Happy Trails

A lot has occurred since the last blog post. We spent Thursday morning strolling the quiet spaces of the Jefferson City, Missouri state capital. It's a lovely building. Perhaps not quite as grand as some we have visited, but notably filled to the brim with exhibits and art. Every rotunda archway, hallway, alcove, and wall space is decorated in some way. The outside of the rotunda, however, looks like it has a row of flesh-colored band-aids on it -- nothing nearly so flashy as the silver of Carson City or the gold of Atlanta.

Then we headed east toward St. Louis, stopping along the way at courthouses. However, just west of St. Louis, I made the call that we needed to just get on I-70 at St. Louis and beat it east to Effingham and a permanent bed. So we skipped the Illinois portion of Route 50. We have driven it before, on one of our side trips to see our parents. However, we didn't make the planned Route 50 stops. So we will have to say that we have done Route 50 from San Francisco, California through Missouri.

We later learned that our industrious cousin Billie, had not JUST planned a "hello" with us at the Louisville, Illinois courthouse, but had been sharing our story with a local reporter and we were slated to be met and photographed for the local paper. Our one chance at our 15 minutes of fame and I managed to blow it. Plus, I totally hosed Billie's plans. So sorry on that count.

So we got into Effingham about 1 day early. I hit the bed at about 4PM. As of the next day, I felt no better. Debby enjoyed a visit at the local hospital where one of our nieces (Miranda) had delivered her first little boy a couple of days earlier. Then she went out to Mom and Dad's for the day. I stayed at the hotel being pathetic.

I got the message from my parents that they wanted me to come and see them on Saturday, if I felt well enough, even if I did still have germs. When I got up today, I felt a little better. So Debby and I went to Mom and Dad's for a nice, comfortable visit. Our nephew Aaron and his Dad, George joined us at Mom's for a while. Then we had the pleasure of DeeDee (wife to Aaron) and their children, plus Karol and her daughter Jessica of joining us as Mom's. So it was a great visit. Debby was regaling them with stories of geocaching. So we all loaded up and went out on a couple of finds. Snagged them both. They are GOOD hunters.

Now we are back at the hotel and getting our things organized for heading to Indianapolis for flying home tomorrow. We have to remember to allow enough time to deal with the rental car company about the accident report. We hope that will be simple. I have all the paperwork filled out and the other driver's insurance agent has already contacted me with a claim number and an admission of liability.

What's next for us?

Debby will be home for almost a week, trying to catch up on her insurance statement transcription and handling some claims arbitration issues. Then on Saturday, Leslie, the boys and Debby head (driving) to Couer d'Alene, Idaho for Leslie's final move out there. I can't quite believe that. The distance is probably comparable to what we just did. (I'll try to remember to get our final mileage numbers from the car.) She'll stay with them a couple of days and then fly home.

I'll be back at work starting on Monday. I have a doctor's appointment at SAS health care on Monday at 1:15. This is the first day lately that I have not been in a lot of discomfort. I have a variety of symptoms, nothing pleasant enough to list here. But I have a feeling everything was complicated by total exhaustion. Early on, we probably should have spent a couple of days in a hotel just resting and recovering. In fact, someone's whose initials do NOT start with J kept suggesting that. But the other one never agreed. I'm still playing it by ear on whether I am going to ask Michael to come out to the airport and help me manage the luggage and drive me home.

Once I get accustomed to sleeping in my own bed, which will probably only take 1 night, I need to get started making reservations for the Brockett Babe September beach trip.

This was our 7th summer road trip. As far as I can recall, this is the first time either of us has had any major ailment. So, I guess we are still ahead of the game. Thanks for all of the home support and good wishes.

Jerrry and Debby

Odds and Ends and Happy Birthday, George

Debby searched hard for geocaches today. I only searched for the easy ones. Otherwise, I stayed in the AC in the car. It is far hotter here in the midwest than any place else we have been. Odd, but that's how it has been. The second picture is the location of the one cache we found – at the Old Depot Museum.

The first shot is the courthouse in Ottawa, Kansas – one of six we visited today.

