We left Jeff’s house this morning and headed for the Monument Rocks (chalk cliffs) near Oakley, KS.  Last night, we set our alarm an hour early to compensate for the change to CST and to allow daylight time for viewing the Monument Rocks.  Jeff and La asked when we’d be getting home, and we told them we were planning to spend today and two more days in Kansas, arriving home Friday night (this is Wednesday).

 

We stopped in Colby for lunch, at the turn-off to Oakley . . . Maybe it was because the weather was cold . . . Maybe we’ve been traveling too long . . . Maybe we’ve spent too many years driving directly east and west on I-70 when we visit Jeff’s family . . . Whatever it might have been, Ted and I suggested to each other that maybe we should just go home.  We calculated what time we’d get home (around midnight because we hadn’t left Jeff’s house as early as usual), decided we could live with it, and hit the road.

We had a wonderful trip around the Southwest.

…States visited:  9  (Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas)

…Miles driven:  6,070

…Days away from home:  31

…Time zone changes:  6 (CDT to MDT in New Mexico; MDT to MST in Arizona–they don’t do daylight time; MST to PDT in Las Vegas–a 2-hour time difference; PDT to MDT in Utah; MDT to MST in Colorado–daylight savings time ended; and MST to CST in Kansas.)  At one point, we were so unsure of what time it was and which devices were showing the correct time, that I actually called the hotel desk to ask what time it was so we could set our alarm for the correct time!

…Significant sites visited:  10 national parks; 5 national monuments; 3 national sites (VLA, Hoover Dam, Kitt Peak Observatory); 2 state parks; and 1 UNESCO World Heritage Site.

…Highlight of the trip (if we have to choose only one):  the mass ascension of 550 balloons at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

…Fun we had:  infinite.