The
electrical power was restored by around 11:30PM last night, so we got the A/C
running again and cooled things off. We made an early start in anticipation of
the drive to Colorado.
The landscape
gets progressively more arid as you cross western Kansas and get into eastern
Colorado. You also begin to gain altitude as you travel the long slow climb up
toward the Front Range. It also gets steadily hotter (they say it’s not usually
this hot in June), too. It wasn’t long until we were into triple digits.
Speaking of
digits, just outside of a town called Bovina (the surrounding fields are dotted
with the animals who inspire the name), our car trip odometer turned to 7777.7
miles. Although no coins came spewing out of our steering column, we counted
ourselves lucky that we’ve had such a great trip so far.
Just inside
Colorado, in the town of Burlington, is the Kit Carson County Fairgrounds. It
is the location of one of the roadside attractions visited by Alison and Karen
on their ‘Aveo Across America’ trip in 2008. Karen suggested we stop to see the
Philadelphia Toboggan Co. Carousel #6.
The so-called
Kit Carson Carousel dates to 1905 and features hand-carved wooden animals,
numerous oil paintings, and a 1909 Wurlitzer Monster Military Band Organ. For
25 cents, you get a 10 minute historical lecture, a ride on the carousel, and a
look at how people got entertained a century ago. There is quite a history to the
carousel, and it’s all out there on Google.
The carousel
animals are a mixture of domestic and exotic creatures. Riding on the back of
one of them is even something that looks a lot like a certain creepy J.R.R.
Tolkien character. Once the ride gets going, it’s going fast. The ride operator
told us it goes twice as fast as a regular carousel. The animals do not go up
and down like most carousels, but you don’t notice this when you’re hanging on
to keep from being spun off the ride. The organ sounds like an entire brass
band and it’s so loud, the ride operator wears the same ear protectors you see
baggage handlers wear on the airport tarmac. It’s a rousing experience.
With our ears
still ringing and our heads still spinning, we jumped back into the car and
headed for the Denver area. When we got about 25 miles from the city, the skies
were dark, the temperature was high and the highway signs warned of excessive
ozone levels and advised people to stay indoors. We turned north toward
Greeley, and the air started to clear and the temperature dropped back down
into the low 90’s.
We’re staying
with Laurie and David at their home in Greeley. Laurie and Karen used to work
together at the tax firm. Laurie and David recently moved to Colorado this past
December (Laurie and David are also Ashley’s parents – Ashley and her husband,
Roger, are staying at our house while we’re on our trip) and have a nice house
here in Greeley.
It was great to have some home-cooked chicken
enchiladas after a long day on the road. We’re looking forward to our visit
with Laurie, David, Josh (their son), Jake (their big dog) and Roxie (their
small dog).
Next: Laundry
and Trip Planning
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