09JT Day 2 Pawnee Grasslands and Carhenge

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24 June 2009 Wednesday

I over slept at Kay and Jackies. Jackie was leaving for work at 6:30am, I set my alarm for 6am and it went off, then I must have just gone back to sleep because I woke up closer to 8:30am. Not in a real hurry to leave now I didn’t want to be out there in rush hour traffic. Kay and I had a leasurly breakfast of donuts and talked again of all things important.

It did not take long for me to be packed and on the road yet again. The plan was to head for the northeast corner of CO and into NE. NE would bring Carhenge and take me on into Wounded Knee SD.

The Pawnee National Grasslands in northeast Colorado took longer to get through than one might expect. They provided some great views and I found myself stopped along the highway frequently taking pictures or just admiring the views that seemed to go on forever.

The ride to Alliance NE and Carhenge yielded its own rewards as I found a windmill and bridge that provided nice backgrounds for pictures.

Carhenge (N42 08.490 W102 51.550) was deserted when I got there. Only the gift shop guy was there. He was an interesting guy to talk with as he filled me in on all the history of Carhenge. Seems the builder had been studying Stonehenge when he came home from England for his fathers funeral. Joining his families love for cars with his love for Stonehenge led to building Carhenge. At first the cars had their windows, but slowly they were broken out and replaced with sheet metal. The gift shop guy gave me permission to pull Effie on out to the structure to get some better pictures. I was lucky.

It was around 6:30PM when I decided to call it quits. There were motels a plenty in the area and I had just had relaxing time at Carhenge. I decided to pull up for the night. The first motel I pulled into was a mom and pop, it had the overhang and had a sign $26.95 rate proudly posted out front. However when I went to actually get a room the rate was $39, I decided to pass. I think I pissed off the owner, but I really don’t like the bait and switch tactic. Down the road was another motel, West Way motel (N42 05.807 W102 53.184) with a $44 dollar rate and it included WiFi, I checked in.


Effie’s Odometer at the end of the day: 114381
Total Trip Miles: 973
Trip Miles for the day: 332

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Photos

Me and Effie
There is a Valiant right over my head. That was my first car. Not that one specifically in this picture.