Day 2: Day of the 6 Hour Detour

On the road again:




The drive on I-70 out of Denver was beautiful. We were going steadily uphill while battling about a 40-50 MPH wind (Kurt - that's about as fast as you throw a baseball, on a good day :)




The first sight on mountains:




Well, Erv, you were right. On Tuesday night, Erv (Leah's grandpa) was emphatic that we check the road report before we left. We were staying with people we didn't really know, so we didn't want to ask to connect to their internet. Also, it was mostly out of sheer laziness and stubbornness that I didn't check. Apparently the interstate was shut down outside of Denver, but we didn't know that until we'd already driven an hour...oops.



We had to stop in Colorado Springs to check the weather and road conditions. I guess it's time to head further south:



Leah had seen enough mountains for the time being:


The beautiful scenery of Pueblo, CO:

(If anyone I remotely cared about wanted to move to Pueblo, CO I would first try and strongly discourage such a stupid decision. If that tactic failed, I would take a plastic whiffle ball bat to the back of there legs.)

Once we reached the very unglamorous town of Walsenburg, CO, we took a right and headed west on highway 160. We were just starting to make our long journey across the state. We were counting on the roads being better to the south. Back into the the heart of the Rockies:

Once again we were climbing severely uphill while battling the 50 MPH wind. Having our car loaded down with all of our stuff, and not to mention the McDonald's I ate for breakfast didn't help our cause much either. It was a really pretty drive (do I look like I haven't showered in 24 hrs. and have eaten a lot of beef jerky?!):



This was our first true disagreement during the trip. I'll let you be the judge, but in this economy, I'm pretty sure most of you would drop trow pretty much anywhere for a million bucks.




By the time we reached Wolf Creek Pass we had agreed to disagree on our previous argument. However, amidst the grandeur and beauty of our surroundings, Leah insisted on bringing up old wounds. I do a stellar "magic" trick ("Illusion, Michael.") where I make a toothpick magically jump in mid-air. This secret has long been a point of contention in our relationship, and Leah chose to give me the cold shoulder until I told her. Though the atmosphere of the car was icy, I stood my ground - as does any experienced illusionist - until she broker her silence and made me a delicious PB&J sandwich.



Driving though Wolf Creek Pass was definitely a highlight of the entire trip. It had just snowed there - hence the interstate being closed to the north - and the plows were still trying to clear it all out. We must have ascended a couple thousand feet, all the while driving with snow drifts 6-10 feet high on both sides. The trees were covered in snow and you could look out and see the river valley - it was just beautiful. On the way down, there was tons of slush on the road. Also, it was about a 7.5% downhill grade for 15 miles, so we had to ride the brake most of the way.







Chimney Rock...from Oregon Trail (through my dirty window):






This is just outside of Durango, CO. I would much rather live there than Pueblo, CO. Actually, I'd probably rather live most anywhere than Pueblo, CO - as I've previously noted.


Still in Colorado...10 hours later!




Entering Utah...finally!



The Archway Inn was a nice, cheap place to stay. If you ever go to Moab, the food from Cassano's is very good, however, the wait staff is not very adept. Leah wasn't feeling very well, so I bought her some Nyquil. I thought she didn't like the cherry flavor, so I bought the regular flavor...big mistake. It turns out cherry is the ONLY flavor she likes. The regular flavor tasted like black licorice covered with burnt hair. It was soooo nasty. Anyway, we both took some and slept pretty well.