We pulled off at a very nice rest stop along the way to stretch our legs and toss a football while we also consulted our Roadside America app. This lists all the strange, curious, and interestingly odd sights along the highways that many folks never stop to see: the largest ball of twine, for instance (which we passed without knowing it). Although two natural rock formations were listed, they were too far off the beaten path. Instead, we saw a "Wheat Jesus" billboard (yep...a painted billboard depicting Jesus in a wheat field holding the crop), another Tesla Supercharging station, and the world's largest easel holding a representation of Van Gogh's sunflowers. See what you miss! Soon we all got an hour younger as we crossed into the Mountain Time Zone. Jason was insistent upon taking a picture and while most of our travelers were quite embarrassed to do so, it's a great shot that we'll be happy to have!
Next, it was time for some lunch in Goodland, Kansas. We drove to the old downtown (mostly deserted), but when we approached the restaurant we had selected, we were met with a sign on the door saying they were closed to attend a funeral. This just meant we went to Plan B and found another amazing local restaurant a few blocks down. It was inside an old building that still had a tin ceiling and ornate moldings. Downtown Goodland also had interesting plaques on their old buildings stating their original purpose and the year they were constructed. A pretty neat idea that could be easily implemened in Conway. One of the most interesting buildings was the the old telephone building. The tile work was very colorful and quite surprising to be on a Ma Bell site.
Being good tourists, our next stop was to take a photo of ourselves with the "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign. This has a nice turnout so it's safe to stop! We then pressed on west and eventually the Rockies started to rise in front of us. We also witnessed at least two dust devils whirling up dirt in the dry fields. Quite a sight! A short time later we made it to the Cherry Creek area so Jason could visit the Tesla dealership/store. Just like the one I visited in Seattle, this one had a Model 3 car, which is what Jason currently has on order. It was great to see him actually be able to sit, touch, and play with the model car he is getting...the smiles were worth the detour.
After checking into our hotel in Westminster, we drove back to downtown Denver where the boys all got out at Coors Field to watch the Rockies play the Mariners. The girls had an evening to themselves where they found a street festival and then visited an upscale mall. Happily, the boys had a great time: Franklin met Dinger (the mascot), junk food was consumed, AND the Rockies won! A short Uber ride to the hotel and we crashed for today. We move into the mountains tomorrow for 4 days and we are ready! "Rocky Mountain High...Colorado"
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