Day 3 of GGW Adventure of a Lifetime-
Mileage: 1,369 miles from Knoxville
Points: Although I spotted the windmills first, (http://www.windenergyfoundation.org/wind-at-work/case-studies/colorado) Benjamin definitely won because of his persistence and patience while he was fishing today! Way to go, Captain Ahab!
Weird things we saw along the way: Another dead armadillo, hundreds of blinking red lights- Our close encounters event (read more to find out if we were abducted!)
Favorite building of the day: The windmills. Unbelievable!
Favorite
Sayings of the Day: Benjamin ran into my bedroom and said, "Momma, I cannot wait until we go to that rodeo. Then I can finally say...This isn't my first rodeo!"
Christopher's story: WINDMILLS ARE AWESOME. Also, I caught two bluegill. I rode a skateboard. That's all.
Kayden's story: I loved eating a home cooked breakfast with my family. We saw a beautiful sunset, and a couple hours later, we got abducted by aliens with blinking red eyes.
Benjamin's story: to be added
Joe-Nicholas's story: I liked fishing with my cousins. I even caught
a fish!
Benjamin: Oh yeah? Well my favorite part was catching two fish. So ha!
country breakfast with fresh eggs, bacon and biscuits. So yummy and so fun to all eat around the big table together.
We got ready for our special surprise day that Brad and Lacey had planned for the kids! First, Lacey and Brad loaded their SUV with enough fishing and picnicking supplies to keep us happy for hours. Then, we each split up in the cars and got personal tours of the town. We headed for the base, Fort Riley, where we were going to take the kids fishing for the afternoon. Note to self: Always drive the speed limit on Army bases especially if you have a Major in the car with you. Apparently the Army frowns upon breaking rules :0) We toured the base which had some amazing 100+ year old houses including the current General's and other buildings on it that were built when General Custer was on post. The place was simply BEAUTIFUL! The saying about Ft. Riley is that when Col. Custer rode out and headed north for the Black Hills and his fate at the Little Big Horn he said "don't change anything until I get back"...and they haven't. There are still Calvary Horses (the last official ones in the Army), a field wtih old jumping rails for horses, and other amazing historic places and fields (the boys loved the historic Army vehicles and cannons all around). We also got to see the monument and grave for the LAST Cavalry Mount who is buried on post- (http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMJPBD_LAST_Cavalry_Mount_on_the_Army_muster_rolls_Fort_Riley_KS). I thoroughly enjoyed our tour.
We regrouped at Moon Lake and unloaded the gear. The kids were so excited because they know what expert fishermen/women their cousins are! We set up on the banks of the lake and Lacey and Brad began the 5 hour shift of baiting, untangling, rebaiting, reeling, "You've got a bite!", "Where is your bobber?", "Watch where you are casting!", rebaiting, and FINALLY getting our catches of the day. Grand total was 7 fish...6 bluegill and 1...well, I will let you guess...(watch this clip). Stella caught the first fish, then Christopher caught two, Benjamin caught two, and Joe-Nicholas caught one. Uncle Brad used Christopher's second Bluegill to catch his big one! Lacey grilled us lunch and served hot dogs, watermelon, chips, coleslaw, and homemade brownies. We ate at a pavillion overlooking the beautiful lake. There were several other soldiers and their families enjoying the lake. I think we only ran off one poor guy that appeared to be fishing on his lunch break. Between the lake, the picnic areas, the playgrounds, and wonderful baseball complex, I was very pleased with the opportunities provided to our soldiers for some well-deserved down time with their families.
As we left the base, Uncle Brad took us on a tour of his town and we got to see Stella's school and other adorable places in this traditional hometown place. When we got back to Nelson Adventure Camp, the kids began playing with the cousins again. We got our ton and 1/2 of luggage back into the minivan and said our goodbyes and got one final family picture!
The next exciting event was discovering the windmills! They were so impressive. I don't know how tall they are but they are HUGE and not having trees around makes it hard to tell just how enormous they are. All of us were so interested in them. We can see the windmills in Oak Ridge from our drive way...but they appear to be only an inch tall. In person, these amazing machines are huge. Did I mention how large they are? Anyway, there were hundreds of them. I really wanted to stop near one to hear what they sound like. Hopefully we will get our chance as the days continue. After the windmill farms, we started seeing a different type of terrain with dozens of oil derricks everywhere. They seem to be randomly placed and are not even near the homesteads we can see off in the distance...going to have to research these as well.
We started getting a little nervous as we continued on our track towards Colorado. Extreme western Kansas is pretty isolated. I was watching the gas so that we wouldn't get too low, but finally stopped at a closed gas station that just leaves their pay at the pump on all the time. Even though Knoxville is a small city, I am use to the 24/7 amenities that it has to offer. We also lucked out and found a Sonic for dinner along the way. We always have PB&J stuff with us just in case, but a good old grill cheese seemed to hit the spot. Anyway, we kept heading toward the sun which gave us one of the most breathtaking sunsets I've ever seen. Because it was so flat and becuase we were heading west, we enjoyed THE LONGEST sunset I remember. Mom and Christopher took some amazing photos. Mom also caught a Dove in the sky (beautiful cloud shaped just like a dove.)
The sunset changed colors several times and even the little boys
were interested and looked up from their movies occasionally.
We took a quick photo at the Colorado sign which was pretty unique. I think we are going to love this state. Twilight lasted forever and the gentle but constant slop upwards began taking us toward Denver. When it gets dark...Good Gravy it is dark! We came across this ridge when all of a sudden, it was close encounters of the whatever number kind. It was THE freakiest thing I have ever seen. As Kayden put it...there were HUNDREDS of evil blinking eyes everywhere ready to abduct us. Remember, it is pitch black dark, tiny roads, not much traffic, and HUNDREDS of evil blinking eyes!!! Hundreds! It really made my heart race for a slight minute until we, as thinking, rational people put our heads together and finally determined that (dun, dun, daaaah-as Joe-Nicholas would sing) ... we were back in windmill farm country and that they all had blinking lights on top!!! It was the strangest feeling seeing something so real and having no idea what you were looking at (I know...ended with a preposition...I don't care, it is summer.)
Anyway, we made it to Denver by 1:00 AM our time, 11:00 Denver time. Our stinking GPS, which I have threatened to throw out the window several hundred times at this point, took us to Double Tree on Quebec Ave. I pull up..waddle out after sitting too long and lumber up to the desk ready to collapse. The perky clerk behind the counter asked for my name and id...then after checking his computer told me that he didn't have my registration and that he was sure that I was booked at the "Other" DoubleTree ON QUEBEC AVE. Are you kidding me? Really? TWO Doubletrees on the same road!!! I promptly told him that it was no problem, I had only been in the car for about three days at this point and what would 3 more minutes do? Maybe he should have offered me a warm, chocolate chip cookie like our rightful clerk did! Anyway, super nice place that I highly recommend...the second one, not the first one! By the way, insider told me you can request as many cookies as you want during your stay at Doubletree! Love them.
Well, we are exhausted but still having a blast.
More Photos to come...
Good Night, Denver.
Nice Fish!!
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