Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 13 - July 11
Middle-of-Nowhere, KS to Denver, CO
Miles traveled: 416
Local Music:
The Jill Watkins Band. If you imagine Humphrey Bogart walking into a smoke filled gin joint while some canary in a slinky red dress is belting out bluesy jazz vocals backed by a full big band, you've got the idea.
Prarie Dog Town is just a glorified petting zoo. I stopped anyway, there really wasn't much significant today except driving. And in Kansas you take any chance you can get to break up the drive. Man it's boring!
The Wonder Tower was at one point (1934) the highest point between New York and Denver, situated in just the right place so that you can see six different states from the top. It's no longer the only place this is possible, it's shorted even than the water tower less than a mile away. At one point it was a gas station, a restaurant and a dance hall. Now it is all mostly filled by a collection of stuff, some "curiousities" that are actually intersting but mostly just the accumulated stuff that built up over the years. It's kinda like going to see a museum of what was once a very popular roadside stop. The only thing that kept it from being completely depressing is current owner Jerry Chubbuck, who says he's owner the place for the past 40 years and is all too happy to point out the interesting stuff, tell you stories about the place, or just tell you corny jokes. I'm glad I stopped here once, but should I ever drive this strip of highway again, I don't see any reason to go back.
Casa Bonita. You know, some places just aren't as cool as they seem on TV. In case anyone doesn't know, Casa Bonita is a mexican restaurant in Denver, which bills itself as the world's most exciting restaurant. It offers cliff diving shows, puppet shows, a haunted house, arcade games, etc. It was similar to the Mayan that I went to in Salt Lake City, and though it offered more things to do, I think it was overall less well done.
