This is our last night until getting back home. We are in New River Gorge, W. Virginia. The weather was such a change- cloudy and cool so it was great traveling weather. We got stuck in traffic for about an hour while a tractor trailer was towed off the interstate (I64). Along the way, jsut our side of Huntington, WVA we stopped at "Hill Billy Hot Dogs" as it came recommended. Below are the pictures of a one-of-a-kind eatery!

One of the dining rooms!

Outdoor decor!

Our order- yummy.Cleve ordered Rahall's Red Hot Weenie, a Snuffy Dog, fries and slaw. I ordered an Pineappleachian Dog!! It is worth going to if you are ever out near Huntington, WVA- home of Marshall University.

Heading home tomorrow.

We are now in Elizabethtown, Kentucky for the night. Last night we were in Branson, Missouri and saw The Three Tenors- it was like Phantom of the Opera meets the Ozarks! Very entertaining, great vocal ability and good country humor: lots of trailer park jokes!

It is nice to be back in the trees. We crossed the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers today. Our day began at 4:30 a.m.- trying to beat the heat. but, even that early it was already 84 degrees, and climbed to 102 degrees.  We took Rt. 76 out of Branson then to a windy road, Rt. 160 and then Rt. 60 to get to Elizabethtown. By 3:30 (eastern time) we found a hotel. It was a very long ride. But, tomorrow and Saturday will be shorter days, I hope.

Now, we are watching a severe storm threat in Hardin County which is where we are and hoping it does not hit to hard. The bike is a "sitting duck" in the parking lot!

I haven't taken many pictures for the past couple of days. It was so hot in Branson, over 100 degrees that we didn't walk very far to check it out like we normally would have, but here are a few photos.

We spent most of the afternoon in the pool until show time! It was too hot to do anything else.

King Kong- front and back!

Mt. Rushmore??



The Americana Theatre where we saw the show.

Hopefully we will have cooler weather tomorrow after the storms that just rolled through! We are West Virginia bound.

Whew! Today was the second day in a row traveling in 95-100 degrees. We left Great Bend, Kansas early, before the sun was up, and ended in Lebanon, Missouri. We traveled south on Rt. 281, then took Rt.s 54/400 east towards Missouri. We stopped off in Fort Scott, and continued to El Dorado Springs. There we took Rt. 32 east to our stop for the night in Lebanon, Missouri. There are more trees and hills in Missouri.

Check out my sunrise shots.

I was entertaining myself and took some shots of our shadow!

We saw Obama while on the road!

Fort Scott: one of many forts built from Minnesota to Louisiana to secure the lines drawn for the Native Americans and whites. It has been repaired to nearly original condition- beautifully done.

Officer quarters

The stable

 Storage

The Park Service did a great job of restoring these buildings. They were in terrible condition.

After settling in to our hotel this afternoon, we realized we are only 80 miles from Branson, Missouri. When John, Adam and Kathryn were in Criglersville E.S. they did a Christmas Play about going to Branson so I've always wanted to go. We are going to take an extra day and see a show there tomorrow- The Three Redneck Tenors! Can't wait!!

This morning we headed East, leaving the  rocky mountains behind and into the flat prairies of Kansas. Very little to say except it was hot (97- 100) very windy and flat. We followed 94 out of Colorado Springs to 287 and then picked up Rt. 96 into Great Bend.

A side note to those who travel with kids, and those who don't- we stayed at the Drury Hotel  (it is a chain) in Colorado Springs since we had a coupon for a cheap rate. They have a simple dinner included for all in your party, as well as three free adult beverages per adult. Yes, I said free! They also have a hot breakfast in the morning. The dinner is not fancy but very kid friendly: hot dogs, mac and cheese, nachos and cheese, chicken fingers...etc. But, also salad and raw veggies. A great deal especially if you are traveling with kids. Oh, and they also have popcorn in the lobby!! (my favorite snack)

The Drury Hotel

Pikes Peak- directly across from the hotel

The roads are very flat in southern Colorado!

Oil rigs are very common. 

 So many vacant homes, schools, stores along the way.

This school was built in 1914 and now is empty and vandalized.



Another great day on the road. Today we left Montrose, CO heading East on Rt. 50. We toured Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. From there we continued on Rt. 50 to Sapinero where we  picked up Rt. 92 north to Hotchkiss. Next to Rt.133 to Carbondale and then Rt. 82 to Aspen, Co. Tons of beautiful scenery along the way. Below are just a few of the sites we saw today. We are staying in a very cozy motel, the St. Maritz, complete with a heated pool and steamroom and afternoon wine delivered to our door this afternoon!

Self-Portrait with canyon in background.

Lunch in Carbondale, CO

Aspen Ski Area

 

Cute shops in Aspen.

Gondola ride

Cleve is relaxing in the heated pool-very nice!

Tomorrow is undecided- but likely to head out to Mt. Evans, highest point in Colorado.

After a fun evening in Durango, we go up today and sent some time watching the Durango- Silverton train. We decided not to ride it to Silverton since it takes all day, but it is still fun to see it in operation.
From Durango we headed north on Rt. 550 the San Juan Skyway, aka the million Dollar Highway. The mountains were spectacular in scope and variety. We stopped in Silverton and again in Ouray where we had lunch before heading on the Montrose. Tomorrow we head East on Rt. 50 to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We've been told by several people that we don't waant to miss it!

I took 135 photos today so some samples are below. It won't really capture the scope of these mountains, but will give you an idea of what is out here.

 Below is a hot spring along the road.

 Photos of scenery taken along the way

 Silverton- old western style town where many films were made!

 Below, continuing on to Ouray, CO

 We had lunch on the top porch- yummy food.

 We meet the nicest people along the way- this is "biker santa" who has logged nearly 1,220, 000 miles on a motorcycle'

 The owner of the still below came out of his shop. He saw us looking at our map. He also rides and had been all through West Virginia and the blue Ridge Parkway.

Tomorrow, Black Canyon.