Fall, Colorado, 2013--Trip home and final thoughts

We headed home very early Monday morning.  It is a long day's drive.  We do like to get this behind us.  We usually grab a hot cup of coffee from a nearby McDonald's before heading on down the road.  Need something to keep us awake so early in the morning.  We usually stop for breakfast a couple of hours down the road.  We also need to get into Lawrence before 6 pm to pick up our dog from the "dog hotel."

One of the disadvantages of driving east is that the sun comes up over the horizon quickly.  We both thought we were going blind.  We stopped for breakfast shortly after the sun hit us in the face. By the time we had our fast food breakfast, the sun was high enough to not be a bother the rest of the trip.

We were cruising east on I-70 without a care in the world.  There was a car sitting in the median in the far distance.  Not another car to be seen.  James, as usual, is driving in the passing lane.  He does love that lane.  Lo and behold, car is a Colorado state trooper.  Oh no.  James is going 4 mph over the speed limit.  That's not enough to get a speeding ticket.  Well, he does stop us.  He informed my husband that in the state of Colorado one does not drive in the passing lane except to pass.  (I think we knew that.)  Thank goodness, only a warning.  Consequently, James did not drive in the passing lane except to pass the rest of the way to Lawrence.  I personally think the trooper was bored and just wanted to stop and chat for a bit.  Guess I shouldn't complain.  No ticket.  Just a waste of our time.

I am getting better with the navigation system.  Nissan needs to do something with their estimated drive time, though.  When we left Fort Collins, it said it would take us 11 hours and 18 minutes which would have us arrive at 6:12 pm.  We pulled into our house at 4:45 pm.  An hour and 27 minutes less than the estimate.  That is driving time.  Our 4:45 arrival time also included 2 stops to eat, 2 stops to purchase gasoline, and several stops to take advantage of roadside rest areas.  I am guessing another hour off of the original drive time.  That is basically ridiculous.  Our portable Garmin has a much closer estimate.  Nissan must think we are going to have a car problem every time we take to the road.

All in all it was a great trip.  I look forward to visiting my sister and her husband again in the next couple of years.  I certainly would like to see the inside of the Air Force Academy Chapel.  We have also talked about driving up to Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Thank goodness we didn't head that way this trip.