Advertisement
Published: April 12th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Dual Purpose
It's nice to know that in Denver, you can simultaneously hide from a tornado and take care of business. We touched down in Denver after quite a bumpy approach, but all was well. I can’t complain because the pilot did warn us that it would be turbulent. After figuring my way around the airport, I hopped the shuttle to the car rentals and picked up a Toyota Highlander. I didn’t have many choices, but I was going to go with something that large anyway. Since I was in for a long haul touching three states, I wanted the comfort.
So I took a few wrong turns before finding my way off the airport property and hit the highway. Man, did that feel good after being cooped up in dense, crowded Chicago for two days. I hit the open road and laughed out loud when I saw the highway speed limit posted as 75 MPH. Zooming along felt great. I kept gawking at the views of the Rocky Mountains in the distance. They were doing their job of keeping the weather on the western side, as was evident by the cloud wall I could see just over the peaks. It was snowing like mad on the summits as they picked up another 15 inches or so.
As I
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...
Welcome to Denver International Airport and Big Top Circus. headed north, the mountains slowly disappeared in the distance and I quickly found myself bored. People sure don’t come this way for the scenery. My route took me north through Colorado and into Wyoming, then east into Nebraska. If you’re not a fan of farmland, ranches and open plains with views of nothing right on to the horizon, you’ll hate it here. But if you like open space and roads that disappear into pure inky blackness at night, boy have I got a place for you.
I felt bad for anyone going to Omaha. You know those signs on the highway announcing the miles to particular cities? There was one posted “Omaha 459.” Gawd.
If you ever drive out this way, there are only two things you need to perfect in regards to your driving skills:
1. Set the cruise control at 80 MPH
2. Stay awake
Everything else pretty much takes care of itself. You may even be able to get away without Step 2.
There are lots of cattle, horses and bison grazing all over the place, and mile after mile after bloody mile of open tracts of farmland. The thing that piqued
Rocky Mountain High
I'd have loved to get a closer look. my curiosity the most was that signs are erected across one section of Interstate 80 saying that if the lights on the sign are flashing, the highway is closed and to jump off at the exit. Then, there’s a railroad crossing-style gate that can be lowered right across the highway when they close it. I was fraught with confusion over this until I came across some mesas that were comprised of what appeared to be very loose rock. Strewn around the base of these were boulders of varying sizes. I could only assume that they would sometimes close the section of road next to these areas in case some large rocks rolled onto the pavement.
My mission was to make it to Cabela’s before 8:00, and I was on schedule to be there by 7:00. After a whole lot of driving, I made it and was struck at the facility. They have the most amazing display of stuffed game animals I have ever seen. North America was completely represented in the form of these figures, which were exquisitely mounted. In the back of the display is even a mock mountainside on which stands wolves, rams, and all kinds of
My Graceland!
The REAL purpose of my trip. other animals. This was a marvelous piece of artwork. I don’t have the ability to put it into words.
So I browsed and chatted with some very friendly sales staff. I picked up two ball caps for the little woman and myself as mementos and left 10 minutes before they closed. Then I sat down in a nearby steakhouse and had a nice dinner that I know will be scrutinized when I hand in my expense report to the troll. I went over my limit by a dollar.
I drove back to Kimball and promptly got pulled over by the local law enforcement. As I pulled along side the road, I sighed at thinking what I was getting nabbed for. Lights were on, there were no traffic signals I could have run, I most certainly wasn’t speeding as I was crawling along looking for my hotel. After a minute, the cop approached the car. This kid (if he was 25 he was a day) walked up and introduced himself by name. If nothing he was very well-mannered. “Sir, I stopped you because you’re driving with your fog lights on and around here, that’s just like your high-beams.” It’s
Amazing display
This picture does not do this justice. illegal in Kimball to drive with fog lights or high-beams??? What the heck happens if it’s foggy or dark?
I was dumbfounded. So I just said, “It’s a rental,” and started looking for the switch. The cop chuckled a laugh and actually started helping me look for the fog light switch. I found it and turned the little ring around the headlight control. He then walked around to the front of the vehicle to determine first-hand that they were off.
“I never ticket for these. I write warnings, though, to show my boss I’m doing my job,” he said almost apologetically. I nodded and said I understood. I produced my license and found what little paperwork I could from the rental company. “Sir, if you could sit with me in the passenger seat of my car…” Oh, brother. Did he like company? Why would he have me do that? I could see nothing but potential danger to him. He had no idea who I was. Here I am driving a car registered in Nevada through Kimball-freaking-Nebraska. For all this kid knows, I’m on the lam, worried for my life and heavily armed and he’s asking that I sit
next to him in the front seat of his cruiser? Is this their protocol??? It must have been because he had a cruiser video camera capturing the event. Why would he take of f video? If something bad were to happen, he’d have no evidence. This was all very strange.
So I sat and we chatted. He seemed like a nice guy. He called my info in and as he wrote up the warning slip, we talked about travel and don’t you know he was going to Denver tomorrow, too. Gee, maybe we could car pool. He handed me my receipt and said, “You don’t have to keep this. You can throw it away or use it as a bookmark or something.” I WILL keep it and save as a memento for the trip, and frame it with my scary-gram from the TSA (that’s a whole other story.)
I found my hotel easily enough. It’s a rinky-dink Days Inn, but the room is clean. The deadbolt won’t latch on the door and the security lock is anything but secure, so to appease my paranoia, I fashioned a chock out of the metal Kleenex box cover and a chair to hold the door fast if someone were to try to break in. It took me quite a while to find the right materials, but I succeeded in a most McGyver-like fashion.
Tomorrow I visit the facility and then head back to Denver where I will stay the night and leave in the morning. If all goes well, I’ll be home by 5:00 Friday night. But the forecast for the Denver Airport is for up to 5 inches of snow Thursday into Friday. We’ll see what happens.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.139s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 13; qc: 47; dbt: 0.0433s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
mrselkoil
non-member comment
NH's Winter Storm Warning
Yep, it's spring in New England and we're in for another snowstorm - up north. It's 10 am and it has yet to start here, but it will. I'll make a fire tonight for me and the dog kids - they like that. The storm we're supposed to get today will meld with the forecasted nor'easter predicted for Sunday into Wednesday. Really put a damper on the marathon. Hope you are keeping warm and dry. Can't wait for you to come home.