Drive To CU 2018

Here's today's route (starting in Wichita not Arkansas City) First stop was Dodge City; we visited a tourist attraction named Boot Hill, which was kinda cheesy but did have some cool historical stuff Then a quick lunch in Old Town Then miles and miles of straight road west to the horizon Kansas has MANY wind farms Our next stop was  Monument Rocks , which is about 15 miles off the nearest paved roads. We had to be careful to not hit any cows. Lots of cornfields, but surprisingly, right before the Rocks, was a huge sunflower field. I learned of this landmark a few years back while watching the PBS show  Making North America . Bee in the "Eye of the Needle"  The strata are very interesting. Layer upon layer of shells. A closeup Then more driving westward on I-70, flowing with traffic at 90MPH. Eventually we passed into Colorado. And had a GREAT sushi dinner in the Cherry Creek area o...

Heading west, across the Mississippi, the Ozarks, and into the Great Plains We spent the night in Fulton KY, which is right on the KY/TN border GREAT hotel! This opened last year, and it's beautiful and very comfortable. Compare the pic below with what it looked like last year ( google street view ) Across the street is the breakfast place, which is actually in TN (the state line runs down the middle of street). Reminded us of Blackwater Junction back home. I read the local newspaper over breakfast Upon checking out, I chatted with the hotel guy. He asked why we were in Fulton, and I told him it's the childhood home of a good friend. He asked the name, and I said Mark Pennell, upon which the guy said he knew Mark - they went to grade and Middle school together, and played trumpet together, and that Mark was really good. (His name is Chad). So I guess Mark really is from here! Here's Mark's childhood home in South Fulton, the TN si...

Today we swing west, leaving the Appalachians, passing thru Nashville, and ending in western KY: Our first destination was Cumberland Gap.  On the way we saw abandoned coal mines, big and small On the top of one mountain we crossed the future path of the Coalfields Expressway , which is yet another WV improvement project. Due to the narrow, twisting nature of the river valleys, these expressways travel the tops of the mountains. Eventually we arrived at the Cumberland Gap. This was one of the first passages thru the Appalachians used by white settlers to get from Virginia to the "west" - the Ohio River valley. There's a lookout point high above the gap Panoramic view. VA to the left, KY to the right Bee spanning the two states: On the way up, Bee saw this and thought I had tricked her into visiting a battlefield Lunch at an A&W! The root beer was great. Then on to Nashville. We passed into Central time...

Here's Tuesday's route: Fewer miles, more sights! We started out by driving gown the Tygart river valley - very pretty with the fog receding First stop was Cass, WV. Bee and & I spent a great father/daughter weekend here about 14 years ago with my friend Eric Venters & his daughter Paris when Bee & P were both 5. Bee instantly remembered the former employees' houses, one of which we rented for that weekend. Next was the Greenbrier in White Sulpuhr Springs WV. We went on the Bunker tour which was really cool. No tour pics because cameras and phones aren't allowed! After the tour we had lunch in the hotel. The decor is over the top Next was the New River Bridge . We took the old road across the old bridge way down in the valley so as to get a good look at the 876 foot high bridge. Then to Beckley WV for a coal mine tour . It was not very long, but still very interesting   Then to Coalwood, WV, which is the sett...

Today's planned route a sprint to get out of the northeast: We grabbed Panera to go for lunch in Oneonta NY then found a wide spot in the road to eat. A chicken appeared out of the woods and tried to make friends with Bee and she was NOT interested. "IT'S GONNA PECK ME!!!"   We drove thru Nicholson PA in the rain, past the Tunkhannock viaduct. Built in 1911, it was then and still is the largest concrete arch bridge in the entire world. Nap time!!!!! We stopped in Altoona, PA to see Horseshoe Curve. Still raining, so we didn't get out of the car, but we did see a train going around, so that was enough. Gyros for dinner - they were great.  From there we navigated WV Corridor H - a discontinuous freeway that sometimes is a wide, beautiful, fat road, and sometimes is a narrow, twisting backroad. WV has no good east/west travel route due to the geography of the Appalachains, and Corridor H is the solution. They've been working on...