The ride home began ahead of schedule. Remarkably, we left the cabin about 8:30 and were determined to cover much ground that day. After an early lunch in Colorado Springs, we turned east. Looking in my rearview mirror reminded me of the view I saw as a kid. I remember approaching the mountains and seeing a faint outline of the mountains became clearer and clearer as we approached. Unfortunately, this time it was us driving away and looking out to the great(?) plains that signaled the end of our time out west.
Trying to nail down a place to stay tonight, we discovered the state softball championships were taking place in Salina, KS, so we went a little further to Abilene (the boyhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower).
Not far out of Abilene, we stopped in Topeka, KS, home of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. The landmark Supreme Court decision was actually made up of 5 cases, the named case being filed by 13 parents of 20 children who attended this fine school for black children. It reversed years of “separate but equal” segregation which had been the law of the land.
From there we continued east and made another historical stop in St. Joseph, MO. It was there that the outlaw Jesse James was living under an assumed name in this small house. As he reached up to adjust a crooked picture, he was shot by fellow gang member Bob Ford, to collect a $10,000 reward.
Our second night was spent in Coralville, IA. Coincidentally, we stopped in this exact area during our trip out to Colorado. We swam, had pizza, and reconnected electronically with the rest of the world for the first time in a long time.
A mere three hours on the road the next day and we were home.
After unpacking, one of the first orders of business was to do a more thorough washing of the Escape. I decided to try the hose at home and it worked out well. Much more flexible than the the stiff high-pressure sprayer at the car wash, it was able to reach places that were clearly neglected during my earlier attempts. Especially underneath, there will be mud coming off the vehicle up until it’s sold many years from now.
Another thing I’ll try to remember for next time – if possible, arrive home early. Leave yourself a day or two to unwind and catch up on things before going back to work. It was also nice having only one work day before the Independence Day holiday. Two weeks off, one day on, three more days off. I could get used to this arrangement.