Cross-country trip Part II: The journey continues

Ok, I left off yesterday in Cheyenne, WY. I still smile when I think about this town. It may be a place I'd like to live in the future... When the government doesn't decide the area of the country my family is obliged to reside in. We enjoyed the (relatively) small town atmosphere that this city offers and were delighted that everyone we talked with was so friendly. We only spent a short time here, but everything we saw and everyone we met did the city a great service!

Except for widespread thunderstorms on our drive through Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming the weather had largely cooperated with our cross-country trip. This was about to change however. As soon as we crossed the Wyoming/ Colorado line on I-25, we seemed to go through a curtain of clouds. Almost as if there was an atmospheric gateway that coincided with the arbitrary stateline. The veil of clouds hung over us all day long, blocking what I am told is a magnificent view of the Rocky Mountains from the Colorado frontrange. What a shame for us! This was the part of the trip that my husband had been most looking forward too! He had spent hours pouring over maps of Colorado planning everything that he wanted to see and all the places he wanted to explore. Months earlier he had purchased an annual National Parks pass mostly in anticipation of our cross-country tour. As each mile passed in Colorado I could see and feel his excitement deflating. At the start of the morning he kept saying "Wait until you see those Rocky Mountains!" Then as we drove on he said "Maybe it will clear up in time to drive through the park." We stopped in Loveland for a late breakfast at one of those diners that serve breakfast all day long. Through breakfast I heard him say "Why does this always happen to me? Why is it everytime I want to do something it gets ruined?"

When we left the diner, the drizzle had stopped and the sun seemed to want to break through the low lying clouds... but it wasn't very successful. We headed straight west from here on SR 34. My husband was still lamenting about his dashed dreams, while I tried to reassure him that there was still plenty of time for conditions to improve enough to travel through Rocky Mountain National Park. In fact, I said "I bet it's sunny and clear in the next valley over." As we drove west, the clouds did dissipate and we saw more and more of the sun, though the wind picked up a bit. We drove through a beautiful canyon area on SR-34. I'm not sure if this road is a well kept secret, or if I was ignorant of its existence because up to this point in my life I hadn't really spent any time further west than around the Mississippi River. We enjoyed the twists of this road around the canyon walls, and were charmed by the river at the bottom. The combination of a change of scenery and road more challenging than the Interstate system boosted my husband's spirits a bit. The sky continued to be colored grey throughout the drive, but the grayness lightened and brightened considerably. And on the other side of the mountain was one of the nicest cities I've ever had the privilege to visit. Estes Park is a gem hidden in the Rocky Mountains. As the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, it does get hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, but when we drove into the city, I felt as if I was discovering a hidden city that the rest of the world knew nothing about. While my husband, my daughter and I were busy taking in all the sights as we drove through, my son's head, and stomach, were swimming with all the rapid change of scenery... and possibly the greasy breakfast he had eaten earlier in Loveland. He was fighting a battle with car sickness, and lost it about 3 seconds after saying "Mommy I don't feel good." Three seconds is NOT enough time for that statement to sink in fast enough to find a safe place to stop and get a three-year old out of a 5-point harness carseat. He quickly brought our attention back from our surroundings to the immediate situation inside the car. We quickly pulled into the parking lot of a local hotel and I jumped out of the car to attend to my son. When he gets sick, his inclination is to tilt his head back instead of forward to avoid getting any on his clothes, and I was afraid that he might choke on what his body was trying to get rid of. After a couple moments of confusion and tears, we got him squared enough to continue the trip until we reached the the town which we had pre-chosen to stay the night. I knew there was a reason that we brought Lysol disinfectant wipes in addition to the regular baby wipes and extra changes of clothes! Thank you Lysol for keeping our long trip smelling nice and lemony instead of the alternative! And no, I don't have an endorsement for writing that (yet... :-).

Well, I still haven't actually gotten to the part about Rocky Mountain National Park. Once again, I'll beg off and attempt to write that tomorrow. My son has just gotten out of bed and now I must begin the rest of my daily activities. Stay tuned!