Durango To Denver

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On this leg of the Amazing Race, Christina and Sheryl took off from Durango and drove to Denver.
Christina here:
Sheryl had so much last-minute work to do, she didn't even go to bed all night. Large coffees were in order. We stopped off at Durango's "Steaming Bean". Sheryl was pleased with their bathroom mural and Eleanor Roosevelt's quote: "Women are like tea. You don't know how strong they are until they get in hot water."
We had perfect weather for our drive. Blue skies, snow-capped peaks, bald eagles wheeling circles by the road, cows bunched wherever snow melted and exposed grass--Colorado springtime.
Something odd--we saw emergency vehicles everywhere. We were diverted in traffic a couple of times because of accidents in the road. At many small towns on the way, we had to move over for ambulances. While filling up with gas in Buena Vista, another car had a gasoline incident, spilling gas all over the parking lot. We thought of Doug's "Three P's." Protection, Provision, Presence." We felt very protected from the emergencies going on around us.
My car started making weird noises shortly before we reached my Donna, Denny, & Meagan's house, but it kept going. It was so nice to visit with those guys. They prepared a vegetarian feast for us. Denny gave us some gifts for the Indian children, and Donna & Meagan stayed up really late to help us re-pack. Meagan traded me some good travel books for my lame ones, (Meg: Keep me on the list for "Texas Brides!") and Donna proved the value of getting an MBA by showing off her educationally-enhanced packing skills. Next morning, Donna drove us to the airport and we boarded a cramped commuter flight to Chicago.
We've taken time to stretch, eat, and exercise. We're really hoping the other airplanes will be more comfortable, as we still have about 20 hours to go in the air.
It's sinking in that we're really doing this.

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