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Published: June 10th 2017
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As our trip was winding down our site seeing became shorter. It was a mad rush to get home and Izzy replied this trip should of ended yesterday. I got up early as always to enjoy a run/walk with Hannah through the mountains of Colorado. The view was extraordinary and it was pretty warm out still. I had told the kids we needed to leave early, but was wrong. I though we were staying in Lincoln Nebraska, but actually it was closer to Colorado in North Platte. The difference was 4 hours, so it would make this our easiest and quickest drive of the whole trip. It would also make the last day very long, not good when your kids were already wanting home.
Our drive was through the mountains and even tunnels. The Colorado river seemed to follow us. The river was still at points and then would open to roaring rapids. We stopped at a rest stop and black bird with a white streak was eating on the sidewalk. I learned this was the state bird. I also found a lookout and saw the river and mountains. It was the most beautiful rest stop of the trip. At
one point the side of the mountains offered up waterfalls from the snow melting. The mountains at their higher elevations were snow covered. We drove through these to Denver. Along the way I received a text from my sister in law the goats got out. When I get home I plan to have a chat with those goats. Grateful once again for another awesome brother Jon.
Along the interstate stood the ski towns of Colorado. The homes were beautiful and probably costly. The towns were empty at this time of year even though some snow still stood on the mountain sides. Denver began to come into view, but before we drove through Denver I wanted to stop at Red Rock Amphitheater. This theater is entirely outdoors and surrounded by red rocks. There is even a museum in the "basement" that houses pictures and memorabilia of the artists that played there. Issac was being pretty honoree at this point and I taunted him with a kiss on the cheek in public if he did not behave. His siblings taunted him with throwing him over the amphitheater edge.
The view was magnificent and you could see the Denver skyline from
the theater. After the theater I wanted to see real dinosaur bones and foot prints in Dinosaur Ridge in the same park. We tried to park near a trail to the ridge, but there was no parking. Instead we parked a little ways down the road, and began to climb a mountain to find these fossils. After climbing to the top of the mountain ledge it was discovered that this may be the wrong area of the park. The kids however did not mind the climb, as they were able to run rapidly down the hill. At the end of the path Izzy put her feet a little river and it was back to the car for no views of dinosaur remains. Leaving Denver you could see the Rockies in the back window.
Off we went again to North Platte, Nebraska. I pulled out my phone along the way and looked up conversation starters. It was great fun to talk ethics, morals, the end of the world and other topics to pass time. Three and half hours later we reached our destination, not soon enough as the plains were not much to look at. The hotel was one of
my favorites. It was clean, and had a nice pool. It even had a happy hour where you could get 1 free adult beverage.
We left the hotel to explore the town and found a veteran memorial park only a few steps from the hotel. There was a enormous depiction of soldiers and even reported how many of each branch died in each war. It even had all the names of those from Nebraska that had died in each war. It takes sights like for us to reflect on how great our country is and what sacrifices people have made to continue to have the freedoms we sometimes take for granted.
The town we were staying in was Wild Bill Cody's town the famous wild western circus performer. There was a store in the shape of fort dedicated to the celebrity. It reminded a little of Wall Drug in South Dakota. The kids bought some souvenirs and off to dinner we went. We found a great pizza place and the cheapest real dinner of the entire trip. Salad, bread, and 2 pizza's with drinks for $35 can't beat that price. I realized on this trip we eat very
fast not savoring our meals. When we get home I plan to slow down when I eat to savor our family time. After Pizza I wrote this blog and then enjoyed the best pool of the trip with my 1 glass of free wine. I fell asleep not really sure what time zone we were in and prayed for a safe final leg from Nebraska to home.
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