TRIP UPDATE

June 10, 2008
Travel Journal.

We are on the road again. A 9 hour trip from Omaha to Denver. We just left Brian’s sister’s place. Brian and I went to Starbuck’s this morning. Dan and Sallie came with us.

I gave the GPS to Connor for this leg of the trip. He really enjoyed it. We had him find a place to eat lunch. I think he really enjoyed that. He found a place, told us the miles and which exit number and all the boys kept track of how many exits. After a while Connor said we have 8 miles left to get to the exit and we are going about 70 and we’d have to drive to the place and park, so it should take us 7 minutes.

Afterwards, while we were in the van waiting for his brothers, Connor reset the MAX SPEED, then he help the GPS tightly and RAN across the parking lot and grassy area. He got the MAX speed to 9.7. He thought that was great fun! He had the biggest, giggly smile on his face wile running with the GPS unit.

It is Gavin’s turn with the GPS now. He enjoys watching the map change as we go along and finding the next road or river we will cross and checking the mileage all along the way. He touches all the rivers and areas so the GPS will display the name.

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I drove 50 miles while pulling the camper! Yeah Me! I hate hate hate driving, so driving and pulling a camper and going through construction was a really big thing for me. I had my Driving Snack. Fig Newton sans SoBe Energy Juice this time.

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About 4 PM Mountain Time the landscape suddenly changed. Pretty much as we entered Colorado. It went from the lush green farmland of Nebraska with a gazillion lakes and rivers, to ‘SouthWestern Landscape”, short grasses, sage bush, yucca-looking plants, cacti and we even saw some tumble weed!~ And some lonh horn steer to complete the picture! As much as I have always waned to live in an area such as Ohio for the lush green plants and full trees, it is exciting to see the new landscape. Cacti and Tumbleweed. Yucca and sage. The openness does have a nice quality; being able to see for miles and miles A row of clouds against the horizon.


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The rest stop had a display of T-Shirts. They were those Christian Logo Shirts. Like “Jesus died for
MYSPACE
in heaven”

and one with a STARBUCKS LOGO, it had Jesus with a crown og thorns, drawn in the manner of the lady in the Starbucks Logo and read:SACRIFICED
FOR ME
Around the green circle. w/ Heb 10:10 split in the middle of the green circle

Ki was thinking of buying a shirt. I liked the one that said
ORGAN DONOR with the red medical symbol between the words
And in small print underneath it said “I gave my heart to God” and had a verse ref.
I mainly wrote that to remind me to look them up online when we have an address. I told Ki that they might be cheaper online.


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The exits were not many. In fact at the exits they’d warn the next exit wouldn’t be for 10 or 15 miles. We got on the BIG E on gas, took an exit for gas and it turns out to be 6 more miles off the exit on turns and twists and a Mom & Pop place (which aren’t always open we have found), so we got back on the highway. There was another chain gas station 15 miles away.

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We stopped at Chipotle for dinner. It was a small town, had a Walmart and a few stores and fast food places. The stop signs and he cross walk signs had lights on the sign and were powered by solar panels… it was neat! And their was a sign at the edge of the Walmart parking lot that warned that they have special lines and if the shopping carts are taken outside the parking lot they lock up ! How do they do that?? I wanted to take a cart past the edge and experience auto wheel lock up.


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Wendy (the GPS) needs some serious map updates!

We are in Aurora, CO tonight. Tomorrow we hang around Denver and drive to Colorado Springs in the early evening.