On Day 11 of our RV trip to Des Moines, Iowa, Tom and I drove (actual drive time) almost 9 hours covering 575 miles from La Vista, Nebraska to our home in Colorado.
Sights along the way
We woke early after boondocking in the La Vista Cabela's parking lot and hit the road. The sun was rising behind us as we headed west on Interstate 80. By 7:30am we were crossing under the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument in Kearney. If it wasn't so early in the morning and if we weren't anxious to get home, this would have been a fun area to explore. Something to remember for next time!
From Kearney we headed southwest across the Kansas border where we passed many cornfields and extremely tall antenna towers. I never realized how tall antennas are in the flatlands where they can't be built on mountain tops!
By the time we reached Norton, Kansas Tom and I had were about halfway home and had already been on the road for 5 hours. We found a great rest area along Highway 383 to take a break (aka nap) in the shade of tall trees. This is the only rest area we've run across with a sign that explicitly says camping IS allowed. Only for 24 hours, but still. It has nice bathroom facilities, picnic tables with lots of trees and even a few unique fire pits.
After a nice nap and walk around the rest area, we hit the road again and soon connected with Interstate 70. Denver was finally on the milage signs and we decided to celebrate with burrito bowls at Qdoba in Goodland, Kansas. We lightened our load at a free RV dump station in a rest area west of Goodland, Kansas before passing the slightly broken Welcome to Colorado sign.
Tom and I veered off Interstate 70 near Limon, Colorado where we headed southwest on Highway 24 toward Colorado Springs. On a clear day we might have seen the Colorado Rockies, especially Pikes Peak, from Limon. Unfortunately, the low clouds and haze obscured our view. The closer we got to Colorado Springs, the more unmistakable it became. As we continued west on Highway 24 past Manitou Springs toward the Pikes Peak Highway, we could see Pikes Peak poking up behind the Manitou Incline.
Tom and I continued west on Highway 24 along with the typical Friday afternoon traffic heading for the mountains. For most people the Rocky Mountains are a day or weekend getaway. For us, they're home. Pikes Peak or Bust!
Slideshow - Day 11
Here are some photos of our long drive home from La Vista, Nebraska.
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