Hubby wanted to see the Rockies.

Since I'm the one who always plans our vacations, I always plan them around water of some sort, but hubby has always wanted to see the Rocky Mountains because of their snow caps, and because we are 90s babies who grew up during a time when aliens were part of pop culture, he also wanted to go to Roswell, New Mexico just to say "we've been there."

A series of metal playground bars painted in bright turquoise green stand against a light background.
Child playing on green playground equipment wearing a black t-shirt and blue shorts on a sunny day.
Close-up view of playground equipment showing bright green monkey bars and a child climbing through the bars.
Child plays on emerald green playground equipment, framed by lush outdoor setting in natural light.
Three outdoor fitness stations with green metal equipment for performing bodyweight exercises in a park or exercise area.
Young child in shorts and black shirt swings on green metal playground equipment bars at outdoor playground.
Small child in black shirt swings joyfully from green playground rings outdoors on a summer day.
Young children play on a green playground structure with wooden platforms and climbing equipment in a park setting.
Child playing and hanging from bright green playground equipment on a sunny day at park.
A child plays on green playground equipment, swinging and balancing across multiple metal bars at a park.
Young child playing and hanging from green playground equipment at a park on a sunny day.
Child playing and swinging on green metal playground equipment at an outdoor park while wearing jeans and black top.
Child playing on green playground equipment outdoors at a local park.
Child climbs up a yellow and turquoise spiral slide at a playground on a sunny day.
A young child stands on a bright green playground structure in jean shorts and sandals during a sunny day.

Our trip started out well enough...

We first stopped in Illinois, right on the Missouri border and right outside of St. Louis. We saw the arch and Colt made quick use of the playground. We blew some bubbles at our site and rested up for the next leg of our trip, where we headed to a little place called Galva, Kansas.

Wind turbines stand on a vast arid landscape against a pale blue sky in a rural setting.
Side view mirror of a car reflects a passenger leaning out the window against a rural landscape backdrop.
A car side mirror reflects a view of someone looking out the window with a green field in the background.
Multiple views through car windows and mirrors show glimpses of a scenic countryside drive on a sunny day.
A herd of cattle grazes on the horizon of a vast prairie field under cloudy skies.
A green tractor drives across a vast golden wheat field during harvest season, kicking up dust in its path.
Rolling prairie grasslands stretch toward the horizon under a cloudy blue sky in rural America.
A lone tractor works in a vast agricultural field beneath a turquoise sky on the rural prairie landscape.
Endless golden wheat field stretches to the horizon under dramatic cloudy skies in rural farmland.
Golden wheat grass blowing in the wind against a soft green background on a summer day.
Rolling fields of golden wheat stretch across a dry agricultural landscape under bright sunlight.
A serene ocean view shows turquoise waters meeting a sandy beach under a bright blue sky.
Red tractors parked in a row behind irrigation equipment on a dusty farm field against pale blue sky.
A metal grain silo stands in a rural landscape with farm equipment and a trailer visible nearby on a cloudy day.
Panoramic series showing cotton harvesting machinery operating in vast agricultural fields during harvest season.

If you've never been to Kansas, here's what you need to know:

It's flat. And boring. You can drive down the middle of it and see the entire state because it's so flat and boring. On one side of the road is wheat and corn, grain bins, and the biggest farm machinery you could ever hope to see. On the other side of the road is the same exact thing. Occasionally, you will see miles and miles of railroad tracks and huge clusters of huge wind turbines. That's it.


It is really cool to watch the fields of wheat mimic the movements of the ocean (it actually looks like "amber waves of grain") and I've since heard that they have some good BBQ, but really... that's it.


While in Kansas, we experienced a thunderstorm like no other here at home. I've never seen so much lightning in my life and when 60mph wind gusts hit your camper straight on, it feels like it's going to tip over. We didn't get much sleep in Kansas and the next morning, we almost didn't make it out of the campground. As it turns out, the one I booked was on a dirt road (there are a lot of those in Kansas, too) on a wildlife reserve, despite the appearance of being very near the interstate. Dirt roads, heavy rains, and a tow behind travel trailer don't mix well.


