We camped along a beautiful river near Steamboat Springs. It rained through the night and stopped just in time for us to take down our tent and pack everything up. 

We drove into Steamboat Springs, the cutest little town nestled in the Colorado mountains. RJ found a coffee shop so he could get some work done and I could get a lovely cup of coffee. He went into the bathroom and came out 15 minutes later and quietly exclaimed “it’s time to go!” I’m guessing those pepper flakes caught up to him. That boy has issues….

We took off through the snow covered mountains on our way to Cheyenne. It was so cold! The temperature dropped below freezing and I shivered and my teeth chattered praying for the sun to warm the earth. 

After dropping a mile or two in elevation it finally started warming up. We made it to Cheyenne around noon but alas, the capitol was closed for the next three years for renovations.

Instead, we toured a museum close by where we were able to get our stamp and coffee mug. 

 A little disappointed there was no capitol to tour (even though their website said they were open -stupid website- ) we drove to a nearby restaurant for lunch. RJ had been to this restaurant before with his dad and ordered a soup with meatballs the size of your fist. We had to see if it tasted as good as it had last time. It didn’t disappoint.

It started to pour just as we were finishing our soup. I ran outside to grab our helmets and our rain gear. We suited up and headed for Denver. 

Three hours later we arrived in the bustling city. We took a quick tour before they closed for the day. 

We weren’t able to get a stamp as the guides had left for the day and there was no gift shop so a gas station mug had to work. 

We hopped back on our bike and drove to a little town right by the Kansas border for the night. We stayed at an inn as we were both not excited to set up our tent in the dark for the third night in a row (and we had passed up the campgrounds awhile back to have fewer miles to drive the following morning to my grandparents).

We woke up the next morning to wind. Lots of wind. Windy wind. So windy in fact, birds remained stationary when they tried to fly. If you’ve never lived in a place like Kansas, you do not know wind. We fought the wind the next three hours. I prayed we wouldn’t fall over every time we met a semi truck and RJ concentrated on not screaming like a little girl. 

Sixteen hundred miles and we had made it to Montezuma, Kansas. Aunt Maria was waiting for us at the door and Grandma was busy in the kitchen preparing a huge lunch. Over roast and mashed potatoes we told them all about our travels. Grandpa was quiet most of the meal but I think that’s because he was thanking God we had arrived safely. He was more worried about us than RJ’s mother and that’s saying something!

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We’ve been having a grand time– Grandma has been having the time of her life cooking all sorts of food for us, we’ve been setting puzzles, playing games, and visiting friends. 

We are planning on leaving for Topeka tomorrow and possibly visiting Lincoln on Saturday but Montezuma is supposed to get five inches of snow on Sunday so we might have to cut our trip short and visit Lincoln on our way to Indiana later this summer. 

Cheers! ~em