5 Miles of ADVENTURE!

Once we left Oakley, KS we faced a 5 hour drive to get to Denver. It was still somewhat gusty so we kept the speed down a little (RV seems to be less affected by cross-winds if we are driving 55 or so...) A little while after crossing into CO we realized we were going to get to Denver right around rush hour. Now some of you might be braver than us (or more foolish??) but we had NO interest in dealing with city rush-hour traffic under any conditions...and especially not when we were pulling a huge "ship" behind us! So we took advantage of our "travel brains" (aka the GPS nav system in our truck) and asked for the "shortest" route to our destination (rather than the quickest).

Right as it came up and told us which way to turn, we were driving PAST the needed exit! The "travel brains" quickly re-calculated and told us to take the next exit, turn under the freeway and take county roads to get back onto the suggested route. So...we followed the "brains" demands.

After we crossed under the freeway, we had to cross a cattle guard in the road and THIS is what we saw:

Hmmm...guess the "travel brains" didn't remember that we pull an "ocean liner" behind us! We decided to risk it, hoping that there wouldn't be any sharp turns or low bridges that would be a problem to passage for our RV, and hoping we wouldn't find any other vehicles traveling toward us!

We crossed a number of cattle guards in the road, as we travelled from "pasture" to "pasture," occasionally seeing cattle in the distance. (Do you still call them "pastures" when they are larger areas than many FARMS in central Ohio???) We passed a few ranch houses with barns and outbuildings, but these rolling hills were pretty desolate. Here's a photo of a falling-down shack we passed:

I will admit the desolate landscape had a beauty of its own...but I will also admit to being relieved when we finally got back on PAVED roads with two (count 'em, TWO) full lanes for passing vehicles!! It might have been only 5 miles, but it sure seemed longer!

We did, however, totally miss any traffic jams, congestion, or stop-n-start driving near Denver. And, after all, on a journey to wonder I guess we should expect an adventure or two!