There was no new wildlife today, at least of the natural type. When we were near Whiteman Air Force Base, I looked up to see one of those black, wedge-shaped stealth jets. It went across in front of us and immediately changed to appear like a black slash in the sky. It was really neat. I guess it was a F-117, but I thought those had been retired from active use. Maybe they were just having some fun with it.

So here's a test for you. What are these numbers? 2710, 218, 213, 4, 102, 310, 303, 300, 104, 310, 212

Daily stats:
Starting point: Emporia, Kansas
Ending point: Jefferson City, Missouri
Miles traveled: about 290
Best sight of the day: stealth jet
Best food of the day: Steak N Shake burgers

"Sure Hate to Break Down Here"

We spent the night last night in "The Queen of the Cow Towns" - Dodge City, Kansas. I looked and looked for Marshall Dillon but couldn't find him. I know you younger folks won't know who I'm talking about but just bear with me.

After locating and photographing the courthouse this morning, we headed for a location indicated by an historical marker as one of the best-preserved sections of the Sante Fe Trail wagon ruts. It was hard to determine exactly where the trail extended outward because it's covered in vegetation now. Next, we went on to the Boot Hill Museum which included a reconstruction of the main street of old Dodge City. We took our pictures in the doorway of the Long Branch Saloon and had a Sarsparilla before witnessing a gunfight in which of course, all the bad guys ended up dead.

We stopped at four other courthouses along the way through the middle section of Kansas. Jerry wasn't feeling too well this afternoon. So, as I was driving, she was napping on and off. I was just moving right along making good time and Trace was singing. All at once, Jerry said, "Speaking of gas!" I looked at the gas gauge which was on empty and the gas light was already on (I have no idea how long.) We were out in the middle of nowhere. I started praying and Jerry started checking Mabel (her GPS) for the nearest gas station. The nearest location was a hopefully still open BP station seventeen miles away. At this point, I turned off Trace so that I could concentrate totally on praying. Jerry was silent during these few miles. I'm not sure if she was praying or just trying to keep herself from telling me what an idiot I was. Either thing would have been appropriate at this point. Well, thanks for answered prayer. We made the BP station and it was still open. I don't know what size gas tank this car has but when I filled up, it held 16.9 gallons.

We're staying tonight in Emporia, Kansas. We were tired so decided to order Chinese food and have it delivered. Tomorrow, we should finish up Kansas and head on into Missouri.

A postscript from Jerry: I was (1) praying, (2) setting odds of making it to gas, (3) watching the tenths of the miles reduce on the distance to the closest gas station according to Mabel, (4) wondering if the BP was still there since I hadn't uploaded updates for 2009 into my GPS, (5) wondering how long it would take for AAA to find us. I didn't have to fuss at Debby; she was already giving herself "up the river." I did hit her with the map one time. The second photo is the oldest, continuously-used courthouse in Kansas and yes, it is modelled as a French chateau. Go figure.

No bull here

Yesterday was our first technical difficulty for blogging. Our hotel had wifi, but you had to do something special if you have Vista operating system and I did not have the energy to call their help desk. My broadband card could not detect a signal so I couldn't use it. So this is yesterday's post.

It was a courthouse day. Between Pueblo, Colorado and Dodge City, Kansas, there were 8 courthouses, not including the one in Dodge City. In among those, we finally found some really good pie. I have to tell you, those western states just couldn't manage a truly decent slice of pie, until today in Rocky Ford at Christine's Restaurant and Bakery.

We also spent quite a while at Bent's Old Fort between La Junta and Las Animas in Colorado. This was a major trade center in the 1800s. Founded by 2 brothers and a 3rd partner, this trading center catered to all the settlers heading west, trappers, military, native Americans and other travelers. It its time, it was one of the largest mercantile operations in the US. The current adobe style fort is a reconstruction, but it was done meticulously based on original detailed plans. It is surprisingly large and included living quarters, trading rooms, blacksmith and wood working areas, dining and public areas. I took some pictures outside, but I realized that I had gotten so engrossed in our tour, that I had forgotten to take any pictures inside.

