Day 2 - Salina, KS - Westminster (Denver), CO

We grabbed a quick Hampton Inn breakfast this morning and actually got out the door and on our way before 9:00!  Yea us!  A short drive north and we found ourselves heading west on I-70 towards Denver.  Caroline and I both remarked how much prettier this central part of Kansas was than we were expecting.  There were still green trees, rolling hills, and the sky and clouds honestly looked like a painted landscape backdrop.  We encountered even more wind turbines on our drive today, which makes sense as the wind was constantly blowing out of the south.

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"

Day 1 - Conway, AR - Salina, KS

Our 2018 Summer Vacation began as we pulled out of Conway a little before 8:00 am.  After a quick breakfast run through the McDonald's drive thru, we headed west on I-40, a path I'm familiar with as it's how I go home to visit my Oklahoma family.  After passing the nuclear power plant in Russellville, we zipped through Johnson County, home of my antebellum Arkansas ancestors.  A short time later and we crossed our first state line of the trip:  Oklahoma.  After another hour, we arrived in my hometown of Muskogee, passing Country Club Road (where my boyhood home is) and making our way to the west side of town where my dad now lives.  As we arrived, so did my sister and her kids -- the mini-reunion was ready to start!  No matter how long I'm away, it's always good to be home, even if it's just briefly so we could use the restroom and stretch our legs.

  
We continued up the Muskogee Turnpike to Broken Arrow where we pulled off for lunch at Whataburger.  It's a chain, but not one we can visit at home.  We were soon back on the road and made our way past downtown Tulsa and onto the Cimarron Turnpike.  Stillwater whizzed by on the left and we soon turned north onto I-35.  Wind turbines rolled in the strong breeze as we made our way into Kansas and we soon reached Wichita.

At this point I began to watch the weather as some storms had started firing up near our final destination:  Salina.  Salina has a really nice city waterpark and we had planned to visit after checking into our hotel.  Once we got our bags to the room, however, we discovered the park had indeed closed for weather.  Plan B kicked into gear and we were soon driving to the north side of town so Jason and Franklin could see the Tesla Superchargers at the Holiday Inn Express.  The smile on Franklin's face was priceless as the Tesla columns came into view.  After some photos, the skies opened up and we were hit with a deluge of water, just as two Teslas arrived to get plugged in for a recharge.  Those poor folks jumped out in the rain, plugged in their cars, then sought shelter from the storm.

Martinelli's Little Italy was our next destination.  It's a local Italian restaurant located in the historic downtown area.  We enjoyed a great dinner of pasta, meatballs, salad, and cannoli (to-go) and soon found ourselves walking and driving around the area.  The city is clearly working to revitalize the downtown area as many buildings were under renovation, along with the road.  Right across the street from the restaurant is the Stiefel Theatre which opened in 1931 as the Fox-Watson Theater.  The original ticket booth was still out front under a canopy of yellow lightbulbs.  A peek into the glass front doors revealed an art deco lobby with an elaborate chandelier and ornate woodwork.  The theater is now used as a small concert venue having been extensively restored by the city in 2003.

Once we returned the hotel, we all took a quick dip in the pool and hot tub.  While everyone else started to wind down for the evening, I noticed the clouds were setting up to provide an excellent sunset.  I drove a short distance out west of town near the airport and wasn't disappointed.  Day 1 came to a close with some amazing colors to the west and lightning with a rainbow to the east.  Tomorrow we head into Denver!