Roadtrip #8 - The Upper Midwest

[Kinless]

Off to an early start for once! We are packed and out the door before 8:00am. There was no free breakfast at this Best Western so we hit up a McDonalds and then quickly jaunted over to North Dakota’s State Capitol. It didn’t hit me until we pulled up that they wouldn’t be open on weekends. Duh! Looks like there isn’t going to be much capitol action today, at least internally. We settle for pics of the modern skyscraper and grounds, then found a gas station for another fill-up and started our southern route of the trip.

Briefly using I-94 east, we headed to the neighboring town of Mandan, where we’re able to hop on the southbound Hwy 1806 and begin the journey through one of the largest Sioux reservations, Standing Rock. But before we get there, we decide to make a spontaneous destination and stop at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park around 9:45am. Here you’ll find a makeshift fort with a few of the buildings that would have existed back then, a campground, a visitor center/museum, and a mock Indian Village (“On a Slant” as it was called). It was a peaceful stroll around the different areas of the park, and plenty of photo opportunities abound.

We left 90 minutes later and continued southward, soon passing into the boundaries of the reservation. Our main stop was the town of Fort Yates, home of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and where Sitting Bull was originally buried. The town looked all but deserted so we didn’t stick around here long except to gawk at the actual “Standing Rock” near the edge of town. Farther south we continued along the Missouri River, taking in the scenery and conspicuously crossing into South Dakota (and temporarily back into Mountain Time Zone). Nope, no border signs to tell us; I only knew when/where we crossed over because of previous research. It wasn’t until near the end when we met up with Hwy 12, that more features of the Standing Rock Scenic Byway presented itself. Markers were dotted on the island that connects the reservation to Mobridge across the river. The final items were the memorials of Sitting Bull (where he’s allegedly buried today) and Sacagawea (Sakakawea as they spell it), located at the edge of the state-maintained 1804 highway. We probably could have made more efficient use of our time with this area, but we enjoyed the Abe Lincoln State Park and what we could find of the Byway so it was all good.

We left the reservation and briefly stopped in Mobridge (back to Central Time once again) for a dipped ice cream cone, and then continued east on Hwy 12, until Hwy 83 south became our new BFF for the day. We used it to travel to the capital town of Pierre, which seemed to be a really nice place. Once again, being a Saturday, the capitol was locked up tight, so we had to make do with outside pictures once again. (Doesn’t really matter though, as Day 2 at Wyoming’s capitol really made up for it!) Mom also took pictures of the surrounding antiquated housing.

Pierre, SD was soon behind us, and we continued onward with Hwy 83 until reaching I-90 West. After some more miles and advertising billboards later, we reached our overnight city of Murdo close to 6:30pm CDT. (I didn’t even realize until I reviewed our reservation sheet that I requested a room here and not in Pierre. Whoops-a-daisy! ;) We found the Star Family Restaurant for dinner, which incidentally happened to be their last day serving for the season. Everyone be closing up shop around here!

Tired tired tired. Off to bed, but looking forward to tomorrow’s events…

[Kinless]

I had imagined a day where we could finally get to our next overnight destination early and have a little time to relax and enjoy our hotel. But it is not this day.

Murdo, SD was a memory as of 9:25am CDT. We ramped onto I-90 West and twenty miles later gained our hour back re-entering the Mountain Time Zone. Not too long after, I saw a lone fuel station and decided we should probably get some gas since it was questionable making it to Rapid City on what we had. The same exit just also happened to be the one for the “1880’s Town” attraction that has been plastered all over billboards on this Interstate. While we’re filling up, Mom decides to go check it out and says we should go in. So be it.

For the $12 entry fee ($10/seniors), you are given access to what it was like to live in the late 19th century. There’s quite a few numbers of complete authentic buildings built between 1880 and 1920, moved to this location and set up in a way that resembles a town from the 1880s era. All the items inside these buildings are authentic as well. It really gives you a perspective of what folks had to work with back in the day. You could spend hours walking around these parts. Another top feature of this place is that they have collected most of the props used in the “Dances With Wolves” film. The entire upstairs of the main building is all props, costumes, production pictures, and more for the obsessed movie buff. It’s a popular movie in our household, so it was super cool to see all this stuff in the flesh. They also had the movie soundtrack blasting throughout the town. Relatively close to here is where they shot the Fort Sedgwick and Buffalo Hunt scenes, although far away enough where we didn’t have time for that. Adding on the souvenir shopping and museum browsing: 2 hours gone.

