Top 10 Vacation Lessons Learned

[WSUCougar]

Spent last week on a family vacation in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Weather was great, and we had a blast. However...

1. Eastern Kansas isn’t as dull as everyone said…
It’s not top-shelf when it comes to excitement, but eastern Kansas is actually quite scenic. It reminds me of eastern Washington.

2. …but western Kansas and Eastern Colorado are.
Yikes. When hunting for windmills is the highlight, you know you’re struggling. We stayed in Hays, Kansas, which touted itself as a “Rip-Roarin’ Good Time” on the billboards. Alrighty then, must’ve missed that part.

3. People can’t drive.
Okay, so I knew that already, but this trip confirmed it. Top honors for idiotic maneuver of the trip: on a two lane interstate, going 55 mph in the right lane, wait until you are right on top of the 18-wheeler going 50 mph, then dive into the left lane right in front of me, who’s going 75 mph. This happened to me so many times it got to be like clockwork.

4. There is no shortage of Adult Super Centers and other porn shops on I-70.

5. 29 million gallons is a lot of water.
That’s what came roaring down the mountainside from a broken dam in 1982, altering the landscape and flooding the town of Estes Park, CO.

6. Driving around at 12,000 feet of altitude is pretty damn cool.
So is walking around up there, although the 60 mph winds and cold temps keep you moving.

7. My brother snores like a wildebeast.
Never one for social tact, he also likes to walk around the cabin in his undies.

8. According to literature I read, a fishing Grand Slam is catching four types of trout in one day, at least in that part of Colorado. I think the Green Cut-throat was the challenge.

9. You can apparently see six states from a “tower” in Kansas. The tower, which was noted on the interstate as a POINT OF INTEREST, is this raggedy-ass thing that looks like a run-down airport control tower.

10. It’s tough to flirt with passing sorority girls while driving at 75 mph with your wife and son in the car. Except when they're napping...kind of. ;)

[JeeberD]

5. 29 million gallons is a lot of water.
That’s what came roaring down the mountainside from a broken dam in 1982, altering the landscape and flooding the town of Estes Park, CO.


They have yummy Buffalo Burgers in Estes Park...


10. It’s tough to flirt with passing sorority girls while driving at 75 mph with your wife and son in the car. Except when they're napping...kind of. ;)

Christie Brinkley is quite the hottie. Is she still driving the Ferrari?

[SackAttack]

Spent last week on a family vacation in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Weather was great, and we had a blast. However...

1. Eastern Kansas isn’t as dull as everyone said…

LIES! :p

2. …but western Kansas and Eastern Colorado are.
Yikes. When hunting for windmills is the highlight, you know you’re struggling. We stayed in Hays, Kansas, which touted itself as a “Rip-Roarin’ Good Time” on the billboards. Alrighty then, must’ve missed that part.

I slept through most of Eastern Colorado ('cept for when we stopped at some 'antique' malls), but all of Kansas is the work of the devil.

4. There is no shortage of Adult Super Centers and other porn shops on I-70.

That's a direct reflection on how boring Kansas is. The only changes in elevation occur during sex.

]6. Driving around at 12,000 feet of altitude is pretty damn cool.
So is walking around up there, although the 60 mph winds and cold temps keep you moving.

Especially when it rains, too.

9. You can apparently see six states from a “tower” in Kansas. The tower, which was noted on the interstate as a POINT OF INTEREST, is this raggedy-ass thing that looks like a run-down airport control tower.

And that's only because the Rockies get in the way to your west.

[Ksyrup]

Man, this is making me think back to almost exactly a year ago, when we flew into Denver and drove down to Co. Springs for the week. I thought about Estes Park, but went with Springs.

Apparently that trip made quite an impression on my 5 year old - she still talks about it and keeps asking if we can go back.

[dawgfan]

1. Eastern Kansas isn’t as dull as everyone said…
It’s not top-shelf when it comes to excitement, but eastern Kansas is actually quite scenic. It reminds me of eastern Washington.

Hmmm, yeah I can see that. Though, by my recollection the obvious farming areas were more flat in Kansas, and the rolling hills areas were more forest-like. But I can see the comparison.

