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September 10, 2008 - Wednesday
Day Two consisted of driving from Des Moines Iowa to Henderson, Colorado, just on the edge of Denver. This was a long drive that half of which was through Nebraska. I stopped for lunch at a truck
stop outside of Lincoln, Nebraska where I made the mistake of getting a side salad with my meal. It would have been more accurately described as Ranch Dressing Soup with lettuce seasoning,
it was pretty terrible, but I learned an important life lesson, "Never order salad at a truck stop."
Driving across Nebraska was very similiar to driving around Northwest Ohio, only with giant windmills spread all along I-80, so I was very excited when I finally hit Colorado. As I
was entering Colorado, the landscape started to become more rolling and less flat.
I immediately stopped at the Julesburg Welcome Center
and put the soft top down on my Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. The weather was beautiful (80's) and I needed something to stimulate my brain after driving across Nebraska.
Map - Urbandale, IA to Henderson, CO (Denver)
Distance:
Drive Time:
Putting the top down did the trick, having the top down is always better than having it up, weather permitting; however, I wouldn't want to drive nine hours down the highway with
the top down either. The fuel economy savings from having the top up are pretty significant when driving at highway speeds. Speaking of fuel economy, I peaked over 19 mpg, which
is really good for my Jeep with it's 4.10 rear axle. Also, I noticed when driving out West that "Regular" octane gasoline drops from 87 to 85, so you have to use "Plus," which is
normally 89 octane around Toledo.
The rolling landscape was adding excitement to the drive since it was drastically different than back home. Additionally, I could tell that I was gradually gaining altitude as well.
Eventually I stopped to take a break and ate dinner at Pizza Hut. I put the top back up as I was starting to see storms in the distance and was getting hit by the occassional light
rain showers. After dinner the sun was starting to go down as I made my final push for Denver. As I was getting close to Denver I was starting to get "punchy" behind the wheel and
stopped at the first place I could get a room at
Super 8 Henderson.
This Super 8 made the Sleep Inn in Urbandale seem like the Four Seasons; however, at the time the only thing I cared about was whether they had a room available and they did.
At the point I stopped at the hotel it had been long dark outside, so even though I was only a few miles outside of Denver, I still had not seen the Rocky Mountains, but that would change
tomorrow.
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Location: I-80 Des Moines, Iowa to Denver, Colorado
Date: September 10, 2008
Vehicle: 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon (JK) 4-door
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