We get back on the road a little after 11:00am MDT and follow the interstate west for a while, and then exit to South Dakota 240, which begins the 39-mile Badlands National Park Loop. Almost immediately after entering the park boundaries, the overlooks were already presenting themselves. The worn-away pinnacles of the Badlands put on quite a show for the visitors, some etching into valleys below while others tower over us. It reminds me of the geologic features from Utah, although the Badlands have a different color scheme. After a number of overlooks and traversing through peaks and valleys, we reach the Visitor Center a few minutes before 1:00pm MDT, perfect timing to run in and sit down for the 20-minute video presentation. (Phew! Finally got something right.) Looking at the exhibits and buying the souvenirs added to our time here, which was about 35 minutes. Off we headed, looking at more viewpoints and crossing more passes and taking loads of pictures, even though pics can’t quite capture the depth that you see in person. Near the end of the loop, some of the pinnacles were starting to show yellow bottoms with red stripes, indicating the age and mineral composition of that layer. Magnificence all around.

That was the end of the loop. We finished up South Dakota 240 into the town of Wall, where another attraction begging for attention, the Wall Drug Store at Wall, SD, was decided as a spontaneous decision. We had no problem finding where that was located. But before spending time there, we go and find our original destination, the Wounded Knee Museum. This used to be at the actual site, but since it became so run-down, it was moved to Wall a few years back. Since Wounded Knee is on our list for Day 9, we thought it best to come here and get the full history before heading to the actual place. A $5/$6 entry fee will get you in to see the exhibits, video presentations, and timelines of everything leading up to that fateful day. You could probably get through the entire thing in 30-45 minutes, so if it’s something that’s important to you, definitely take the time to see it.

Now that we got that out of the way, back to Wall Drug Store. This place is huge with dozens of stores, a cafe where they serve delicious food, including donuts and pies (the only appropriate thing to have at 4:00pm between lunch and dinner). We went into their “backyard” where they have oddball things, including a giant jackalope, which of course yours truly had to sit on it and pose. Just because. We headed back to the souvenir department and I ended up spending a bunch of money on the complete collection of state magnets and a magnetic board. I have been seeking these items for a long time, but here it was cheap enough to finally take the plunge. After 9+ years, my quest to collect all 50 state magnets came to a sudden end.

5:20pm? Crap, we gotta go! It’s another 75 minutes to run through Rapid City and up the mountain to our overnight stay in Lone Hill, SD. Since we’re here for 3 nights, we went big and got a suite. Being a little late, we were shoved to the 2nd floor, but still plenty of room to move around.

Tomorrow is gonna be crazy busy with 4 events planned. Can we do it? Of course we can. Do you even have to ask? ;)

[Kinless]

Today marks the halfway point of our road trip. We start by packing our… oh wait, no packing today! I knew there was something to it about staying somewhere more than one night. Regardless, we still had to wake up early in order to start a busy day.

===== Part 1 =====

At 8:00am MDT, we headed south on Hwy 16 to Hwy 385, towards our final National Park of the trip. We reached Wind Cave National Park shortly before 9:00am. It was a good thing too, because the NPS failed to update their website and had not switched to their fall schedule as far as cave tours were concerned. Instead of the expected 1/4-mile 1-hour tour at 9:30, our only choice was to opt for the 1/2-mile 1.5-hour tour at 9:00, which included 300 stairs (mostly heading down, with an elevator ride back up at the end). I assumed this would be within my folk’s abilities, but unfortunately it was a little strenuous for mom, as she can only descend one step at a time. We were constantly far behind the main tour group. Despite this, we were able to complete the tour and view just a tiny taste of the hundreds of miles of caves that have been explored in this area. Our ranger tour guide was very well-versed about the caves so we learned a lot from him. There’s a few fascinating geologic features in these caves, but with the lack of light, was only able to capture them on film with the assistance of a mini-tripod and tons of patience.

