Bud, Beauty & Boots

Saturday morning began with an excellent egg & bacon breakfast made by our friend & host, Jennifer!! We were able to meet Jennifer's "mystery man", Jamie, as he would join us in our adventures for the day!

We ventured up I-25 to Fort Collins for a tour of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. Perfect way to start the day! There, our tour guide Danielle taught us/showed us the steps it takes to make Budweiser. In case you didn't know...rice & yeast are the unique ingredients to Bud!
We were also introduced to the Clydesdale Horses & then brought into the Hospitality Room for some samples. (Free...I might add!) We were each given a free sample of the new Bud Lime, which is excellent! And then we each tried the Wild Blue...again great! After these samples & a bag of pretzels, we decided to "stumble" our way out & take the drive to Estes Park. The drive was beautiful, though the combination of alcohol consumption, high altitudes and windy roads didn't settle with Kalee! :( We eventually made it to Estes Park, where we dined at Bob & Tom's Pizza and then hit a couple of shops, including the Fudge Shop! Jen then drove us through Rocky Mountain National Park, where we enjoyed awefilled scenery! It was absolutely breathtaking! Some fun sights along the drive (in addition to the mountains) included temperatures changes by 20 degrees, very friendly squinees & birds, a line of 30+ roadsters in fancy sports cars winding down the mountain, snow & waterfalls in the same area and skiers.
2 hours later, we decided to roll on back to Longmont to get ready for the rest the night would hold.

Jen then took us to her church, Flat Iron, where we were blessed with some great praise & worship & a great message. We also had the opportunity to meet some of Jen's friends...which two of her friends, Julie & Kara happened to have a couple connections to Iowa. Small world!

After church, we made a dinner stop at Wendy's & headed southward to Grizzly Rose, which is a country dance hall. There we line danced & two stepped the night away & enjoyed a great girls night! The only regret that I have is not riding the mechanical bull!

It was a great fun filled day!

Gun-slingers and Rocky Dogs

After sleeping in a bit on Friday morning, it was time for more old-fashioned fun. When we booked our stay at the Ranch we found out that we could have old fashioned photos taken. My brother and sister-in-law (and others I know) have had this done and it looked like fun. Since we were heading out on Friday we made sure to be the first in-line. We did a bit of shopping at the Trading Post while we waited for our photographers. I picked out some gifts for my family and Carrie treated us to some Bison Balls...I know what you're thinking, but they're not anything to do with that. They are actually a chocolaty treat. As we made our way down to the photo shop we had the great fortune to see a bull riding class in session. Although they weren't doing any actually riding, there were authentic, honest-to-goodness cowboys teaching and participating in the lesson. We also met a very friendly barn cat whom I had quite the conversation with--I think she was possibly more vocal than I was.

During our old-time photo shoot we had the chance to dress up as saloon girls. It took several tries to find the right outfits and accessories, but soon we were ready. We were able to have eight different shots taken and then choose which one we liked. Some of our options included sitting a table with toasting shot glasses, playing cards (one with Carrie cheating by looking at mine), standing up toasting, and finally posing with pistols. In the end we ended up with a back-to-back pose with our guns ready for action. It was a great time and we'll have memories to take for a lifetime.

After the shoot we finished up our shopping and headed back to our cabin for lunch. We enjoyed our second round of bison ribs and baked potatoes. We packed up, turned in our keys and hit the road. This time we were headed south to Longmont. We arrived in town around 1:30 and killed some time at Target, waiting for Jennifer to get off work. We moved all of our stuff into Jen's apartment and spent some time catching up, playing with Winston (her Lhasapoo), and hearing about her "mystery man". Soon it was time to get ready for our first excursion into Denver--game 1 of the Rockies/Mets series. The Rockies were coming off of a winning streak against the Indians, so we were hoping for a great game. We find fairly reasonably priced parking and headed into Coors Field. Our seats were on the first base line, on the third deck. The only major problem was that we were early and the sun was brilliantly shining, and we had no shade. The game itself was pretty uneventful--so much so that we decided to leave early. I hear that the Rockies lost miserably. Maybe we were bad luck! Better luck next time. :)

