We departed Indianapolis, Indiana, for the long drive back home. We left at 4:40 AM in a driving rain (thanks, Isidore!). Outside temperature was 60.6 degrees, and inside it was 62.1 degrees. We arrived in Kansas City, Missouri at 2:55 PM under mostly sunny skies and the outside temperature had jumped to 81.0 degrees and the inside temperature was 74.6 degrees. Dad and I had travelled 4020.2 miles.

When we left the hotel in east Indiana, we navigated our way (in the dark, in the rain) to the Motor Speedway for a quick picture. "Ladies, Gentlemen, start your WIPERS!" Outside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at "Oh-Dark-Thirty" in a driving rain. Then, Dad took a wrong turn and we ended up somewhere in rural Indiana and lost about an hour before getting directions back to I-70. Way to go, Dad! The second picture is us in Missouri. In St. Louis I got to see the "Arch" - - "Gateway to the West." A must-see on every traveler's list. We arrived in St. Louis around 10:00AM and went from the "Arch" to the airport to pick up Dad's best friend of 40 years, John Tutora (the third picture). John is a big shot with Northwest Airlines and flew down from the Twin Cities on some business. He (John) drove us to Kansas City, MO and then flew back home. Thanks for giving Dad some relief, John!

Once you get into western Indiana you're in farm country and it stays that way until you reach the Rocky Mountains. Some people will argue that mid-west and central plains farm country is boring, but it's all in perspective. We live in a desert, and yet we live in some of the most beautiful country in the world! We stayed the night in Kansas City, Missouri.

The next morning, we left Kansas City, Missouri, at 2:50 AM under mostly clear skies. Outside temperature was 58.5 degrees, and inside it was 75.0 degrees. We arrived in Silverthorne, Colorado, about 20 miles east of Vail, at 1:30 PM mountain time under a bit of light rain & snow! Of course, the snow was melting before it reached the ground. Outside it was 47.7 degrees, and inside, 66.8 degrees. Total milage was 4722.5 miles.

We drove across much of Kansas in the dark. By the time the sun came up we were in the western half of the state. It's pretty obvious why Kansas is the "Wheat" state!! Man, is there A LOT of it!! We also encountered dense fog in the early morning hours in eastern Kansas. (Reminded Dad of the "Tule Fog" in Central California.

The next morning, I was excited! This is it! The final leg of the trip! We departed Silverthorne, Colorado at 10:28 PM Mountain Time under light to moderate rain. The outside temperature was 39.4 degrees, and inside was 47.8 degrees. Finally, we arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada under sunny skies at 9:17AM. The temperature outside was 70.7 degrees and inside was 67.6 degrees. We had finished a journey of 5,428.6 miles!

Wow! Back home! We left the Rockies in a moderate rain late last night in order to arrive by this morning. (Dad wanted a day to rest and recuperate. He's getting older, you know.) It rained steady all the way through Grand Junction, Colorado, and right in to southern Utah. In fact, we encountered some VERY SEVERE thunderstorms early this morning just outside St. George! However, by the time we reached the Nevada State Line it was all clear and BEAUTIFUL!

Great to be back home!

Thanks for your support!

Sincerely,

Jordan