In leaving Denver, what a different landscape with no mountains! In the national parks, sky was clear. No clouds. Guess you look at the majestic rock formations.
We stopped at a I-70 rest area that described the Dwight (“Ike”) D. Eisenhower Highway. He is considered the “Father of the Interstate Highway System” since he envisioned the nationwide network/roads of a growing nation. His vision originated in 1919 when he was on an Army convoy from Washington D.C. to San Francisco and it took 62 days. In 1956, Ike signed the historic legislation that created the National System of Interstate and Defense Highway. This stretch of the highway is also called the Pearl Harbor Highway.
During this stretch, we also saw a lot of Amazon Prime and FedEx trucks. More trucks than trains.
Left Colorado, entered Kansas. Interestingly, there is a town at Exit 1, Kansas, called Kanorado. Sure sounds like a combination of Kansas and Colorado.
We saw bales of hay, some corn, and more clouds.
We also discovered that gas was cheaper in Kansas than Colorado.
Shell regular gas in Colorado was $3.49/gallon. In Kansas, regular Shell gas is $2.99/gallon. So, guess where we gassed up? (Used iExit app to determine where/which gas stations and restaurants were located on the interstates. Occasionally used Gas Buddy to find the gas stations.)
Found out that the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is in Abilene, KS, only 3 miles off I-70. So, while their website said it was closed, we thought we’d stop by. Might get lucky like at the Hoover Presidential Library where his boyhood home is open. No such luck, but glad we went. Big campus of buildings: boyhood home, Museum, Library, Place of Meditation where he’s buried, and the Visitor Center. Abilene seems like an all American town.
And, on to the hotel.
BTW - for those interested, we finally got the last license plate, West Virginia, in of all places… a Shell/Sonic parking lot in Oakley, KS! Never found the elusive West Virginia plate in the national parks! No more hunting for plates!
Tomorrow, we head to Columbia, MO and will stop by the Truman Library en route. It, too, is closed, but we’ll at least stop by.
Until then…
2025-02-17