Next on the agenda was the Mammoth Site near Hot Springs, SD, not too far from Wind Cave. A 26,000 year-old sinkhole that is home to dozens of mammoth bones and fossils has been completely encased in a huge building and preserved for scientists, diggers, and visitors. You get a 30-minute tour of what’s been uncovered so far, plus exhibits and the option to take the elevator to the lower floor and view the laboratories of excavated fossils. It’s an intriguing place to visit!

===== Part 2 =====

Back up Hwy 385/16 we go and take a little rest in our suite. An hour later we’re back on the road, heading down to Crazy Horse, something we were going to do tomorrow, but figured we could knock out today. We had all been here before on Roadtrip #2, but was overcast that time and we didn’t get to see the actual mountain. This round we were in luck. Not only was the mountain visible, but we arrived in time to see an Indian dancing presentation. Fun to watch, especially at the end when the girl performing used 23 hoops during her dance. For once I didn’t buy any souvenirs here (already have my share) but mom found some more of course.

We stayed there about 90 minutes, then headed out again, using Hwy 87 to start the route around Custer State Park shortly after 5:00pm, coming in from the northwest entrance. The first area we hit was on the Needles Highway, which in my opinion are the most impressive features of this park. Spires of rock are jutting out hundreds of feet in the air all through the mountainside. There were also several one-lane tunnels that we drove through (pretty sure all man-made, but still kind of awesome). You can’t help but stop and take pictures at almost all the turn-offs. You feel just a tad small.

The frequent stops unfortunately put us behind schedule. The plan was to take the Wildlife Loop Road and circle back around in time to catch the Evening Lighting Ceremony at Mount Rushmore. Unfortunately the park is much bigger than you think, and it was loosely raining which meant not driving as fast. By the time we reached the halfway point of the loop, the dark rain clouds made it extremely difficult to take pics of what wildlife we could see. Upon reaching Hwy 16A, it was pitch dark, and now apparent that we wouldn’t make it to Mount Rushmore in time, so we decided to cut our evening short and just take Hwy 16A back to the hotel, managing to spot a few far-off lightning strikes along the way. We’ll hopefully catch the light show at Rushmore tomorrow evening.

We’re going to take tomorrow morning off and get some things done/re-organized. Our adventures will continue in the afternoon. Keep it here!

[Kinless]

It was somewhat of a lighter day, although still quite fulfilling. We stayed in for the morning and took care of re-organizing everything from suitcases to souvenirs to snacks. We are prepared for the second half of our journey.

At noon MDT we left the hotel and headed directly north on Hwy 385 from Hill City, where it turned into Hwy 85 around Deadwood. We locked onto this highway all the way out of the Black Hills, over the I-90 and up to the town of Belle Fourche, dubbed the “Center of the Nation” by the locals. Although most would be satisfied with coming this far, the OCD in me was not. We continued past the town almost 20 miles further north until we reached “Old Highway 85” road, where the telltale sign “Center of the Nation - 7.8 miles” gave away the real location. We turned left and braved a well-kept gravel road through a number of ranches, until the sight of a tattered American flag moseyed into our peripherals.

A sign riddled with bullet holes and a small cairn greeted us at the point closest to the flag. I could only find one small hook to keep the barbed-wire fence somewhat separated. My feet and hands further extended the space so my folks could maneuver in between. Once we were all through, we followed the worn trail about 120 feet to the flag, laid upon a concrete slab with a geodetic marker indicating exactly where the center of all 50 US states fell. As a geographical nerd, you really couldn’t ask for a bigger thrill than this. Many a picture was snapped here.

Finally we headed back to the paved road and started the return path south, but just for kicks we stopped at the Tri-State Museum in Belle Fourche where they also have the “Center of the Nation” visitor center. Out back, they have their own little monument adorned with all 50 state flags (and of course Old Glory). There was also a cabin built in 1876 that used to house a family of 9, which they moved here to preserve. Mom and I of course have to get the usual souvenirs. How can you not at the Center of the Nation?

