Sunday, July 6, 2014

Road Trip

On a Tuesday morning in late June, we set out for Colorado.

We drove south and west, through some of Wisconsin's most beautiful farm country...




...towards the craggy terrain that signals the approach of the Mississippi River valley.



We crossed the mighty Mississippi...



...and soon found ourselves under wide Iowa skies.


Up and down, up and down, across the endless rolling fields we drove, until we reached the Missouri river...


...and crossed into Nebraska. We drove for hours more, along the (mostly hidden) Platte River, then spent the night in a small town somewhere near the middle of the state.

In the morning we set off again on the second half of our journey. We passed fields of corn and fields of hay...


...and a few hours later rejoiced to see this:


After 800+ miles we were nearly there! (Almost nearly.)


We drove west and south, through slowly ascending plains:


The closer we got to Denver, the darker and cloudier grew the skies. Lightning stabbed to the west, and the radio reported thunderstorms across the area. Finally we caught a glimpse of the mountains:


Skirting Denver, we headed into the final leg of our journey. We passed lovely red rocks and surprisingly green hills that broke into glimpses of fascinating unknown valleys:

Photo courtesy of Mr. M

The clouds began to break and pull back into glorious grey-and-white towers near Snowcatcher's house:


Then our two-day journey was over, and our Colorado vacation had begun.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

17 comments:

  1. Beautiful scenery ... enjoy your holiday!

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  2. Amazing scenery Sue, but such a long trip through a very big country - now enjoy your well-earned holiday. xoJoy

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  3. Great photos! Road trips can be so fun, but didn't you plan on a bike trip? Hugs, Linda@Wetcreek Blog

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  4. Thanks for sharing your trip so far, Sue. You've seen a lot of beautiful sights. Enjoy your time in CO, it's one of my favorite places.

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  5. aww getting there was easy for me! thanks …..Did you knit or crochet on the trip?
    We love COLorado, but those mountain roads freak me out

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  6. Oh how lovely. Enjoy your time away. :)

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  7. Beautiful pictures. Look forward to hearing more about the vacation and or course he ride.

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  8. So fun to see what you saw before you arrived! So glad the thunderclouds held off while you were here so the ride could be unrushed! Can't wait to see what comes next, my friend!

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  9. I love a road trip--the way the land unrolls for miles and miles. I love the picture of the big sky here especially! This post reminded me of something my sister said earlier this summer. She drove from Missouri to Colorado and was surprised by all the plains. After miles of plains she said, "Come on, when are we going to get to the REAL Colorado?" Meaning the mountains, of course. ;-)

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  10. Much better than a picture postcard.
    I love the barns, that shade of red screams country to me.
    Its amazing all the different types of terrain one can cross as we travel about!
    Enjoy the Summer...
    Susan x

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  11. I am so enjoying your trip thus far, Sue. Don't we live in a diversely beautiful nation? I especially love driving across the prairie and having the snow-capped Rockies erupt from the plain! Hope you are having a wonderful time. xx

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  12. It's fun to travel with you.. on our end it's nice and quiet and we're not tired from long days on the road. :-) We went that way a few years ago - 5,000 miles round trip from Oregon through all the states to Oklahoma and then another route back through more states.. Mt. Rushmore was a highlight. You should go see it! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  13. A gorgeous ride, sis you get lots of crocheting done on your travels?
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  14. Road Trip!! There's nothing like a good multi-state jaunt to lift the spirits. Thanks for sharing your photos.

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  15. Fabulous photos! I can't even imagine 800 miles - England is less than 400 top-to-bottom and only 750 for the whole of the UK!
    Sheila (sewchet.com)

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  16. The more I see your blog the more I fall in love with it...awesome!
    -vinucrochet.blogspot.in

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  17. Finally getting caught up on my blog reading! What stunning pictures! So many of them remind me of the sights we saw on our big move here. The happiest of memories! :)

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