But, we made it and off to Colorado we went!

A flat, rural highway stretches toward the horizon under a moody turquoise sky in the Great Plains.
Long straight two-lane highway stretches into the horizon across flat grasslands under a cloudy turquoise sky.
A vast open grassland prairie stretches to the horizon under an overcast sky with scattered shrubs and vegetation.
Large wooden lion sculpture rests on a hilltop with mountains and blue sky in the background.
Scenic mountain landscape with rolling hills and evergreen forest under blue sky with white fluffy clouds.
A scenic panoramic view of rolling hills covered in golden wildflowers under a bright blue sky with puffy white clouds.
People sitting on bench overlooking scenic mountain landscape with lone tree and blue sky on sunny day.
Yellow wildflowers bloom across a mountain meadow under puffy white clouds and blue summer sky in the distance.
A young child in an orange shirt and red shorts stands barefoot outdoors with mountains visible in the background.
Small child in coral shirt and red shorts stands barefoot on concrete with mountains in background.
A scenic mountain landscape view with rocky terrain, scattered trees, and blue skies stretches across the horizon.
A barefoot child in orange clothing stands on an outdoor surface with mountains visible in the background at sunset.
Three sequential photos show a child in an orange shirt jumping on an outdoor surface with mountains in the background.
A figure in a bright coral shirt and shorts jumps on a path against a backdrop of rolling hills and mountains.
Four sequential photos show a small child in an orange t-shirt jumping up and down on a concrete surface with mountains behind.

At first, Colorado looks identical to Kansas, except for minor changes to the vegetation,

but when we reached Colorado Springs, we finally saw the mountains rising out of the landscape. Let me tell you, when you get far enough west, you truly can't match the beauty of Colorado.


We stayed in Canon City, next to Royal Gorge, at around 6300 feet. We had a 360 view of the mountains from our campground and there is a ton of stuff to do if you're willing to drop about $2K. We weren't, and we generally don't like to do touristy things while on vacation, so we really just drove around and enjoyed the views. We did make the journey to Cripple Creek to ride the Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railway, which is a genuine steam engine that used to work in various mines throughout the United States and Mexico.


Cripple Creek is the cutest little western town -- most of it was re-built in 1896 after a serious of fires -- with a rich gold mining history. In fact, they are still the leading producer of our nation's gold supply, most of which comes out of this huge man-made mountain that is actually a gold mine. We loved this little town and the train ride so much that we did it twice!

A collection of old railroad cars and buildings sit in a line at a vintage train station during daytime.
Red and green painted historic Cripple Creek train station building with white trim and angled roof in Colorado.
Historic red brick commercial building with retail storefronts and multiple stories in an urban setting.
A vintage train water tower marked 'Cripple Creek & Victor N.G.R.R.' stands on wooden supports against a blue sky.
A vintage green steam train passes under a wooden water tower marked 'Apple Creek & Victor' at a historic railway station.
A child sits next to a bronze statue on a wooden bench outside a storefront with a 'Brochures' sign in the window.
A scenic view of downtown Cripple Creek, Colorado with historic brick buildings and mountains in the background.
A panoramic collage of vintage brick buildings showing historic small-town storefronts along a main street.
Vintage brick storefronts and pickup trucks line a historic small town main street with rustic charm.
A panoramic view of barren desert hills in the backdrop with a long green fence stretching across the landscape.
A creative sequence of linked photos showing a view through a large truck tire where figure appears in the frame progressively.
Wooden mining headframe structure from different angles against a blue sky in an abandoned mine site.
Vintage rustic farm equipment sits abandoned in a rural field against a bright blue summer sky with trees in background.
Close-up view of vintage industrial machinery showing large metal gear wheels and mechanical components outdoors.
A panoramic view showing the progression of an old red barn collapsing in a rural field setting.

