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.
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.
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