It was a tight fit, as 10 people and all their luggage squeezed into a 12 passenger van. Trips with the family are NEVER restful, but they are ALWAYS eventful as we squeeze something out of every minute as evidenced by our 2 AM departure time and infrequent stops. There are 2 additional certainties that accompany family vacation: frigid air-conditioning (to prevent car sickness) and pop-country music, necessitating life-saving blankets and personal headphones for everyone. Between the I-Pods, I Pads, cellphones and portable DVD players, there were enough electronic devices to make Best Buy jealous. We all wrapped up, plugged in and tried to sleep while Papa and Grandma took turns navigating long stretches of highway.
The relative flatness of the Blacklands prairie dissolved into the absolutely desolate flatness of the West Texas plains before we began to climb the high plains to Amarillo. Following a peachy orange sunrise we finally paused to stretch our legs, caffeinate ourselves and inhale breakfast in Amarillo. The kids were happy to be free of their carseats, but Heather who was wedged between the two kids was ecstatic to be free of the carseats and had the shoulder bruises to prove it! The kids enthusiastically ate a McDonald's breakfast as they posed many questions about the truck stop sights, focusing particularly on the thriving population of overly friendly flies. They climbed about on the play equipment briefly, then obediently returned to the van as we returned to the road, a drill that became all too familiar throughout the trip.
Town after town was the same: A Dairy Queen, a gas station, a couple small churches and a vacant brick downtown, giving way to a host of cattle feedlots. Then in the blink of an eye it was nothing but us and the pronghorn antelope as far as the eye could see. Eventually mountains grew from the plains and we climbed through New Mexico's mesas and canyons to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains.
Uncle Matthew slept soundly in what was surely either a Navy or Marine sweatshirt (his signature look this year) as we passed the establishment he not so affectionately refers to as the "ChAir Force" Academy in Colorado Springs, then Cheyenne Mountain and Pike's Peak. At long last we arrived at our destination in Denver. Over 13 hours we traveled from a roughly 674 foot elevation to somewhere around 5,280 feet (1 mile).
Again in the spirit of making the most of our time we met up with longtime family friends at White Fence Farm. The kids fed livestock at the petting zoo, then were freed to run around. Norah particularly liked the ornate treehouse, and Justin used a toy to dig up wood chips before we sat down to a very enjoyable homestyle dinner and caught up with each other. Justin amazed everyone with his undying love for pickled beets, then engaged in a french fry eating contest with TJ. Each of them smiled broadly and said "FRENCH FRY!" with each bite, Justin never suspecting that he had in fact been duped into eating his entire meal. Thank you TJ.
The day was dominated by a long, hard, cramped ride. Not all of the scenery nor the truckstop patrons were dramatically picturesque postcard material, but every stretch of the trip revealed its own distinct beauty. We can appreciate the unique drama present in the majestic mountain peaks and valleys, the rolling foothills, and the vast flat expanses. Through it all the start of the trip built anticipation and excitement for all of us, and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time together and welcomed the opportunity to do something different.
The relative flatness of the Blacklands prairie dissolved into the absolutely desolate flatness of the West Texas plains before we began to climb the high plains to Amarillo. Following a peachy orange sunrise we finally paused to stretch our legs, caffeinate ourselves and inhale breakfast in Amarillo. The kids were happy to be free of their carseats, but Heather who was wedged between the two kids was ecstatic to be free of the carseats and had the shoulder bruises to prove it! The kids enthusiastically ate a McDonald's breakfast as they posed many questions about the truck stop sights, focusing particularly on the thriving population of overly friendly flies. They climbed about on the play equipment briefly, then obediently returned to the van as we returned to the road, a drill that became all too familiar throughout the trip.
Town after town was the same: A Dairy Queen, a gas station, a couple small churches and a vacant brick downtown, giving way to a host of cattle feedlots. Then in the blink of an eye it was nothing but us and the pronghorn antelope as far as the eye could see. Eventually mountains grew from the plains and we climbed through New Mexico's mesas and canyons to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains.
Uncle Matthew slept soundly in what was surely either a Navy or Marine sweatshirt (his signature look this year) as we passed the establishment he not so affectionately refers to as the "ChAir Force" Academy in Colorado Springs, then Cheyenne Mountain and Pike's Peak. At long last we arrived at our destination in Denver. Over 13 hours we traveled from a roughly 674 foot elevation to somewhere around 5,280 feet (1 mile).
Again in the spirit of making the most of our time we met up with longtime family friends at White Fence Farm. The kids fed livestock at the petting zoo, then were freed to run around. Norah particularly liked the ornate treehouse, and Justin used a toy to dig up wood chips before we sat down to a very enjoyable homestyle dinner and caught up with each other. Justin amazed everyone with his undying love for pickled beets, then engaged in a french fry eating contest with TJ. Each of them smiled broadly and said "FRENCH FRY!" with each bite, Justin never suspecting that he had in fact been duped into eating his entire meal. Thank you TJ.
The day was dominated by a long, hard, cramped ride. Not all of the scenery nor the truckstop patrons were dramatically picturesque postcard material, but every stretch of the trip revealed its own distinct beauty. We can appreciate the unique drama present in the majestic mountain peaks and valleys, the rolling foothills, and the vast flat expanses. Through it all the start of the trip built anticipation and excitement for all of us, and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time together and welcomed the opportunity to do something different.
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