Day 7: Salina KS to "Denver" CO

The view across the street from the Salina KS KOA

Saturday June 18

Woke up later than normal on Sat but quickly got packed and on our way to Denver.  Scott and I were very happy to leave Kansas and the storms.  I have always thought being a storm chaser would be cool but found it hard to think about keeping the family all safe while trying to see the storm.  During the storm I was told several times to shut the door.  We woke up to sunshine and mid 60’s.  We walked to the end of the campground to check out the wheat fields nearby before leaving.

Kansas is a very flat state with tons of crops.  Almost immediately we found a group of wind turbines along the highway.  Must have been 25 or so and they were very picturesque along the highway.  We watch these 25 or so turbines for probably 20 miles and once we pass the hills they are on, see there are hundreds more.   It is amazing to be able to see as far as the eye can see and it is all the same- crops.  Sometimes there is an irrigation system in the field or a farmhouse in the middle of the field.  We even saw oil pumps operating in the fields.  After a few hours of this, the ride became very monotonous. 

As I am writing this we are faced with the question of how to avoid the latest storm.  We stop at the Colorado Welcome center and browse the assortment of tourist brochures and come out to dark clouds.  There are 2 storms heading east and we are in the middle of them.  We decided to drive as planned, hoping the more southern storm really was moving more southeasterly.  Between the weather radio and radar summaries on Scott’s smartphone, we planned our moves.  At one point, we decide to cut north around Vona and leave the highway, driving into blue sky.  But we soon realize this might not be the best decision; the road is very narrow, deserted and soon turns to dirt.  We turn at a farm and head back to the highway.  Luckily this detour prevented us from getting the brunt of the storm (which dropped heavy hail and spawned a tornado).  By this time the storm is off to the south of the highway and things are looking up (esp since Isabella slept through most of this).  We notice during this the temperature has gone from low 80’s to low 50’s.

Along the side of the road in Limon, we spot what looks like snow along the road.  The drive to Strassburg (1/2 hour from Denver) looks very much like Kansas except we are gaining in elevation.  I notice that the vegetation starts to change after Limon and become cactus like.  Even the creeks are dried up and no visible signs of water.  We notice the speed limit has gone to 75 miles per hour (Kansas was 70mph) and there is a chain law and a pull off so you can put chains on your vehicles.

The KOA is very nice and again we are greeted by camping bunnies.  Think we all saw 3 bunnies within minutes of each other.  We are getting speedy at unhooking and soon have taco dinner cooking.  It is mid 70’s and sunny so we are able to eat dinner outside again.   

As we were eating dinner, a camper pulled in next to us, with all three of their roof vents destroyed by hail.  Scott talked to them, and found out they were on the same highway we were on, and were caught in the hail in Limon.  The snow we saw was actually hail:  ping-pong ball sized, 2 inches thick on the roads (they had to bring out the plow to clear the road!)  They had stopped along the road to make repairs.  Scott gave them our spare roof vent cover and helped them install it over the bed as heavy rain was predicted the next night. We really dodged a bullet -- had we kept going that could have been us.

After dinner the girls participate in throwing water balloons at a wagon ride through the camp.  They think that is a blast- throwing water at kids.  We visit the pool where we meet a mom and son from Salt Lake City who have done numerous road trips like we are doing.  She is excited to talk about where we should go in SLC and along the way.  The girls enjoy playing in the pool with the 13 year old son.

We've had enough thunderstorms for a while, and are glad to be leaving Kansas and get closer to the mountains.

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