Provo to Kansas

 

 After 11 wonderful days at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah it is time to say good bye and begin our journey to Orlando, Florida. We have had some amazing experiences and will forever cherish the time spent here. 

 

We actually took our time packing up and didn't leave Provo until 8:30 am.

Fortunately traffic was almost non existent and we made great time.

(Look closely, Lambie can be found at the bottom in the center of the sign) 

I thought my grandsons would appreciate a picture of these dinosaurs found in front of the Dinosaur Museum in Fruita, Colorado.  I guess it's a big deal here because there were signs for miles advertising it's existence. Sorry, but the sign was too tall to get Lambie in the picture and I think she was a little scared of them anyway.

 

 

                                  It appears that someone ran out of ideas for naming this rest area :)

 

 The following are pictures of the Colorado countryside just outside of Denver.  It's surprising what a drop of 5,000 feet in altitude can do to the scenery.  In Vail, Colorado, at a mere 10,000 feet altitude, the mountains tower over you and are covered with snow. It was almost like the scene on a Christmas card. I would have taken a picture, but there was no place to stop and I had no idea of the sharp contrast.

 

Just call us crazy! It was 8:30 pm and we had just entered the state of Kansas.  That was the good news.  The bad news was that the sign appeared suddenly next to a truck weighing station so we missed it and had to turn around. Well if you have ever driven on Interstate 70 through Colorado and Kansas there is not a lot to see except for wide open spaces so the exits are few and far between.  In fact it was fourteen miles one way before we could exit the Interstate and turn around! But we managed to find the sign again only to discover that it didn't have lights to illuminate it. So the little shadow you see on the bottom right hand corner of the sign is just me holding up Lambie for the camera. 

 

I am happy to report that the first leg of our trip turned out better than expected.  We originally had planned to drive from Provo, Utah to Denver, Colorado anticipating that it would take roughly 8 to 9 hours. But the roads were clear, the weather warm (75 degrees in Denver) and the conversation lively at times so we decided to push along a little farther and found ourselves stopping for the night in the little town of Goodland, Kansas. 

 

 

The people we have met along the way thus far have been very encouraging and we soon discovered that wearing our missionary badges actually initiates conversation. Although I will be the first to admit that I have noticed a number of curious stares. I have also noticed more than a few smiles. In fact I actually was the recipient of a quick squeeze of my arm by a complete stranger in a gas station of all places just because she recognized my badge.  We have truly been blessed!

Next stop, Independence, Missouri...