Day 5 - Denver, Colorado to Salt Lake City Utah

On day five we had another 535 miles and eight and a half hours ahead of us.  We didn't get to stop many places along the way, but that was ok because it was soooooo hot.

 We did get to take pictures in this really cool camping trailer.  They are called Airstream trailers, but my family and I like to call them Twinkies.

Some day it would be fun to get one and go camping in it.  I love camping.

 The inside of the trailer was even cooler than the outside.  So we took some pictures.  It had writing on all of the ceiling.



We got back on the road after that.  We saw lots of mountains, clouds and rocks.  I thought this rock formation was interesting.  I reminded me of when you play with blocks and stack them in a wacky way.

 Driving makes you really hungry so we stopped at a restaurant called "The Buck Stops Here."  They have tons of weird things like a deer whose front half is on one side of the wall and his back half is on the other.

They menu was so big it took me two hands to hold it up.  The food was just as big.  With a full stomach we got back on the road.

 The sky and mountains were beautiful to look at, but that is pretty much all you see along the way.  There were not even that many cars.  If you didn't have a good friend to talk to you might get really bored.  We talked a lot and sang along to the radio.

 When we crossed the Utah state line I thought it was funny that they have skiing on their sign.  I know people ski there most of the time, but it was over 100 degrees outside.  I was having a hard time picturing snow.

Utah is sometimes called the "Beehive State."  That got me excited because I love bees and honey.

 Salt Lake City is on the other side of the Rocky Mountains.  Which means we crossed a giant mountain chain to get there.

The city was founded by a man named Brigham Young, in 1847.  When he saw the land he said "This is the right place," and he started the city.

 Lots of people like to visit the city.  They go to ski and to see all the pretty buildings.

The olympics were starting the day we got to Salt Lake City.  Mike and I got to watch the opening ceremonies on a big screen.  I thought it was weird and cool all at the same time.  Most of all I was just glad to get out of the hot sun.

 

 When the sun went down the sky was so blue.  It was an amazing color.  I wish the pictures really showed it.

Before we went back to the hotel we walked through the city. They had some fountains you could play in.  If you look carefully you can see Mike in the middle of the fountain.

We were exhausted and had another long drive in front of us tomorrow.  We were going to the last city, Reno, before we finally made it home.

Day 4 - Lincoln, Nebraska to Denver, Colorado

Day four we drove almost 8 hours again.  8 might be our magic number.  Lincoln is the capital of Nebraska.  It is sometimes called the "Star City" since a star is what shows the capital of a state on a map.  The University of Nebraska is in Lincoln, which is the home of the Cornhuskers.

When driving from Nebraska to Denver we passed the "Great Platte River Road Archway"  The archway features a silver flying horse.  It is also a museum that shows you what it was like to travel West in a covered wagon.  Nearly half a million settlers traveled this same route to start a new life on the West Coast.

We drove past one of the Pony Express Stations.  The Pony Express was a mail service that delivered messages by horse back over the Rocky Mountains.  It was only around for a year and a half, but it delivered letters very quickly.  The horses and their riders could carry letters over 1,900 miles.

There were lots of farms along the road.  The farms that grow hay sometimes roll them up in order to store them.  There was lots of hay to see along the way.  They are so big that it is too tall to climb on top of.

After driving over 800 miles we finally reached Denver, Colorado.   Denver is sometimes called the "Mile High City," because it is 5,280 feet above sea level.  Being so high can sometimes makes it hard to breathe.

 The Rocky Mountains are not only very tall they are also very old.  Some of the oldest rocks in the mountain range are 1.7 billion years old.  They are also very pretty to look at.  In the summer they are very green, but the tops still have snow since it is cold up that high.  In the winter the mountains are completely covered with snow.

 Even though Denver is in the mountains, there are lots of skyscrapers.  It is hard to imagine that this was a city where cowboys like Buffalo Bill used to spend their time.

 Denver is the home of the Rockies baseball team. Their stadium is called Coors Field.  The field is pretty new, it was opened in 1995.  Their colors are purple and black.  You can see the Rocky Mountains from inside that stadium.

 After seeing the baseball stadium Mike and I did a little sight seeing.  We saw Denver's Union station and tried on hats at a very famous hat store.

 Trying on hats was so much fun at Rockmount Ranch Wear.    They make hats, cowboy boots and lots of other cowboy gear.  The dog that works at the store even helped catch people who were stealing.  The dog was really sweet too.

 After all that fun, we were starving.   That meant we got to eat corn dogs.  They are delicious.

Tomorrow we would be heading to Salt Lake City, Utah.