Day 4 On the road again

MAY 30, 2010

Well it was time to hit the road again, this time driving from our campsite near Boulder, CO to Wichita Falls, TX. Once you get away from the Rockies, we were definitely in the country of wide open spaces. Not much to see here, but you could see forever and a day at the same time.

While on this part of the adventure, Julie wanted to make sure to follow part of Route 66, the famed roadway that runs from Chicago to Los Angeles.The midpoint of the highway sits just west of Amarillo, TX, and we went there just for the photo! Of course, there were many sights to see along Route 66: such as this restored Phillips 66 gas station (with the old truck in front), and you might recognize the creme and green colored gas station, which was used as the model for Ramone & Luigi's gas station in the movie "Cars".

COORS FIELD in Denver, Colorado

So we finally made it to our first MLB ballpark of our vacation: COORS FIELD, home of the Colorado Rockies.
We arrived at 3:30pm, approx 2 hours before the gates opened (slightly early, but arriving before rush hour started) and found a parking place right outside the gates which was empty. We soon found out why! If you go to a game here, don't arrive before 1.5 hours before the game. Signs warned that all cars still in the up close parking lots would be towed prior to the scheduled "opening of the lot" at 1.5 hours before gates open. Luckily Julie saw the sign and we moved to a "legal" spot. We decided to spend the time browsing the Rockies Gift Shop till the gates actually opened, but found out that they temporarily close the gift shop before the game. (You'd think they'd want visitors before the game) So we made the best of the situation and went down the street to The Breckenridge restaurant and ate dinner there, rather than pay exuberant prices at the ballpark. It was well worth it. Our bison burgers were delicious and reasonably priced.


Bellies full, we finally got inside the park to watch batting practice.I tell you, the thin air sure does let the balls fly. There was an exhibition homerun derby contest by some pro softball players and they hit balls that would make any MLB player proud. Fun to watch.


Of course, part of the reason to get to the ballpark early is to attempt to get an autograph. We were lucky, and got 3 Los Angeles Dodgers to sign for us. They were Reed Johnson, Jamie Carroll (shown at left) and Casey Blake.







The ballpark itself was beautiful, with landscaped bullpens, and excellent views of the Rocky Mountains.
One of the interesting features of the ballpark is the row of purple seats found circling the ballpark in the upper deck. If you are familiar with the city of Denver being the mile high city, then it makes sense that those seats sit exactly 5,280 ft above sea level. I wanted a picture of myself in those "mile high seats", but wasn't expecting to have to fight the seat nazis (which are worse than at Safeco Field) for the right to go up and take a picture in a cheaper location. Luckily, getting a picture of Dinger, the Colorado Rockies mascot was alot easier.

Denver, CO and surrounding area

Day 3 Denver, Colorado and surrounding area


Finally, a day without major driving. The day started with a morning walk around Pelican Pond within the campground. Saw plenty of wildlife, including great white pelicans and a canada goose family.




We then went into Boulder, CO to tour the Celestial Seasons Tea factory. While I don't drink tea, Julie was in heaven being able to sample 25 different blends of tea while viewing the original art pieces produced for the boxes.




Once the tour actually began, we were lead to the warehouse where all the different ingredients (known as infusions) are stored. We saw pallets and pallets of hybiscus, clover, wisteria, and other fragrant items.
We went into the Green Tea Room, where all the tea leaves were kept. The aroma from that room was overwhelming, and not really to my liking. The next room we saw was the MINT ROOM and this was my favorite. Pallets and pallets of peppermint leaves, speariment leaves, and catnip, all grown in the state of Washington, which is, of course, my current residence. The intoxicating smell was wonderful, even being so overpowering that it made your eyes water and sting. I could have stayed there alot longer than the tour guide let us.




Our next planned stop was Coors Field in Denver to attend a game and see the stadium. Well, it was still hours till we needed to go and we didn't feel like driving back to the campground to eat, so we headed to downtown Boulder to have a picnic along the creek that flows thru the
city.
Instead of a nice quiet picnic, we found a Memorial Day festival, so we went with the flow and enjoyed the activities, until it was time to head to Denver and see the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field!

Jerome, ID to Boulder, CO

Friday, May 25
Day 2, another 12 hr drive

Plan: Start early and get to our destination and set up camp. This was the beginning of the Memorial Day Weekend and we had reserved a campsite, so arriving late was not going to be a concern.

Plan accomplished, with the lone exception that it was quite windy that evening in the foothills of the Rockies, so we went out for dinner rather than cooking at the campsite.

A Long Drive along the Oregon Trail

Thursday, May 27
DAY 1: 10 hour drive

The Plan:
Travel from Everett, WA to Twin Falls, ID and secure a campground for the evening.

Planned to Visit: Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

Of course, nothing ever goes totally right and you have to make adjustments while you go. On this first day it was the weather and road construction which accounted for slower (but safer) driving and a longer than planned day. Our 10 hour drive had become 13 hours and we weren't where we wanted to be. Then came two other setbacks: time change from Pacific to Mountain, which lost another hour, and the big one: WEATHER. It was raining hard and the forecast was for more of the same. We quickly decided that camping was out of the question that night.

Solution:

Stay dry in motel in Jerome, ID, and get out early (5am) to catch up with our schedule.

ROADTRIP 2010

Julie and I just finished a 6000 mile journey across the USA to visit family in Texas and Louisiana. Along the way, we found plenty to do. Here's a sneak peek:


Attending Memorial Day Festival in Colorado

Midpoint of Route 66

Alligators! (with amazing video)

Following the Oregon Trail

Louisiana Gulf Coast

MLB ballparks (3 of them)

Visiting family

and of course, George came along for the ride!



Over the next few weeks, I'll be blogging about our adventures. Check back to see more pictures and links to some amazing videos.

PS: Be sure to check out George's blog also, he's been a very busy monkey and has his own views of our trip. Here's his link: http://georgeandjulie.blogspot.com/