October 20, 2010 7:57 a.m.
Day 21 was September 24, 2010
We woke up in Marion, Illinois.
Temperature was 75 degrees. It is starting to feel like Florida, now.
Odometer reading 30,275. (we broke through the 30,000 mark yesterday).
Altitude ~400 ft.
On this day, by 10:30 in the morning, we had already been in three states - Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. We are really making time, now. The minute we drove over the Ohio River into Kentucky, we had officially re-entered "the South", and I could immediately hear it in people's accents at our first rest stop. Amazing what a simple river can do, even today. The weather continued to be hot today, topping out at 92 degrees, just like yesterday had been. Today we would reach Chattanooga, and I would feel like we are near home. Never expected Chattanooga to feel like near home before, but on this trip it is a matter of perspective.
As we drove toward Chattanooga, I took time to recap fun facts from this trip. Here we go:
FAVORITE REST AREAS: Missouri and Tennessee.
LEAST FAVORITE REST AREAS: Kansas (sorry). Had to compete too much with the flies.
FAVORITE KOA KAMPGROUND: Rapid City KOA, by far the best we have ever seen, and we have seen many KOAs.
FAVORITE INDEPENDENT CAMPGROUND: High Plains Camping, Oakley, Kansas and Lazy Days Campground, Montgomery City, Missouri.
FAVORITE SCENIC DRIVE: the Beartooth Highway, undisputably the most memorable scenery ever!
BIGGEST SURPRISE: Badlands National Park, better than we expected. Also Big Thompson Canyon on US 34 in Colorado.
BIGGEST ANNOYANCE: drivers in Yellowstone - good grief!
FAVORITE WAL-MART: The Supercenter in Colby, Kansas. So quiet in the middle of the day. I so wish ours at home was like this one.
FAVORITE RESTAURANT: The Shores in Lakeshore Lodge, Estes Park, Colorado
WORST RUSH HOUR: Denver, but Chattanooga is turning out to be pretty bad, too, right now.
MOST FUN STATE TO DRIVE THROUGH: Wyoming.
WORST ROAD CONSTRUCTION: Togwotee Pass, outside of Dubois, Wyoming on US 287 - miles of highway torn up.
COLDEST NIGHTS: 31 degrees in West Yellowstone, Montana.
FAVORITE ANIMAL SIGHTING: Moose family in Moose Junction, Grand Teton National Park.
BEST DISPLAY OF NIGHT STARS: campground at Devils Tower, could see the most stars, shooting stars, and passing satellites with the unaided eye.
BIGGEST OPEN SPACES: It is hard to say, but I think it might be Central Wyoming. For miles and miles we didn't see so much as a single power pole.
FAVORITE HIGHWAY SIGN: Outside Denver:
Day 21 was September 24, 2010
We woke up in Marion, Illinois.
Temperature was 75 degrees. It is starting to feel like Florida, now.
Odometer reading 30,275. (we broke through the 30,000 mark yesterday).
Altitude ~400 ft.
On this day, by 10:30 in the morning, we had already been in three states - Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. We are really making time, now. The minute we drove over the Ohio River into Kentucky, we had officially re-entered "the South", and I could immediately hear it in people's accents at our first rest stop. Amazing what a simple river can do, even today. The weather continued to be hot today, topping out at 92 degrees, just like yesterday had been. Today we would reach Chattanooga, and I would feel like we are near home. Never expected Chattanooga to feel like near home before, but on this trip it is a matter of perspective.
As we drove toward Chattanooga, I took time to recap fun facts from this trip. Here we go:
FAVORITE REST AREAS: Missouri and Tennessee.
LEAST FAVORITE REST AREAS: Kansas (sorry). Had to compete too much with the flies.
FAVORITE KOA KAMPGROUND: Rapid City KOA, by far the best we have ever seen, and we have seen many KOAs.
FAVORITE INDEPENDENT CAMPGROUND: High Plains Camping, Oakley, Kansas and Lazy Days Campground, Montgomery City, Missouri.
FAVORITE SCENIC DRIVE: the Beartooth Highway, undisputably the most memorable scenery ever!
BIGGEST SURPRISE: Badlands National Park, better than we expected. Also Big Thompson Canyon on US 34 in Colorado.
BIGGEST ANNOYANCE: drivers in Yellowstone - good grief!
FAVORITE WAL-MART: The Supercenter in Colby, Kansas. So quiet in the middle of the day. I so wish ours at home was like this one.
FAVORITE RESTAURANT: The Shores in Lakeshore Lodge, Estes Park, Colorado
WORST RUSH HOUR: Denver, but Chattanooga is turning out to be pretty bad, too, right now.
MOST FUN STATE TO DRIVE THROUGH: Wyoming.
WORST ROAD CONSTRUCTION: Togwotee Pass, outside of Dubois, Wyoming on US 287 - miles of highway torn up.
COLDEST NIGHTS: 31 degrees in West Yellowstone, Montana.
FAVORITE ANIMAL SIGHTING: Moose family in Moose Junction, Grand Teton National Park.
BEST DISPLAY OF NIGHT STARS: campground at Devils Tower, could see the most stars, shooting stars, and passing satellites with the unaided eye.
BIGGEST OPEN SPACES: It is hard to say, but I think it might be Central Wyoming. For miles and miles we didn't see so much as a single power pole.
FAVORITE HIGHWAY SIGN: Outside Denver:
"State Penitentiary Ahead.
Please do not pick up hitchhikers."
1 comments:
It's too bad you couldn't get a picture of that sign. It's just funny!