Day 5: Denver, CO (sort of)

Our new tent is fantastic - it has so much room! We woke up bright and early and quickly realized that we didn't have any breakfast besides the nuts and dried fruit we've been eating for the last 4 days (thanks Mom!). So we quickly put out tent into the convenient carrying bag, packed up the car and headed for Denver (approx. 45 minute drive). I am loving the fact that the speed limit in Nebraska and Colorado is 75 for most of the way. Jayson has pointed out that the gas mileage decreases when we go faster than 55 but I don't think he minds getting to our destination earlier than we would have at 55 mph. On our way, we started calling campsites in the area to find a place for the night. We found out that Friday is a very popular night to camp - every state park we called was completely booked. This was not so good for me since I like to have a plan. Jayson, on the other hand, is much better at rolling with the punches. We finally decided to stay south of Denver, about 1.5 hours, at a KOA campground in Fountain, CO. More about that later...

We searched out breakfast in Denver at a place called Bump and Grind. On weekends, the waiters dress in drag and the decor is, as Jayson said, "It's a color explosion with a transexual twist." Unfortunately we were there on a weekday. Bummer. There were 4 choices on the menu for breakfast - each of which looked great. Jayson (and his obsessive picture taking habit) took a photo of our food so that you can see our breakfast too.



Downtown Denver has a great outdoor shopping mall. It spans as far as you can see and has free buses that will take you from one end to the other - stopping, of course, if you see your favorite store. We walked for a while and then decided on a comfy looking coffee shop to relax and check email.



Our breaks were squeaking a little (which they had not done before) so we sought out a Toyota dealership. We pulled in and talked with the nicest Toyota employee ever, Fred. He was really helpful and basically told us not to worry unless we were feeling the car shake etc. We'd highly recommend Mountain States Toyota Scion. Then, of course, Jayson asked if he could take a picture of Fred because we are documenting our journey. Seriously Jayson? Fred was nice enough to comply with Jayson's request and then asked for the website so he could follow along (and probably make sure we're not writing anything horrible:). Hi Fred!



Once we had PB (our car) checked out, we drove down past Colorado Springs to our KOA campsite. For it being just off a major highway it was surprisingly nice. We got a "deluxe" campground for $6 more which included a sandbox for us to pitch the tent on, a metal canopy above the tent and, most importantly, a power outlet and wi-fi! We're really roughing it - can you tell?



We decided to explore the campground a little. We jumped across a small river and climbed on a concrete and rock man-made dam. Just as we are enjoying the sites, something swam about 20 feet from us in the water. I was convinced it was a crocodile but Jayson thought is was a beaver. You know - they look alike.

We got back into the car and drove to the recommended Coke's Diner. This picture explains it all.



There were no vegetables to be found on the menu unless you count iceberg lettuce or canned corn. We were the only ones who weren't having the specials of Sirloin, T-Bone and whatever other cuts of meat there are. I have a feeling if we were serious meat eaters the food would have been fantastic!

We stopped at a gas station to ask if they sold fruit or if he knew of anywhere that did. We wanted some for dessert. The attendant laughed at us and said, "Not here." And he clearly meant the whole town. Then he corrected himself and said we could try Wal-Mart 5 miles away and they might have some. We went fruitless. Instead we picked up some beer and made our way back to our humble abode.

We met a very nice couple from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan who had an adjacent campsite. They said hello to us because Jayson was wearing his "Up North" shirt and they said they've only heard that used in the context of Michigan. After we talked with them for a while we ran over to the hot tub (yay KOA!) and took a dip before it closed. Since the sun was setting, we came back to the tent and Jayson used the electric outlet to do some computer work before bed. Oh camping:)