Well gang, we are on the road for our Colorado vacation. Left this morning about 9:30. Had an uneventful trip for the most part. On I40 west bound near Hinton, Ok. we had a semi that was all over the road. After a few miles of it we dropped the dime on him. Not sure if the Troopers were able to stop him but I hope they did before he caused a wreck.

We've got the Merc loaded down pretty well. The trunk is cavernous and easily handled four large back pack, three smaller cases, a mid sized ice chest and a 50 quart ice chest. There was still quite a bit of room left over. With four of us in the car and cruising 75 or so we got right at 25 mpg, both via the indicated on the dash and the hand figured method.

Got to the Best Western in Pueblo at about 8:00. Check it was fine. Travelocity had us a room but there was some minor confusion. Got it all corrected though.

The scenery was a nice transition from semi-desert to the foot hill of the Rockies. Ears were popping a bit. Gave the kids home made beef jerky to chew on to help. The road kill got a lot larger the further up the road we went. Tomorrow we go to Royal Gorge and then to the Cliff Dwellings. We were going to do Pike's Peak but wife and daughter do not like heights.

Everybody was in good spirits for the trip and there was minimal fussing.

Will keep ya'll posted.

Can't wait for Chapter 2!

Have fun.

X2 X2

Like this??

Mark

Yeah, I really wanted to. I like heights and things like that.

We just got up, it 6:30 local time. Wife is ready for breakfast and daughter is getting that way. Son is going to sleep in.

I forgot to mention that yesterday we picnicked along side the rode in a rest stop in the north Texas panhandle. Read some of the history markers there. The XIT ranch, a 3 MILLION acre ranch was once part of that area. There was mention of Billy the Kid and other notorious outlaws. As you drive across that landscape you can easily picture in your mind desperadoes moving across the sage and mesquite brush.

I will come back and maybe edit this entry as the day goes by.

Take care.

Great. Drive safely and have fun!

BTW, how did you manage to get the daughter up so early? I should take notes and forward to my mother!

We are in a small suite. She had to choose the hide a bed.
When wife and I get up we make noise. She wants to eat but does not want to eat alone so she gets up and get ready.
Takes my wife ten minutes to do makeup, daughter it takes over 30!!!
Son is now making sounds like getting up. He may join us or may eat later. He is fine by himself but his sister ofter ropes him in to going places with her so she feels more secure.

Today we are headed to Royal Gorge and then the cliff dwellings at Manitou Springs. I may try to post some photos.

Nice trip log PH. Keep it up. It's almost like we're there with you.

Royal Gorge is great. Lots of small deer around the area to photo.

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? I need to go potty!"

Enjoy your vacation PH.

I had 5 kids in the car with me for 3 hours on Saturday. I threatened a side trip to Home Depot if they were too loud. All was well.

Nice reports PH.
We've made a few trips to Co Springs in the past (Hockey Tournaments). Always had a great time and love the scenery.

One trip was a full circle. We drove in a storm all the way from St. George UT and it didn't let up until we were on the other side of the rookies. Maybe avg'd 25mph all the way across on the I-70. So we ended up returning home coming back down thru Albuquerque and across on the I-40.

Have a great time. The gorge is way cool, not sure how much they'll enjoy it being scared of heights though.

Well we made it to Breckenridge.
We were using a Magellan road mate or something like that and some maps I printed up from Google. The maps bailed out the Magellan a couple of time. Cannot trust the Magellan in areas with many cross streets.

The roads were wonderful to drive on. Had to slip the Merc into low a couple of times to keep off of the brakes. Someone ahead of me did not know this trick and all you could smell was hot brakes.

We loved Royal Gorge. The kids and I hiked across the bridge a couple of time and got some good photos which I will post later. We rode the incline railroad down into the gorge and got to see some folks shoot the rapids on rafts and kayaks. The passenger train stopped while we were there and we got some photos of it as well. Man, when he hit his horn just about everybody jumped!

We went to the cliff dwellings in Pueblo. Kind of neat but just a little too restored for me. Also not a lot of history or archeology type stuff.

From there we drove on a bit and had another roadside lunch along side the highway. Got into Breckenridge about 6:00 PM and got into our place. Ran down to a local grocery and bought some vittles. Kind of a shock to see chicken breast selling for what a Porterhouse brings back home. First night we cooked some frozen pizza, at least those were more in line price wise with what we are used to.

Picked up some Fat Tire ale. Cannot remember who on the board talked about it some time back but the name stuck in my mind.

I can see why he liked it. Darn good amber ale.

There is a nice breeze blowing through the room. There is still snow up on the mountains and the temp here is very pleasant.

Tomorrow we head into Leadville for some sightseeing and some horseback riding.

Ye haw!!!


Parrott_head

Well up at the crack of dawn this morning. Cooking up some bacon for omelets this morning. Wife and I both logged in on the free 'net access.
The condo we are at in nicely stocked with cooking tools.

The kids went out last night checking out the place. We told them stay together and be respectful of others. Them made it back before ten and went on to bed. Amazing how sleeping in a car can make you so worn out.

On to Leadville in a bit. Will see if Maggie (out electronic and slightly confused tour guide) and Google will agree on a route. My money is on Google.

Oh, the Fat Tire beer is very good.

Lucky bums. I'm jealous.