We drove from the Kansas border to Greeley, CO. When we stopped at the Colorado welcome center, a talkative and knowledgeable gentleman cleared up our Kansas mysteries.

Very cool looking experimental jet

The flashing lights announcing that I-70 is closed are primary used during severe winter weather. There are huge sections of Kansas that offer the motorist no shelter in an emergency. This warning system is placed shortly before an exit to a town big enough to have hotels. Early motorists can get a hotel room. The town opens a church hall or school gym when the hotels are filled. Like just about everything else in the Midwest, it’s practical and makes a lot of sense.

We didn’t see any amber waves of grain because there weren’t any. Wheat is harvested in June or July. The winter crop won’t turn green until December.

This BD-5 was sold to hobbyists as a kit they could fly. This is one of the few that ever flew.

Or original plan was to drive to Denver and spend the day. But a couple of days ago we decided we would rather detour north of I-70 and visit Rocky Mountain National Park. Hotels near the park are quite expensive. So we stayed in a Candlewood Suites east of the park. The Candlewood turned out to be a great bargain. It’s the same price as a room at the Holiday Inn Express. We sacrifice the swimming pool and the hot breakfast, but get free laundry and a huge room, suitable for a businessman working away from the office.

Bert Rutan’s prototype was the basis for the Adam Aircraft A500 and A700.

As you can tell from the pics, we didn’t entirely skip over Denver. We stopped at the Air and Space museum. It’s the only air museum we will come close to on the trip. I don’t know that we learned a lot we didn’t already know, but we had a lot of fun looking around. It’s a nice size collection for a couple-of-hour visit.

Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser may shuttle people to space.

F4 Phantom II, the most successful jet fighter ever built

Model of Godard’s rocket — the first rocket to ever fly.