2. …but western Kansas and Eastern Colorado are.
Yikes. When hunting for windmills is the highlight, you know you’re struggling. We stayed in Hays, Kansas, which touted itself as a “Rip-Roarin’ Good Time” on the billboards. Alrighty then, must’ve missed that part.

Heh, I stayed in Hays as well when driving across Kansas. It was a weekday night but we were lucky to find a hotel room - there was some big regional fair going on and I think we got the last available hotel room in the town.

3. People can’t drive.
Okay, so I knew that already, but this trip confirmed it. Top honors for idiotic maneuver of the trip: on a two lane interstate, going 55 mph in the right lane, wait until you are right on top of the 18-wheeler going 50 mph, then dive into the left lane right in front of me, who’s going 75 mph. This happened to me so many times it got to be like clockwork.

Did you run into a lot of construction? It took us 4 days to drive from Seattle to St. Louis, and every day we ran into construction on the interstates. We saw pretty much every stage an interstate goes through from dirt to fully finished pavement.

Didn't have much trouble with driving as I recall; most people were doing at or well above the speed limit. Most of the time I was doing 80+ and was rarely passing people.

4. There is no shortage of Adult Super Centers and other porn shops on I-70.

Yep. And billboards for all of them. Pretty much all in Missouri though as I remember. Almost as frequent as the adult super stores were the fireworks warehouses and cigarette and beer superstores as I recall.

[Wolfpack]

And that's only because the Rockies get in the way to your west.

Heh-heh. Reminds me of some of the talk on the NC State sports board a couple of years ago leading up to a game with Texas Tech in Lubbock. Discussion shifted to the unbelievably flat geography of the Texas panhandle. The one line I remember was that "you could see all the way to Denver from the top of a Skoal can." :D

[Coffee Warlord]

Try driving from Illinois to Boulder, CO. See the lovely sites of...Iowa, Nebraska, and Eastern Colorado! Whooooooooo.

[finkenst]

Try driving from Illinois to Boulder, CO. See the lovely sites of...Iowa, Nebraska, and Eastern Colorado! Whooooooooo.
been there, done that.

have also drive i70 from dayton to stl, i44 to okcity, i40 to amarillo, then us 70 (i think) to portales, nm...

[SFL Cat]

Kansas is pretty bad...but the absolute worst is Iowa. The damn place shuts down after dark.

[lcjjdnh]

I actually recall reading in TIME that someone proved Kansas is mathematically flatter than a pancake.

[Buccaneer]

Man, this is making me think back to almost exactly a year ago, when we flew into Denver and drove down to Co. Springs for the week. I thought about Estes Park, but went with Springs.

Apparently that trip made quite an impression on my 5 year old - she still talks about it and keeps asking if we can go back.
Love to have you guys back.

Coug, glad you had a great in the high country. I think more flatlanders should do that.

[Buccaneer]

I actually recall reading in TIME that someone proved Kansas is mathematically flatter than a pancake.
Not true at all. There are numerous ravines, gullies, buttes and hills. How can they compare that to the coastal plains of Florida and the Gulf Coast?? Grrrr, i hate geographic illiteracy.

The 3 worse drives for me are:

1. Nebraska
2. South Dakota
3. West Texas

The only 'bad' drives I have not done yet in the US are North Dakota and Nevada. At least Iowa and eastern Kansas have green landscapes.

[WSUCougar]

Bucc, I'm with you on South Dakota. Memories of flat cornfields and bugs.

And hey, I'm no flat-lander! Cascade Mountains, baybee!

[Calis]

Nah, Eastern Kansas isn't really bad at all imo. The Flint Hills area up north is downright nice. It ain't bad.

Having just made the trip from Salt Lake City back to Wichita after doing my time I can say that Eastern Colorado/Western Kansas very much deserves it's rep of being boring as hell scenic-wise, but I was quite happy with it after driving through Utah and Western Colorado. I enjoyed seeing the flatlands.

Kansas can be very scenic, just Saturday I got to watch a Tornado throwing debris just about a quarter mile away. It's good to be back home!

[clintl]

My three worst drives:

1. Wyoming
2. Wyoming
3. Wyoming

It is pretty obvious when you cross the Wyoming-Colorado border that Coloradans got to pick the land they wanted, what they didn't want became Wyoming.

