" in the name.

Shortly after crossing into Kansas, Madison noticed that we had crossed time zones again. This was totally unexpected, and has proven to be the one thing we should have researched more, particularly for the return home when we lose an hour each time. If it wasn't for our iPhones updating automatically we wouldn't have realized it until too late in the day. Thank heavens the only change we have left is on our last leg home, and for once we know exactly where it is.

As a result, we went from having plenty of time (or so we'd thought) to pushing the clock once again. We had 6:00 tickets for the country-style dinner and saloon show at the Boot Hill Museum. We had to really book it and hope that we didn't run into any more traffic jams.

Luckily traffic was in our favor and our hotel was right down the street. I left the car running, rushed inside, checked in, and rushed a bag containing chocolate gifts to the room. Buying chocolate in Vegas probably wasn't the smartest idea, so keeping it from melting has been a high priority ever since. Priorities, priorities.

We pulled up at the Boot Hill Museum with five minutes to spare. Whew! Déjà vu all over again. 

Boot Hill Museum is a re-creation of old Dodge City. The museum itself is made up of all the buildings on the street. The museum itself was already closed, so we'll have to come back to do that part in the morning.

We rushed into the Occident Saloon where we could finalky sit down and breathe easy for the rest of the night. We had a great country-style dinner of beef, sweet cream and buttered corn (which was awesome), grilled potatoes and onions, and biscuits on plates right out of the Old West. The food was great and since we'd skipped lunch due to a late breakfast, we were all plenty hungry.

We shared a table with an older couple who were doing the same thing we are, only the opposite. She had just retired and now they're traveling the country (starting from the other side), hitting many of the same spots we have. Only they have no hotel reservations and are just going where the wind takes them. When Marsha and I retire, that's exactly what we want to do.

Afterwards, we went outside where the Sheriff and the local gang of outlaws got into a scuffle. It started with a fistfight and erupted into a huge gunfight that left all but two men dead. That was pretty exciting. Let's hope this town is big enough for the two of them.

Finally, we went to the Long Branch Saloon at the other end of town where we watched a variety show with Miss Kitty and Her Can-Can Girls. That was a fun show with traditional songs from the Old West, comedy routines, and even a protest from the leader of the local temperance movement about the evils of liquor. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets outlawed one day.

This part got off to a rocky start when we discovered that our table had also been assigned to another family. They moved us to a different table and the same thing happened again, but in the end they got it all worked out and gave us some drinks to boot. Boot Hill, get it?

Then it was back to the hotel on Wyatt Earp Blvd, the main road through town. We've noticed the distinct aroma of cow poop outside, which seems to add to the Old West realism. We're also right next to the train tracks, so between the trains and the other traffic sounds (including sirens), it's a bit noisy.

But after a semi-long day day on the road, it's great just to relax again watching Harry Potter (Phoenix) and catch up on Food Network.

Day 11: Durango Unchained

Thanks to a shorter drive today and no reservations of any kind at our next stop, we had a little extra time to explore Durango. This was also a day that illustrates how life can give you unexpected turns. Yes, that is foreshadowing.

Let me say again how much I just love the Strater Hotel (more pics added to yesterday's post). which, apparently, has been in continuous operation since it opened without losing its Victorian charm.

This is probably because rest of Durango is much the same. Most of the shop exteriors look like they did 100 years ago. We enjoyed a walk around town (which is only a few blocks) and popped into a couple of shops, particularly the candy store. Madison was just like a kid in there.

But the best part of all was the Railroad Museum. You start out at the Depot, which also looks like you've stepped back in time.

From there, you head out back and down the tracks. The railroad in Durango is narrow gauge (only about four feet between the tracks, as opposed to the standard nearly six). The smaller trains are better for mountain passage and made this line much cheaper, and faster, to build back in the day.

The museum is like a mini wonderland of cool stuff from days gone by. There's antique cars from the 1930s, a replica of the first airplane to fly in Durango (like the Wright flyer with wheels), two locomotives, two passenger train cars, a caboose, two large model railroads, a huge collection of miniature soldiers, guns from WWII, and so much more it would take me all day to describe it.

We could have easily spent all day in there. Well, at least I could. Everywhere you turned there was something cool. I'm already making plans to go back.

Madison just loved the tiny drive-in theater on one of the model trains that was playing The Searchers. She just loves imitating Jeffrey Hunter after having seen the same clip a hundred times on The Great Movie Ride ("Oh, no you don't, Ethan! No you don't!"). Ironically, despite my love of TCM, we still haven't seen the movie.

They also offer tours of the rail yard and an all day excursion to nearby Silverton and back. As much as we would have loved that and had some extra time, we didn't have that much time.

We decided to check out the Royal Gorge Bridge, which is near our destination of Pueblo (famous for free government information). The bridge is the tallest in the United States and until 2001, was the tallest bridge in the world.

We headed off into the San Juan Mountains, where we crossed the San Juan River for about the sixth time in the last two days. The landscape got much greener, which was a welcome sight. Another long stretch without cell service, too. It's amazing how much of the West we've been through without cell coverage since Montana. And on major highways to boot. We've often worried what would happen if we broke down.

The higher we went, though, the cooler it got. Durango was around 89 degrees, but it got all the way down to around 55 in the mountains. We thought for a moment that we even saw some snowflakes.

It started raining again on the way back down, which was fine by us since we were past the steep inclines and sharp curves, and weren't planning to get out of the car for a while.

From there it was back into farm and ranch country. There was one ranch after another, followed by a series of farms that all had circular fields instead of the square ones that we're used to seeing, which works much better for the rotating irrigation systems. I was also interested to see that Colorado also favors the rectangular hay bales, arranged in large, rectangular stacks. In addition to the horses on the ranches, we saw a lot of cows and even a few llamas.

The green soon gave way to a red, rocky landscape. Very much like Red Rocks near Denver. 

We eventually made it back into green mountains as we reached Royal Gorge. In addition to the bridge, which also has a walking path, there's an incline railway, an aerial tramway, and even a little theme park to go with all of the other local attractions built around the bridge.

You can imagine our shock when we reached the entrance and saw a big sign that said "Bridge Closed."

Thoroughly confused, we ventured on and headed into the park. On our way up, we saw more signs that said the bridge was closed. As we rounded one of the many turns uphill, we found the answer.

Just a month earlier, there had been a huge fire (cause unknown) that burned down much of the surrounding forest and every one of the park buildings.

The bridge itself suffered only minimal damage, but is currently closed for an indefinite period of time. The whole area was a rather jarring site, as you can imagine. The road to the picnic area was still open, which offers the only view of the bridge from a distance.

We looked into going to a local drive-in theater in Pueblo to see The Lone Ranger (keeping with the Western theme), but Madison wasn't feeling well. So, we called it an early night and relaxed at the hotel. Watching Harry Potter (Azkaban) on TV and eating take-out from Cracker Barrel, complete with crayons -- still a great evening together.