Colorado Here We Come!

8/2/2018

I can’t believe this day is finally here.  Colorado here we come!  Targeted departure time:  8:00 AM sharp! Actual departure time: 9:15 …not too bad for us.  Thankfully, my mom and Earl hauled a lot of our wedding things up with them.  We were jammed packed with 3 totes and a suitcase on the cargo carrier.  In the car, we stuffed the cornhole boards (home made by Kevin – stressfully finished after overcoming a near decal tragedy), all of our wedding clothes, pillows, blankets, coolers, snacks and on and on, leaving just enough room for Chewy to have a spot to lay down in the far back.  Off we go!

Now, fast forward to Decatur, just 30 minutes into the trip, and Cameron was laying (illegally) in Chewy’s “said” spot in the back, when Kevin sees police lights in the rear view mirror and announces “we’re getting pulled over – Cameron, get back in your seat!”.  She scurried over piles of coolers and bags, and slid in next to Chewy in her seat just in time.  We got clocked at 78mph, in a construction zone that had just dropped to 50 mph.  He was “kind” and marked that we were in a 60 mph zone or it would have been double the fine and no probation.  Great way to start off the trip! Guess Kevin will be looking forward to defensive driving when we get home.

Nothing too eventful on the rest of the drive that day. Lunch at Dairy Queen, a couple of rest stops, including one at Toot and Totum, a popular chain of gas stations in that part of Texas -What a name! We saw countless windmills and herds of antelope grazing in the boring, flat fields that skirt the sides of the highways for most of the day.  It’s always so exciting to see the first glimpses of the mountains/hills/plateaus/volcanoes (whatever they are) that are just before the border of Colorado.  Little in comparison to the beauty of the mountains to come, but exciting, never the less.  Next year I’d like to stop and see Mount Capulin (an inactive volcano), but we were all getting hungry for dinner and wanted to get to the hotel to unload our stuff and go eat.

Speaking of the hotel…… We have titled it the “Not So Great Super 8”.  The clerk, whose smile revealed only upper teeth, graciously stubbed out her cigarette to lead us into the lobby, so we could check in.  After signing a mountain of paperwork (no pun intended), which included the “Acknowledgement of No Marijuana Use on the Property Policy” and the “Do Not Leave Your Pet Alone in the Room Unattended Policy” – NO EXCEPTIONS!! We unloaded the car, put Chewy in the room (unattended) and headed out to dinner.  We tried a local place in downtown Trinidad called Double D’s – food was NOT good (although, Nolan loved his pancakes) and the sweet tea was not brewed, but out of a drink machine (we should have known better).  After sending my rubbery grilled chicken back, I ate half of Cameron’s chicken strips and a microwaved potato, served plain, with a container of butter and a half empty squeeze bag of Daisy sour cream.  Double D’s was located between two dispensaries – it’s a common thing to see these “pot stores” on every corner here in Colorado. And, no, we did not get any special desert gummies or cookies from either, but headed back to the hotel to hit the hay, so we could get any early start.