We did it -- 45 days, 7,374 miles!!!  We truly thank God for a safe trip.  We have enjoyed seeing an awesome part of this country.  We are already talking about where the travelling4 will go next.

a great adventure ends

PS: Ken and I will be leaving Little Rock Sunday after church.  Our grandkids, Courtney & Kyle are at camp not far from here.  We are going to surprise them on Visitor Day.  From there we will go on to Dallas to spend a few days with Kelley/Eric, daughter & son-in -law.  Look for us in Davie Co the week of June 23rd.

Today HAS been an ordinary day.  We left Kansas this morning, drove through Missouri and into Arkansas.  We are parked just outside Fort Smith in Alma.  We got here around 4pm.  Once we got everything set up, we drove into Fort Smith to a really nice park and enjoyed a pleasant walk along the river.  After our walk, we had dinner at Cracker Barrel.  Tomorrow we will be back in Little Rock.

It has been another interesting day -- both good & bad.  It has been sunny and not as warm as yesterday -- good.  We had another tire issue.  That's the third of the original four -- bad.  This time David replaced both number 3 & number 4.  As Desi said to Lucy "somebody's got some 'splainin' to do".  We are parked in Louisburg, KS, not far from the Missouri border.  It took David several phone calls to find a WalMart with two of the tires he needed.  In fact we ended up Belton, MO.  After getting the tires, we had dinner at a really great BBQ place (Odens) in Belton -- good.  What will tomorrow bring????

Today started out as just an ordinary travel day.  We left Colorado and entered Kansas.  We stopped in WaKeeney, KS which is half way between Denver and Kansas City.  Still an ordinary day.  We were each doing our set-up jobs.  I was bringing some things in from the truck when I stepped in a hole.  I said "oh" which caused David to turn around -- then he said "oh".  What he saw was a SNAKE.  It was 3 to 4' ft long.  We called for the calvalry (maintenance man).  By this time it had slithered under the camper to the other side and down a hole.  Mark, the maintenance man, told us it was a gopher snake (non-poisonous) which has the same coloring as a rattlesnake, but no rattle and a smaller head.  He ran water down the hole.  It took a while but eventually the snake came out.  Mark collected him on a shovel, put him in his vehicle and took him away.  We don't have any pictures because the camera was still in the truck.  David & Ken were busy watching the snake capture and Mary Lee and I weren't going outside.  Wonder what adventure we will have tomorrow :~)

We ARE in Kansas, Toto!

Kansas state seal

It has been a great day.  After church with the Pikes Peak congregation in Colorado Springs, we drove on to Pikes Peak.  We took the 1+ hr cog railroad train ride to the top of Pikes Peak.  The weather has been glorious.  One of the best days weather-wise that we've had.  The sun was shining in a Carolina blue sky.  I loved how the sun shone through the Ponderosa pines and the Quaking aspens.  We only had a little over 30 minutes at the top.  We took a few pictures, visited the gift shop and got back on the train for the trip down the mountain.  From there we wandered around the streets and shops of Manitoba Springs.  After dinner, David and Mary Lee went to chase the sun in search of the perfect sunset.

Pikes Peak Church of Christ, Colorado Springs

the sky, the pines & the aspen -- a view from the train

Marmet seen from train window

Mary Lee wanted to be the tallest

the train waiting for return trip

view from summit

 

Sunday sunset was not "perfect" -- this is the one Mary Lee took on Saturday

 

 looking for perfect sunset, Mary Lee & David saw this Prairie Dog

Not much to write about today.  We drove from Fort Collins, Co to Fountain, Co (near Colorado Springs).  Again the wind was blowing hard which creates a challenge for David to drive in.  Once we got set up Mary Lee and I did the laundry.  We are getting ready to grill hot dogs.  More tomorrow:~)

For Mary Lee and me this has been a very relaxing day.  After David & Ken left to go to a car show, Mary Lee and I went for a long walk around the campground.  Then I read, talked to the girls, caught up on my games -- I know I'm behind again already -- and took a nap.  Mary Lee read, talked with her brothers and kids, and worked on her quilt project.

Ken and David thoroughly enjoyed the car show.  There was an estimated 2000 cars at this show.  Mary Lee and I were surprised they got back before dark.

a partial view of the cars