The Long and Flat Road through Kansas

Denver is blissful. I wake up feeling blissful. My previous evening's wanderings left me appreciating the city's open vibe. But this morning, a daunting feeling looms over my head. I know what it is. I do. I'm just trying not to think about it. I'm thinking that if I ignore it, it'll go away....maybe just maybe go away.
Of course there is no way to make a 13 hour drive go away. I am not a magician, and as far as I am aware none of my companions are magicians, so the 845 mile drive is inevitable. You might be wondering where on earth we are going that's 845 miles away? Well, actually there are plenty of places being we are close to being in the center of the vast United States, but today we are driving to St. Louis, Missouri. Think about that. Go get a map, find Denver and trace through half of Colorado, all of Kansas, and all of Missouri, and you've got our journey. Not your average day trip, but we are on a mission.

Before we leave however, we decide to head downtown to the Rockmount Ranch Wear because you really cannot leave Denver without visiting this mecca of the snap button cowboy shirts and their epic cowboy hats. Rockmount shirts have been worn by several celebrities including but limited to Elvis, Green Day, Heath Ledger, Miley Cyrus, William Shatner, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Grant, Tom Hanks...yeah you get the picture right?? They were the first ones to put snap buttons on their cowboy shirts and they were credited for having the oldest CEO in history before he died in 2007. Jack Weil is infamous in the business world. This store takes its shirts and its hats seriously. 

Everything screams western when you walk in. Everywhere you look is western regalia, pictures of celebs, boots, hats, cows. It's the ultimate western experience. Today just so happens to be my lucky day. They are having a sale on their shirts! Yes, indeed they are. Three racks have a colorful arrangement of $10 shirts. This is too good. I pick a red and white checked shirt and a pink and blue with ruffles. I feel like a true cowgirl now! Jennifer gets a proper hat and we gallop out feeling very westernized. Mom and Jean feel the need to keep the Eastern spirit alive. So nothing for them. Daughters always seem to outbuy mothers.

So now that drive. How do you deal with a drive that's 13 hours long? You just get in the car, put on an epic playlist and start going. You don't think about the hours ahead. You think about the current moment. You think about the fact that you'll aim to stop every 3 hours for food, gas, or a leg stretch. You think about the drive in segments. Definitely not as a whole. It's like the lesson your English teacher gives you in high school when you have to write your end of the year research paper: "How do you eat an elephant? One piece at a time!"

You have to think of this in segments, not a total mission.

After Denver the landscape flattens almost like sometime took an iron to it and pressed out every wrinkle. Hills are oblivious. Mountains? are you kidding???? 

The road seems endless.

The landscape? flat as far as the eye can see.

We cross the Kansas border and are shocked by the teeny size of their sign! Their sign looks like a midget compared to the others. (sorry Kansas, but its true!!!!) It's a tiny little nothing!!! Seriously, Kansas, you would think you can put a little more inches on your sign considering you've got endless landscape!! I would love to tell you that the journey was fascinating. I would love to tell you that I was overwhelmed by the endless cornfields. But after a while...it gets old. Don't get me wrong, you can see the beauty of God here. You can see His handiwork in the colors, the shape of the land, the fertile ground that produces the bulk of our nations corn supply. But still....still. I like a little drama for the eyes. I like my mountains, my greenery, my overwhelming landscapes. That is not what you come to Kansas for. I keep thinking of Clark Kent. I mean maybe we could go on a superman hunt. Maybe?? Nah..there's the whole time schedule thing so that won't work. 

We cross into Missouri after driving through the giant city of Kansas City. The Yankees are in town and we pass their baseball game to our right. Now we could stop for that!! 

Or not...

Darkness falls on our journey...Sleepiness begins taking over and continually we switch drivers. I have the pleasure of driving us into St. Louis. 

It's midnight. All any of us can think about is sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. Yes, God. That's what we need. Lots of sleep. Even though you are in the car all day, driving zaps you...somehow, someway it does...