One highlight of the game was that we got to enjoy one of Jen A.'s favorite treats at the Rockies--a Rocky Dog. It's a foot long hot dog, topped with your choice of onions, sauteed peppers, and sauerkraut. Carrie opted for peppers and onion, while I choose (incorrectly, i might add) the works. We both enjoyed them, although my enjoyment was short lived, as the bun was not sturdy, and most of the kraut and ketchup landed in my lap. Not happy Kalee...other than that our visit to the game was great overall. I look forward to adding to my list (of only one) major league baseball games. Go Rockies!

I Can Still Make Cheyenne

Ok...so a bit delayed at posting. :) We've just been having too much fun!
This is what I started on Thursday. :) Better late than never!

Good morning from Cheyenne, WY!
It's 8:00 am Mountain Time and I'm sitting out on our deck enjoying the crisp morning air of Wyoming while overlooking miles & miles of rolling hills & bison at the ranch we're staying at! Let me recap the last 24 hours for you...

Our excursion began at 10:00 am on Thursday, as we began our 60 minute journey from Kimball, NE to Cheyenne, WY.
The blue sky seemed to go on forever!! Amazing! All you could see is green grass and blue sky and an occasional tree.
After more sing alongs and a honk of our horn as we entered the Wyoming state line, we turned onto I-25 to check out our lodging for the night, Terry Bison Ranch. Our first sight as we drove down the 5 mile frontage road were camels! Haha! We eventually made our way to the rock arch welcoming us into the ranch. It was so cute!! We were welcomed by the main building: the trading post, which was painted like an old west street front...with a Saloon, Dry Goods store, Barber Shop, and Jail! We walked into the Trading Post to check into our cabin and the lady at the front desk said we wouldn't be able to check in until 2:00 pm...so we'd have to wait to explore the ranch until later. In the meantime, we decided to go explore Cheyenne.
A little delay in our venture to Cheyenne. As we entered the entrance ramp to get back onto I-25 north to Cheyenne, it appeared that this ramp was closed. We crept up onto the ramp, puzzled, wondering if we missed a road closed sign, when a road construction worker said the road was open, they were just finishing up their work and if we wait a couple minutes, we could be on our way. All I could do was burst into laughter at this random moment! Apparently, Wyoming road construction doesn't know about creating detour routes! Anyhow...about 5 minutes later, we were back en route to Cheyenne.

Our first stop in Cheyenne was the Depot downtown to get a map for a Big Boot Scavenger Hunt.
All around Cheyenne, they have these 8 foot painted boots that they've made into a scavenger hunt! So...Kalee & I took the challenge. We walked & drove all around downtown Cheyenne in seach of boots! Most of them were outside, but there were some that were inside local businesses that had sponsored the boot. We enjoyed finding and posing with each of the boots & enjoyed looking like tourists!
Oh...in the midst of our hunt, we took a break & ate at Pizzeria Venti...a cute & friendly Italian restaurant. I definitely recommend it if you happen to make your way to Cheyenne. Kalee & I were standing out on the sidewalk, trying to decide where we wanted to eat, when this cute little Italian lady named Mary came out & asked us if we were coming in. (She's the mother of the owner.) She welcomed us in & told us all about their food. Kalee & I each decided to order the special of the day: 2 Bocee Balls & a Salad. Yum! Bocee Balls are meatballs baked in pizza dough. After lunch & finding all the boots we could, we decided to head back to the ranch!

