Into the great American west.

So, the big storm expected in Kansas simply wets the windshield and only cuts mileage a couple notches due to wind. I'm happy for the good conditions but was looking for some drama. Drive across Kansas and stop at Bonny Lake State Park just over the Colorado line. A very pretty and quiet (finally) park with a nice lake and giant cottonwood trees. There are a couple hundred sites and only 4 campers there. I walk all the campground loops and have a nice chat with a man from Missouri who has been eating trout from a stream in Colorado for two weeks. He has an appointment with a T-Bone in Topeka tonight. He's stoked! I drive for a couple hours with horrible mileage them a couple more with the best mileage I've ever gotten. Woot! Then the drama kicks in. Just as I'm entering the mountains, in the last quarter mile of the last construction zone in Denver a rock hits the windshield and takes a chip out just left of center of my prime viewing spot. I decide to go on and maybe get it looked at in Provo or Salt Lake City as I am not thrilled with the idea of driving around Denver to find a fix. I'll do the research online and call ahead if needed. Then, on a major I-70 incline the truck does it's thing and suddenly slows to 10mph. I spend an uncomfortable 10 minutes on the shoulder letting it cool off. I make it over the next couple mountains and stop at Mc-D's for internet access and to let it cool down a lot more before moving on. In the Mc-D's there is a mint condition J.C. Higgins Flightliner bicycle hanging from the ceiling. I bought one just like it in 5th grade. It had a Bendix automatic 2-speed hub on it and was a the slickest coaster brake bike ever! Here are some trip photo's so far.

Old farmhouse in Kansas

I-70 just west of the continental divide

Driving through Glenwood Canyon

Morning at Rifle Gap