The evil sore throat

So while I have for several days been meaning to post Part II of the lovely Out West trip, I have not. I have been sick since Sat and I think it is a touch of tonsilitis. Grrr... Anyway, I have been spending lovely days ( if I can call them that) lounging around, watching tv, working on a project, and being with my dogs. So please wait patiently, as part II will eventually be posted.

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis

Pikes Peak or Bust!!

This is me at the Garden of the Gods visitors center in Colorado. The red rocks are beautiful! The other photo is also the Garden of the Gods from the roadway that goes thru the park.

(They have a lovely website, but I can't get it to link correctly- so just google it and you will find it. Hee Hee)

Why roads in Missouri are named ZZ and W and other road trips musings...

Part the First

So last Friday we left Alabama around 715 to start on our cross-country trip. The weather was clear but cold when we left. We got to Paducah, KY, around lunch time and stopped at Logans for a good lunch ( good thing we did!). There was major construction on the interstate between Paducah and the Illinois state line so we were held up in single file traffic for a couple of hours. When we got into Illinois, there were flurries. :-) We got to St. Louis around 5 and took a few pics of the Arch. Then we were on a search for Starbucks. We exited on a hunch Kari had and within about 10 mins, got directions to and arrived at a Starbucks. I called to check on my dogs who are in SC. Apparently, they are behaving. :-) And then we continued on the road. Our goal was to get to Kansas City, MO, before stopping for the evening. We got to Independence and checked into a Comfort Inn ( they took dogs) and then went to IHOP at the lovely hour of 1030 for dinner. ( Now you see why we were glad we ate really well for lunch!) We were back on the road again by 6 am trekking across Kansas and Colorado.

Kansas is an extremely boring state. Thanks to all the farmers there that work so hard and all, but it is not the place for Kari or I. There is nothing for miles and miles. The local hangouts look like they must be the truck stops. It was so exhausting to look at really nothing for miles around. We stopped for lunch at a truck stop and asked the locals if the signs for Hwy 40 being the shortest way to Colorado Springs was for real. We were told yes and that there were no cops on it and if we filled up there we would be fine. So we got a quick Subway sandwhich and started down Hwy 40. It is an interesting stretch of road. There is a reason there are no cops on it. There is hardly any traffic. It is you and the great wilderness and an occasional cow. The "towns" shown on the map are small areas, unincorporated, consisting of a few houses or trailers, a John Deer store, and a grainery. This is on the Kansas side. The Colorado side is even better- absolutely nothing!! We did pause at the one point of interest along the way- some little memorial to the push out west by our forefathers. And then... scrubby grass and some antelope. We paused at one point to take pictures of a herd of antelope on the side of the road. They were so funny. They all paused and stared at us while I was madly taking pics and then they all dashed off. ( When I figure out how to post pics on here, I will. Otherwise, you can currently visit my facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504803779 to see the photos I have so far- you will have to make a log in if you don't have facebook, but it is free for nothing.) We arrived about 330 and were able to check out the new place and then go to Walmart for some quick shopping. Kari lives about 3 intersections from Academy Blvd where there is a lot of shopping. We even found a King Sooper that is part of the Kroger family. :-)

As for the title, I have not come across a strong reason for the roads being named the way they are in MO, just that it is a historical deal and that each county can name the roads whatever they want- hence, ZZ can turn into W or A or whatever in the next county. Crazy, huh...

More to follow...