We checked into the Trading Post again & were able to get our key for our cabin. We drove around to the cabin village. (see pictures!) The outside looked to be all rustic...we walked around the corner on a wooden deck overlooking the hills of the ranch. We opened the doors to our abode and were surprised on how nice the cabin was on the inside. Linoleum lined the floors. It had the looks of a trailer/motor home...with a little living roome, dinette/kitchen area, hallway leading to a bathroom & the bedroom. It was perfect! We relaxed for a couple hours in our cabin and then got ready to go on our Bison Tour.
We boarded a little 2 car train & the conductor drove as around the ranch...introducing us to their animals...including ostriches, camels, bulls, goats, and bison! I could've stretched out my hand & touched the bison, we were so close. (Kalee will share more...she remembers the names of the animals.)
After the tour, we decided to dine on the animals we just met at the restaurant on the ranch: Senators Restaurant & Brass Buffalo Saloon. Kalee & I each ordered a Bison Small Rib dinner with of course Bisons meat, corn, baked potato, and toast!
After 2 rounds of drinks :) and enjoying some country music & of course some cowboys, we packed up our leftovers & made our way back to our cabin.

We are hours away of venturing down to Denver, where we will be staying for 3 days!

Cash!

First of all...without further adue, I have to introduce you to Cash. Cash (as in Johnny Cash, of course & a cash guzzler) is our white Pontiac G6 that will be taking Kalee & I on our many excursions this week!

I don't have too much to add...Kalee summed up our day splendidly!!
I have to say...I absolutely love road trips! You wouldn't think that a road trip through Nebraska would be too interesting. But of course, you can make the best out of any situation! We had a great time dancing & singing along to everything from Phil Vassar to Michael W Smith, passing random animals (llamas), dodging birds flying at our windshield & enjoying the company of semis. (Not!) Oh...and of course laughing!

We also had the pleasure of experiencing Mountain Time Zone...giving us an extra hour to explore Kimball, NE! I have to say...this is the happening place! We scooped the loop & I don't think Kimball will ever be the same!

We are now in our Super 8 Motel...relaxing for the night. We have a big day planned tomorrow as Cash takes us to Cheyenne, WY.

More stories to come! Stay tuned...

Travel day!

Our vacation has officially begun! Bring on the craziness. We left DM around 12:30 today for Kimball, Nebraska. Our travels included singing along to many great cds, laughing at random cloud formations and many speed limit ups and downs...55, 65, 55, 75...all due to road construction. We stopped at 5:00 in Kearney to refuel and get some dinner. We ran into a small amount of rain, but nothing big. Apparently there had been tornado and thunderstorm watches. Hopefully it's not brewing it's way to Iowa. We made it to Kimball by 8:00 (mountain time) and found our hotel. In a town of 2,559 people, it's not too hard. We are situated just off the interstate, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. As Carrie was checking in I picked up a few pieces of reading material, including, but not limited to: "Kimball, Nebraska: Easy to find...Hard to Leave"; "Kimball: Highest Point in Nebraska and Three State Corner Marker"; and my personal favorite, "100+ Ways to Satisfy Your Curiosity About the Kimball Area". (see photo). We had way too much fun moving in and checking out the palace--I think that the eight hour drive had gone to our head. Next we decided to head into town to explore. We drove through downtown and then settled on the extremely unique, Dairy Queen. :) Hopefully our pictures turn out and you can get a glimpse of Day 1! Until tomorrow...
~Kalee

8:46 am--Round 'Em Up!

So it's 8:46 am and the day has arrived! I'm at home getting things put together as Carrie is putting in her last few hours at work. From her facebook status that she is as excited as I am. We are definitely ready for a great week away. We will be departing around 11:45 if all goes as planned. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post tonight.
~Kalee

T Minus 62 Hours and Counting

Hey friends and family! Welcome to our blog! Carrie and I will be leaving in 2 1/2 days for our Wild Wild West Road Trip 2008! We will be sharing with you all of our adventures, big and small, as we travel from Des Moines to Cheyenne, Denver and Colorado Springs. Check back for updates from both of us as often as we can make it to a computer.

Yee Haw!
Carrie and Kalee