We are beginning to see huge cattle feed lots. So that inspired us to have a Dodge City strip steak for supper. Yummy.

Daily stats
Starting point: Pueblo, Colorado
Ending point: Dodge City, Kansas
Distance traveled: forgot to check, but between the last two days about 550

Best sight of the day: 2 huge cows lounging under a shade tree at Bent's Old Fort
Best food of the day: Christine's cherry pie (Jerry), raspberry cream pie (Debby)

Happy birthday, Dianne!

In honor of my favorite animal lover, this post will give you the full animal report. We have seen:

• squirrels
• chipmunks (lots)
• dogs
• cats
• llamas
• horses (lots)
• cows (lots)
• donkeys
• coyote
• bison
• big horn sheep
• deer
• antelopes
• prairie dogs
• lizards
• birds

One day behind

We are officially one day behind schedule now.

We visited the courthouse in Gunnison and then spent a little time enjoying the Gunnison River before heading east. The water was freezing cold and crystal clear. We left town and had passed by two small towns when a sign ahead said US 50 was closed ahead due to an accident. The traffic was stopped and people had begun turning around. We turned around and pulled over into a side parking lot to study our GPS and map. The traffic was actually stopped in the direction leaving the accident too because they had transported accident victims by ambulance down from the mountain and then were airlifting them (with the helicopter landed in the road) from just beyond our parking area. So we had to sit for some time. We were entertained from our car by the antics of a prarie dog colony in a raised portion of the parking lot. There were many different reports of the accident, but they all seemed to indicate that the road would be closed at least for a few more hours. So we, like many others headed back toward Gunnison and took a slow, curving, loop around the closed section of road. What would have been about 60 miles at 55 to 65 was replaced by 100 miles of road that varied from 25 to 65 (mostly the former). Of course, the scenery was spectacular, but it added a lot of time to our travel today.

We made it to Canon City for a very late lunch. It was a hot bed of art galleries and nice to walk through window shopping. As we left Canon City and rolled down a gentle slope out of town, I realized suddenly that for the first time in over a week, there were no mountains on the east horizon.

Daily status: unknown

Happy birthday USA (yesterday)

Colorado is getting greener by the mile. Everybody has horses out here. Even if you live in town, it seems you've got a little lot for your horses. There are still some really big mountain looming in the distance ahead of us. I think they might be a little range called the Rockies. We thought those mountains we had already crossed were big.

Yesterday, we visited the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. While it is much smaller than the Grand Canyon, it is still large and impressive. The Gunnison River, at its bottom, is one of the fastest moving rivers in the US because of the big change in elevation over a short distance. In addition, as the name implies, the rock is all grays and blacks. I was noticing that even a small amount of exertion to walk to the overlooks was tiring me and I was chalking it up to this blasted cold. Then I realized we were at 8,000 feet and I was probably feeling some effects from the height. After all, I'm accustomed to living at 460 feet in Carrboro.

We also had 3 courthouses on our itinerary yesterday. The photo above is from Grand Junction, Colorado. They are much sleepier places on a Saturday than during the week.

We have been seeing many roadside signs for cherries and other fruits. But yesterday we finally found one open. We got a big bag mixed with both bing and rainer cherries for about ¼ of the price in the grocery store back home. Good eating!!

Daily stats:
Starting point: Fruita, Colorado
Stopping point: Gunnison, Colorado
Distance traveled: about 220
Best sight of the day: Black Canyon
Best food of the day: cherries

A small detour to the hospital

We have finally started encountering Southwest US heat. Up until now, we have had cool, pleasant weather.
We could have spent all day at Arches National Park. We stopped at every overlook and pullover along the road, but we didn't do any hiking. I had originally planned to do one of the short hikes to get closer to the formations, but with the ill health I have been enjoying (more about that later), I wasn't up to it. The colors ranged from light whitish yellow in the petrified sand dunes to all shades of vivid reds, brick, and burgundy. The formations were massive and astonishing.