(Although the northwest corner of Wyoming is actually pretty nice.)

[clintl]

The only 'bad' drives I have not done yet in the US are North Dakota and Nevada. At least Iowa and eastern Kansas have green landscapes.

Although sagebrush is not among the most attractive plants, I actually think that Nevada is not that bad to drive across. There's little traffic, the terrain is varied, and if you drive across US 50 instead of I-80, there are a few old little towns you drive through that are somewhat interesting, having obviously not changed much in decades.

[Glengoyne]

Not true at all. There are numerous ravines, gullies, buttes and hills. How can they compare that to the coastal plains of Florida and the Gulf Coast?? Grrrr, i hate geographic illiteracy.

The 3 worse drives for me are:

1. Nebraska
2. South Dakota
3. West Texas

The only 'bad' drives I have not done yet in the US are North Dakota and Nevada. At least Iowa and eastern Kansas have green landscapes.
Actually the Flatter than a pancake thing increased the scale of a pancake. So that tiny imprefections were Massive valleys and ridges. I think lots of states would be flatter. Probably not Colorado though, so you are safe.

[WSUCougar]

Trip wildlife report:

Elk: ~50 (approximate)
Turkey vultures: ~25
Hawks: ~5
Antelope: 2
Ground hog: 1
Marmot (not Marmel): 1
Coyote: 1

Common birds, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, cows, horses, etc., not included.

[Wolfpack]

I've actually done both the Dakotas (last year, as a matter of fact) and would say that the eastern halves of both states are rather uninteresting once the newness of being in a different place wears off. The western Dakotas, though, and especially around the badlands in both states and the Black Hills west of Rapid City are very nice. In particular I remember travelling east-to-west in South Dakota and remembering how flat it was east of the Missouri, but after crossing the river, the terrain became much more rolling and varied, at least by comparison. Also remember a great place to get something to eat at the Missouri River crossing on I-90, Al's Oasis. Good food at a reasonable price. Of course, my family had eaten in Wis Dells a day or two before and had essentially gotten ripped off for some relatively bland food, so I guess it made Al's seem much better by comparison.

[JeeberD]

3. West Texas


Hey now, I find West Texas to be beautiful. Nothing like a desert landscape to make me homesick. Plus, the closer you get to El Paso the more mountains there are as well.

The worst part of Texas is the panhandle, bar none...

[sterlingice]

My family might as well have been called the Griswolds for as much as we traveled so I have seen quite a few boring and non-boring places.

The worst places I've driven are Western Kansas, Southern Illinois/Indiana, and Western Texas.

The best places are some of the drives in the Appalachian Mountains (better than the Rockies for the most part), Colorado, and upstate New York.

Then again, we never drove on the far west coast (Cali, Oregon, Washington), Florida, or New England (north of upstate New York) but we've been in every other state of the contiguous United States.

SI

[Ksyrup]

Florida's a pretty crappy drive. The only interesting thing is to watch the scenery change from South Florida-style (with palm trees and stuff) to South Georgia/Alabama-style once you get past Orlando.

The wife and I drove up US 1 from LA to Monterrey on our honeymoon, and that was, without a doubt, the nicest drive I've ever taken.

[ahbrady]

Southeast Arkansas is pretty bad too, but I would still give the nod to the Texas panhandle as being the worst landscape to drive through.

[Craptacular]

Man, this is making me think back to almost exactly a year ago, when we flew into Denver and drove down to Co. Springs for the week. I thought about Estes Park, but went with Springs.

Apparently that trip made quite an impression on my 5 year old - she still talks about it and keeps asking if we can go back.
I'll be there this weekend ... :)






Assuming I don't die attempting to whitewater raft through Royal Gorge.

[Buccaneer]

Be careful, we've finally been getting some rain this week so the Arkansas might be running rougher than usual.

[Craptacular]

Be careful, we've finally been getting some rain this week so the Arkansas might be running rougher than usual.
Yeah, I saw that. After reading some of the websites describing this particular run, I'm not sure which is worse: raging rapids, or more exposed jagged rocks. It should a thrilling Saturday morning nonetheless. Then it's off to Cripple Creek, Pikes Peak, and Garden of the Gods for the rest of the weekend. I'll wave to ya. :)