Day 6 - Drive to Denver, Dinosaur Ridge

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After a good night of sleep (each kid only up once and everyone sleeping in a little in the morning) we were ready to pack up and hit the road again. It took us awhile to get everything in order and back into the car. We didn't actually leave Grand Junction until about 11 am. Sarah rode in the backseat with the boys so she could help Paul with homework for the first 2 hour stretch of our drive to Edward, Co. We enjoyed our picnic lunch at a rest area in Edward before driving into the Denver area. Levi napped and Paul played in the backseat while we drove. We arrived in Morrison, CO with just a few minutes to enjoy the indoor aspects of Dinosaur Ridge. The directions we followed got us to the back side of the ridge and it took some precious minutes to drive around and get to the real entrance. We got there at 4:36 pm and the indoor exhibit closes at 4:30 pm and the gift store closes at 5:00 pm. Luckily we did have a few minutes in the gift store and we were able to get the new dinosaur shoes we wanted for Paul. We were also allowed to visit the little museum area for a few minutes even though they were technically closed. Afterwards we hiked up the road to the ridge where we saw dinosaur tracks, dinosaur bones, and a bunch of information about the local geology. It was fascinating and a great way to spend the cool late afternoon. After loading back into the car, we headed to the Colorado Mills shopping area. It turned out to be a HUMONGOUS mall with "real" stores and "outlet" stores all mixed together. We went searching for the LEGO Outlet. It was fun to explore the many LEGOs and get Paul a new LEGO t-shirt for $3.00! Then the boys rode the indoor carousel that Levi was begging to ride. Since the carousel was in the food court, we decided to just eat there instead of packing everyone back up into the car to find a place to eat. After dinner, we drove the additional 20 minutes to our hotel. We're in a suite again (no late night hanging out in the bathroom stories this time) and we're here for 3 nights. It will be nice to be settled and not packing up for a little while. Unfortunately, it is apparently Todd's turn to be feeling under the weather. He has had a sore throat for a few days and today he was achy and got the chills a few times. Hopefully he'll get some great sleep (maybe we all will) and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to explore again.

Day 6 Stats

• 1348.6 total miles driven
• 51.7 total gallons of gasoline consumed
• Average 26.0 MPG
• 28 hours, 18 minutes in the car
• 3 additional state licenses plates

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Photos

The Summit and a Tunnel!
Made it to the top of the Rockies!

Dinosaur Ridge
Boys enjoyed playing in the sand box with some bones.