6 days after we began our trip, we headed to New Mexico.

But, alas, it was not meant to be. 150 miles north of the New Mexico state line, in Walsenburg, Colorado, we blew the timing chain in the truck.


As bad as it sounds, and as bad as it was, it could have been a whole lot worse. We were 1.5 miles from an exit where we could see a Love's truck stop that actually had a campground (something new that they decided to do) and about 2 miles beyond that was a towing company. We only had to wait for about 6 minutes on the side of interstate for the nicest man to rescue us in his tow truck and drag us in to the Love's campground, where we at least had electric and water hookups for the camper, to wait it out while someone from home could come to our ultimate rescue.


Colt -- well, all of us really -- tried to make the best of it. It was still beautiful landscape; now we could see these amazing plateaus on one side and snow capped mountains on the other.

Child in a sun hat plays with a red frisbee on a dirt road with desert hills in the background.
A runner exercising on a dusty trail in an arid desert landscape with mountains in the background.
A person wearing black shorts and a backpack stands with outstretched arms on a desert path surrounded by hills.
A series of desert landscape photos showing vast open terrain with sparse vegetation and rocky ground.
People playing ping pong on outdoor tables in a desert landscape with rolling hills in the background.
Friends enjoying multiple games of table tennis on green outdoor ping pong tables in an arid setting.
A figure stands in a rustic outdoor setting wearing a red and blue outfit at a dirt path junction.
A person in a black t-shirt and shorts throws a frisbee while standing on a concrete pad in a desert landscape.
A person crouches down to play with a small red and white ball on a rocky desert terrain.
A child in a colorful swimsuit plays with a ball on a bright, sandy beach on a sunny day with rolling hills in the background.
Scenic panoramic view of a beach landscape with people walking along the sandy shore on a clear sunny day.
Panoramic mountain landscape view with desert terrain and distant peaks against a clear blue sky.

Thankfully, I have the most amazing son in the entire world,

who loaded up and drove 1200 miles, through the night, to come to our rescue. He can say what he wants about this old red Dodge, but I can guarantee that it never looked better to anyone than it did to us when it came rolling into this campground.

Desert landscape with fence and utility poles stretches towards distant mountains under bright blue sky.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of our misfortunes.

After a quick shower to cool down, we unloaded, reloaded, and hitched up all the vehicles in one way or another, and headed east for Kentucky. It was a long, hot drive with no air conditioning and a heat advisory, but we were thankful to be on our way home.


Until Kansas re-entered the chat.


Fighting 45mph wind gusts while pulling a camper and a gooseneck trailer, coupled with the higher altitudes, didn't do Nathan's truck any favors and halfway through our least favorite state ever, his transmission blew. We honestly didn't expect the most reliable transmission ever made, according to Nathan, to give out halfway home.


At 2:30am, by the way.


Long story a little shorter, and after much discussion, we made the decision to leave the Chevrolet, the gooseneck, and the Toyota in Junction City at a truck stop while we towed the camper home with the Dodge (and hopefully allow Nathan to get a little rest). About 24 hours after making it back home the first time, hubby gathered a crew to go back for the gooseneck and the Toyota -- we tried to find a way to get both trucks and the gooseneck but couldn't -- and a few days after that, Nathan and one of his buddies collected the gooseneck and went back for the Chevrolet.


Two weeks after our journey began, all of our people and all of our vehicles are safely back home in Kentucky.

A map of the United States with some states highlighted in red against a gray background.

2024 Travel Map of places we've been.

A map of the United States highlighting several states in red across the southeastern and midwestern regions.

2025 Travel Map of places we've been.

While we are sad that our camping season has ended early,

we had to cancel Colt's birthday trip back to the beach, and we didn't get to add as many states to our travel map as we had hoped, we are extremely grateful and thankful that everyone made it back home safely.


We never want to go back to Kansas again. Not even for the BBQ.