Stacy: Day 2: The Plagues Continue...
Well, I wonder what other plagues await us in the coming days... Today was all about the locusts. At least we're nowhere near the Red River... [NOTE added on day 3: Apparently, an offshoot of the Red River runs through Palo Duro (mentioned below)!!!]
Even though we started out on time, we didn't leave Amarillo until 11am, about an hour later than planned (because we wanted to get our first blog posts up!). This time, we meandered more during our second day of long driving. We stopped to do more GeoCaching and general sightseeing (around the GeoCaches).
Unique Amarillo Culture:
In the Oklahoma Panhandle, we got some Dust Bowl experiences! While driving down a dirt farm road (logically named N0540), I made Kim turn around so I could photograph a craftsman-style abandoned cottage.
Continuing along the dirt road, we finally found the 8-Mile Corner, where Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado all meet.
I'm in THREE states at once! Solid, gassy (it's those beans from last night's dinner...), and mental!
Just kidding. Mostly. Hands are in Oklahoma; left foot Kansas; right foot Colorado.
While driving along the dirt road after this stop, I noticed an airplane low on the horizon on our left. Turns out he was crop-dusting!!! Kim took some amazing shots as we drove closer. The roads split the farmlands, so we pretty much drove right up and past him!
It should be noted: the grasshoppers were attacking our car this entire time, and didn't stop until right before Colorado. And, whenever we'd stop to Geo Cache or to just see something, they'd jump away from us in droves . It almost felt like we were herding them because they'd jump in the direction we were going, but we kept walking in that direction for 10 feet or so.
After the 8-Mile Corner, we made our way to Kansas and the Cimarron National Grassland. Oh, how beautiful the Point of Rocks area is!
Boy, don't we all feel accomplished?!? The Point of Rocks is the THIRD highest point in Kansas! And, we climbed it! Isn't this one incredible height??
Above: Standing at the top, looking at the bottom... sooo far down.......
Above: standing at the bottom, looking at the top... sooooo high!!!
Towards sunset, we made it into Colorado, and had dinner.
So, I'm not sure if God is trying to tell us something. Not even halfway to Denver, we came upon an awesome storm front. Of course, Kim had to drive through it because it was on our path. The clouds at the leading edge were amazingly textured, and I could see the clouds rotating a bit so that it would later form a wall cloud (miles and miles to the east). I showed Abby this cloud movement, and she took a video of it. I don't know how well it turned out.
Such a wonderful cloud display! We could see the sun/sunset peeking through in the distance (west), but it was POURING rain on us. So amazing. A long while ago, I followed the website of a storm chaser out in Mississippi or somewhere. I never thought I'd be able to see with my own eyes the things he photographed.
With no more rain, and a waxing crescent moon, we arrived in Denver. Couldn't see a thing due to the darkness, so the view out of our window will be a pleasant surprise in the morning!!
Good night.