One of the girls at the visitor center told us we should go back into the mountains via the Spearfish Canyon Byway, so we took that advice and used Hwy 14A to head back up into the Black Hills. Although it was cool, it wasn’t any more unique than what we’ve seen before. There was a waterfall almost half-way up, but the shadows were half in and out so picture-taking wasn’t optimal. It wasn’t long before we found Hwy 385 at the town of Lead and got back to our hotel by 5:30pm.

We only rested an hour before heading out again, catching what was missed last night. We arrive at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial shortly before 7:00pm, where the sun was already fading away. We weren’t interested in daytime shots though, so we went over to Carver’s Café and picked up some cafeteria-style meals for our dinner, eating until it got close to 8:00pm. Then we headed over to the amphitheater for their nightly Lighting Ceremony. The presentation was about 40 minutes, mostly summarizing the lives of the 4 presidents, and near the end of the film as “God Bless America” was being played, the lights slowly faded up on the 4 famous faces. They also brought up any and all military servicemen for honors and lowering the flag. If you’re at all patriotic, you’ll dig it. We finished up in the gift shop of course, but there wasn’t much more for me to buy anything here, save for a magnet or two.

Back to the hotel by 9:30pm. In the morning, we’ll be leaving not only our suite, but also South Dakota as well. Time for some new territory!

[Kinless]

Time to leave our suite. ::sad face:: Before we do, Mom and I head into downtown Hill City at 9:00am MDT to take pics of the trains and peruse the downtown shops, most of which didn’t open until 10:00, but we still managed to find a few things, get back and on the road by 10:45am, a little later than I would have liked, but hey let’s see what happens.

Down Hwy 385 we go for the final time, out of the Black Hills, when soon we make a left onto Hwy 18 east, which heads into the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. A little while later, we turn up SD 27 and find ourselves at Wounded Knee. Having researched this place and the reviews, this is definitely no Disneyland attraction. The poverty level here is very high, and the place not kept up at all. We could see the memorial gravesite coming over the hill, and it appeared to have gained a small dirt road so you can drive your vehicle directly up to the front gate.

We were there about 5 minutes taking pics when one of the locals, a young guy with a ponytail comes running up to where we were and asks if we’ve heard the stories and offers a tour and to answer any questions about the site. From his demeanor I knew exactly what the game was. I was warned about panhandlers and knew what to expect. We told him we had been to the museum so we knew the story. Mom and I walked around the rest of the memorial while Dad occupied the local’s time with questions. While I was taking pictures near the far end of the memorial, the local came up and asked for a donation to “keep up the memorial,” so I gave him $5 and a bottle of water, since he did answer a lot of Dad’s questions and gave us some useful information about various parts of the memorial. I’m pretty sure that money isn’t going to where he said it is, but knowing how most of these people live, you feel like any little bit might help, and it was just enough to keep things out of awkward territory.

By the time we finished up and got back to the front gate of the memorial, another local came up on a bike and immediately started asking for “donations.” They definitely don’t waste any time when they see potential targets at the site. Although it’s a crap-shoot whether or not you’ll be approached, this is something any traveler needs to be vigilant about when coming here to pay respects to the memorial. Mom gave a few bucks to the 2 guys as we were leaving and told them to split it (even though they said they were “separate”). We spent a total of 25 minutes there.

Now comes the part I deplore, backtracking a full hour from the same direction where we came, using Hwy 18 until it once again met with Hwy 385. Unfortunately there was no other way around this, so we didn’t cross the border into Nebraska until 3:00pm (even worse, the opposing South Dakota sign at the border was missing so we have no shots at all of the sign for that state. Poops.) And we STILL had a long way to go to our next destination. A few speed limit laws had to be broken in order to get to Scotts Bluff National Monument before it closed at 5:00pm. We arrived at 4:45pm and headed inside the Visitor Center. Luckily the ranger hadn’t closed the access gate yet at his usual 4:30pm deadline, and said if we hurry he’ll let us go up to the top if we were quick about it.