We decided to skip Canyonlands National Park so we could travel all of the paths in Arches and still have time to go to the Emergency Room. I came down with a cold starting last Saturday (June 27) and have been fighting it the entire time. Debby has had the pleasure of listening to the sound of head and chest congestion the entire length of Route 50. She finally convinced me that I had pneumonia. We tried to go to a local medical practice, but they wanted nothing to do with me and sent me to the hospital. I told Debby if the hospital tried to admit me, I was leaving against medical orders. That was our compromise. The last thing I wanted to do was get put in a hospital in the middle of no where on a holiday Friday afternoon, figuring it would probably be Monday before they could even arrange an x-ray. Ok, yes, I am a medical snob. But you have to understand, I'm accustomed to dealing with one of the best medical facilities in the country – UNC Hospitals. The hospital in Moab, Utah is about the size of a middle school in Chapel Hill. The great news was that I did not have pneumonia. The doctor's parents (Dr. Knecht) had lived in Franklin, North Carolina. The triage nurse knew where Chapel Hill is and that we have a basketball team. Obviously, I was in good medical hands. My lungs sounded clear and my pulse oxygen was high. They confirmed that the OTC medicines I was already taking were the best choices for me to continue with. I got a prescription I could fill, if my ears got worse and I was free to go.

So we enjoyed some more scenery as we crossed over into Colorado. We called it a night even though we weren't at our final destination for the day. I slept around the clock and given that it is now a full 7 days since I came down with this cold, I am probably starting to be on the mend. The other good side effect of being sick is that Debby did the laundry all by herself last night. We had cheez-it and m&ms for dinner.

Daily stats:
Unknown

What a sight!

We didn't have any courthouses on the schedule for today, so we concentrated on sightseeing and geocaching. We found our first cache in Delta, our first town in Utah. We drove well into Utah, where the scenery varied by the mile from greens to brown and back to greens. There were long stretches that appeared so barren that not even a cow would be happy. The terrain varied also from expansive basins to mountains and finally to buttes and mesas. At one point, the horizon looked white. Jerry decided it might be salt flats. So as we drove one, she demanded that I get out and taste it. Guess what – it wasn't salt. It was white powdery dirt. Do you know how long it has been since I ate dirt? I guess Jerry was trying to help me recall my happy childhood. We drove about 150 miles and then logged 2 cache finds in Scipio and 2 more in Salina.

Between Salina and Green River is some of the most magnificent scenery we've seen so far. Both our pictures today are from this area. We kept expecting to see John Wayne ride out from behind one of the big rock formations. Talk about visions of old westerns!! We're staying the night here in Green River and will be out looking for Crystal Geyser to erupt tomorrow.

Daily stats:
Starting point: Nevada/Utah border
Ending point: Green River, Utah
Distance traveled: about 280
Best sight of the day: A beaut of a butte
Best food of the day: Navaho fry bread taco at Ben's Cafe in Green River

Today we stuck to the three Cs

Since we had gotten a little behind yesterday, we stuck to our 3 Cs today: (1) the car, (2) courthouses, and (3) caching. It wasn't that hard, after all there's not a lot out in the middle of Nevada.

We had two 1900s courthouses – Eureka and Ely. Besides the courthouse in Ely, they have restored their opera house. We had 3 geocache locations that we were trying to chase down. Debby managed to find two of them. She's a much better hunter than I am. That somewhat cryptic picture above is one of the cache finds hidden in a pile of bricks. We realized after we left the location of the third (a cemetary) that there was a whole second section that we did not realize was there so we didn't search that part.

We are staying in a little local hotel called the Border Inn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Inn). It is located on the Nevada/Utah border and boasts 24 hour gas, restaurant, slots and motel. It's what I like to refer to as full of local color. However, much to my surprise, when I fired up my laptop, it located their wireless network.

Daily stats:
Starting point: Fallon, Nevada
Ending point: Nevada/Utah border (no town)
Miles traveled: 343 miles
Best sight of the day: Sand Mountain (http://www.duneguide.com/sand_dune_guide_sand_mountain.htm)
Best food of the day: sinful pie at the Big Apple in Ely, Nevada