We decided to sacrifice the museum exhibits inside, quickly bought our usual postcard/magnet combo and got back in the van for the 1.5 mile trip to the top of the bluff, going through 3 man-made tunnels along the way. The views of the valleys below and formations were unique in their own right. At the top, there were 2 trails, one going north for 1/2 mile, and one south for 1/8 mile. The shorter route it is! This one showed you the path of the wagons from the Oregon Trail era. We spent 15 minutes doing the quick walk and took pics where we could. It’s a good thing we didn’t dally for too long, because on the return trip to the van, the ranger was already up there waiting for the remaining stragglers to leave (us and another couple that took the longer trail). Back down the road we went, stopping to take pictures of the tunnels, knowing there wouldn’t be anyone behind us since we were the 2nd to last ones down. There were a few outdoor exhibits at the bottom, featuring mock wagons that were used on the Oregon Trail. We managed to get an hour out of this place. Good enough!

We headed back west into the neighboring town of Gering, NE. There we found a Runza restaurant, a regional fast-food joint I have not visited since Roadtrip #1, and we all had a relatively early dinner. From there we filled up the tank (having run out of free gas cards), and headed east on Hwy 92/26. However, I didn’t realize that our overnight destination was still over 100 miles away. Whoops, how did I miscalculate that one? The sun quickly set behind us and it was pitch dark for a good long while before we arrived in Ogallala, NE at 8:45pm, our latest check-in to date.

What makes it even better? An insanely full plate tomorrow. Poor us. :) Will we survive? Find out next time…

[Kinless]

::deep breath:: …aaaaaand here we go!

Stop 1: From Ogallala, NE, we use I-80 East (yet again ceding an hour to Central Time) and arrived at the Golden Spike Tower in North Platte, NE shortly after 10:00am CDT, which overlooks Bailey Yard, the largest classification rail yard in the world. The tower elevator takes you 7 or 8 stories up (depending if you want open air or lookout) so you can see a clean birds-eye view of the thousands of cars and Union Pacific freight engines that come through here. Loved seeing the “hump” where incoming cars are separated and routed by computer to the next line, all by using the gravity of the hill. Some of the engines were even wondering around the yard remotely with no one at the helm. Killer!

Stop 2: Buffalo Bill Ranch State Park was 10 minutes away in the same town. Here has the layout of William Cody’s ranch, complete with mansion and barn, showing off everything about his lifestyle. Many of his possessions occupy the space inside the home, as well as exhibits inside the barn. If you want to know all about Buffalo Bill and his Wild West show, swing by.

Stop 3: Another 45 minutes east is an original Pony Express station. It was only used for 18 months from 1860-1861, but it is still intact, and was moved to a park in Gothenburg, NE. There’s a small gift shop inside for the Spring/Summer/Fall visitors. Very easy and quick visit.

Stop 4: It took a long time to head over I-80 and down Hwy 281 to the Kansas border, but once we did, the next destination presented itself within minutes. We stopped at the “other” center of the nation, the one that covers just the 48 conterminous states. Only a mile north of Lebanon, KS, it was a corner outfitted with the official marker, signs, picnic tables, a BBQ, and even a chapel for those who’d like to get married here. (If my future S.O. is an über geography nerd, we’re totally doing that!) Very peaceful place.

Stop 5: Not far from the 48-state center is a quirky town of Cawker City. I say quirky because this is the home of the world’s largest ball of twine. Silly? Yes. But I didn’t want to travel all the way out here just for the 48-state center, so this extra (fun) stop was added. Unfortunately with all the other previous stops, we didn’t get here until after 6:00pm so it’s the one stop we aren’t able to purchase souvenirs.

We stair-stepped our way down the various highways, watching the sunset along the way, and reached the hub town of Hays, KS at 7:45pm. We found a tasty meal at Applebee’s (I know, not original) and have hunkered down for the evening.

…aaaand we’re done. ::faints:: Like I said before, insanely busy. But that was the last of the crazy days. Tomorrow is only one stop, and then we head back to Colorado. I see a tunnel, along with a tiny speck of light.

[Lifemagician]

I see a tunnel, along with a tiny speck of light.

Careful, that could be a train heading your way.

Great read.... not far from where I live we have one of those railway yards (nowhere near as big) where train carraiges are separated by rolling down a hill, and coupled onto their correct trains for onward journeys. We spent many hours with the children on the nearby bridge overlooking the yards.

Lifey

[Kinless]

No big rush today. We exit our final hotel around 9:45am CDT and head south on Hwy 183 through town. A lovely road closure forces us to detour through some residential streets but we finally find Fort Hays State Historical Site, with no other visitors as we arrived. The fort itself was used to protect citizens from Indian attacks and eventually was abandoned, but some of the structures were spared from demolition. For a $5/person fee, we were given access to the exhibits, the two officer’s quarters (re-established from previous owners who donated them back), the guard house (complete with isolated jail cells) and the Block House (also known to trivia buffs as the oldest building in northwest Kansas). It’s a fun little history lesson if you’re into such things. We spent about 2 hours here.

And that’s all for Kansas. We topped off the tank so we wouldn’t have to fill up again so soon, seeing as Kansas gas prices are about 30-40¢ cheaper than Colorado. We get back on I-70 west for a long journey, gaining the lost hour back to Mountain Time zone, and only stopping to switch drivers near the Colorado border at a rest stop. Before we know it, we’re back in the state we started with, and continue west until the town of Limon where we take Hwy 24 that bears south to Colorado Springs. Overall it was about a 5.5 hour drive, finally reaching our destination at 4:30pm MDT.

We’re staying with one of mom’s friends from her elementary school days. She and her husband were gracious enough to let us bunk with them for the weekend. We’ll be going around seeing some things on the itinerary, and some things not on the itinerary. I’m not going to follow my schedule to a tea, so we’ll see how everything pans out. Should be good stuff.

[Kinless]

Although we’re no longer hopping from hotel to hotel, we still have quite an agenda to complete before our road trip concludes. This morning Mom decided to stay at the house, so Dad and I take the journey to the summit of Pike’s Peak, only a few miles away off of Hwy 24. It’s $12/person (or $40/carload) to go up, but once you pay at the gate, your 18-mile trek begins. The entire road was recently finished with their paving project all the way to the top, so that allowed access to just about everyone, in addition to the bikers and hikers. The elevation gain and switchbacks were pretty gnarly, so it’s definitely not a quick jaunt. Give yourself at least 45 minutes to get up there, and bring a jacket! Just when I thought I broke our personal elevation record at Rocky Mountain National Park, it is broken again. At 10:00am MDT, we reached 14,110 feet above sea level. At the top was a gift shop and diner (so of course I buy souvenirs). While not the tallest in Colorado (Mt. Elbert gets that distinction at 14,433) it’s still high enough where you get 360° stunning views of the east and west valleys.

We coast back down the mountain (be sure to use low gears instead of your brakes; sometimes they actually check and will put you in time-out if your brakes are too hot). The minivan was running on fumes so we found a place to fill up in Manitou Springs, which I suspect is our next-to-last refill. We headed back to our overnight HQ, where we had a quick bite to eat, then our overnight host put on his tour guide hat and took us all out, even farther out west on Hwy 24. We used the “Garden of the Gods” route to get there, so I was able to see all the famous rock structures that I missed last time on Roadtrip #2. From there, we headed out past Woodland Park, where the aspen trees were lit up in gold and yellow (and found lots of pull-outs to take pictures) and then over to a huge mining project run by the Cripple Creek Victor Mining company, near the towns of… surprise… Cripple Creek and Victor. They have apparently rejuvenated old gold/silver mines and are using modern technology to extract the precious metals from the rich ore using chemical processes. It was miles wide (and deep). There were even public lookouts that have been constructed so you could go up and see the current progress, along with the old mining equipment from many decades ago. It’s quite an operation.

From there, we headed over to the remote town of Guffey, where we ate at the Bull Moose Restaurant and Bar. The people there were super friendly and outgoing, and the food wasn’t too shabby either. We spent almost 2 hours there before the fading daylight told us it was time to book it back home. We were back in Colo Springs by 9:00pm.

I think we may take it easy tomorrow. The Air Force Academy can wait until Monday morning, and Florissant Fossil Beds NM sounds like it’s only good if you’re going for a hike, which we’ve all plumb run out of steam to be doing any more of that. We’ll see what we can muster up.

[Kinless]

We didn't do anything worthy of a report on Day 13 (Sunday). Mom and I moseyed around town a bit, and that evening I met up with a friend I hadn't seen since Roadtrip #2 almost 8 years ago. We all relaxed the rest of the time (and we needed it!)

For Day 14 (our last day), it was more fulfilling. Shortly after 9:00am MDT we went over to the Air Force Academy, not too far from where we were staying. At the North Gate, after the back of the van was searched for explosives (yes, they will do that with larger vehicles) we headed to the relatively new Visitor Center, complete with a Gift Shop, exhibits, and a 21-minute movie on what it's like to enter as a fresh cadet at the academy. (Pretty sure I wouldn't have lasted 2 minutes had I attempted such a thing... :)

Afterwards, we drove over to the Chapel, an architecturally magnificent structure built in the early 1960s. Even more impressive is when you go in. At 150 x 280 x 84 feet, it's amazing to stand in the bowels of the chapel. The thin rows of stained glass give LED-like bright colors along the ceilings. Walking back out you'll catch the pipe organ on the upper floor. What I wouldn't have given to hear that thing sound off. We leave there, and caught a few viewpoints of the academy on the road out, as well as a full-scale model B-52 near the entrance. More pictures to take. We're finally released after 11:30am.

We head back to the house of mom's friends, have lunch, take pictures and say our goodbyes. They were great hosts! As we're leaving the clouds are starting to rear their ugly heads around the mountains. I even caught some bolts of lightning and several rumbles as we packed up the minivan one last time. This weather nerd is happy.

Now we've had extraordinarily good weather this entire trip. Why not change things up? As soon as we're on I-25 North heading away from Colorado Springs, here comes the rain. And I mean RAIN. AND RAIN. Yikes, if it rained like this back in California, all the TV networks in the world would have interrupted their programming to break the news. It didn't let up in the least, all the way to Denver. Of course there was the occasional lightning/thunder combo spicing things up. There was even an area on the south side of town where it looked like snow on the freeway, but it was really just piles of hail in between the lanes, as well as the fringe edges of the freeway. This is nuts! But I drove like it was no big deal and kept up with all the other drivers who apparently didn't care either. (I did keep speeds reasonable.) It was getting a little late so we were hitting rush hour traffic, and more rain/construction just weren't helping. *sigh*

So in some futile effort, I exit I-25 onto Colfax Avenue (aka 287/40/Business 70), which heads directly to the State Capitol. I figured we'd park somewhere for a few minutes and I could take a shot of the capitol. But oh no, that rain made darned sure I stayed in the van. It was torrential. I ended up taking only one shot from inside the van. Mom sacrificed being dry and got out for a few more shots. And the traffic made it hard to find any one spot to stay. I finally said "Forget this" and continued east on the same road, heading away from that area. I got a pic, so it counts! (Oh, and it's amusing seeing the pot shops on this street too.)

We soon crossed back into Aurora, CO, where we filled up the minivan for the final time. Now I'm getting multiple e-mails on my phone that our flight home has been delayed (along with many others, most likely due to the rain), from 6:50pm to 7:35pm, then again to 8:10pm. Oh lovely. Well with this traffic I'm not going to lolly gag around regardless. I stayed on the same road (with more construction and rain, argh!) until I-225 was in sight. We ramped there, then to a brief I-70 before taking the exit that went to the airport. We find the Avis car rental (and unfortunately no cover from the downpour) so we had to clean out the van in a big hurry and catch the shuttle bus that was waiting for us. Thank goodness I had enough sense to write down the odometer and trip mileage before abandoning our trusty vehicle. Too bad I couldn't get a picture of it like I usually do.

We grab a bite to eat in the terminal, and I get another e-mail that our flight is now back to a 7:35pm takeoff. Good grief. Off we go through security and use the underground train to get to our gate. After some delays, it was finally wheels up at 8:10pm MDT... and landed inside 2 hours later, at 9:05pm PDT. SuperShuttle gets us home an hour later. THE END!

Please give me a few days to collect thoughts and get all the stats proper and pics picked. This trip was quite a doozy!