USRT15 #3--Westward through the Middle

As we were leaving Kentucky I noticed signs that we said we were in Butler County. Knowing that members of the Jenkins family (on my mother's maternal family line) had lived in Butler County I called my mom and she told me stories about how they had moved back and forth over the river into Illinois. It felt a little like an audio tour in many ways.

Bridges became one of my favorite things to study on this trip. They are each uniquely constructed and I wondered how each design was chosen. J dutifully whipped out the camera each time we crossed one, knowing I would want to snap a photo to look at later.

After staying with friends for the night in Missouri, we drove into Kansas through another beautiful navy-clouded rainstorm. It seemed to clear up just as quickly as it came.

Our mid-day gas stop was right in the middle of the state. Why I didn't take more photos of the tiny town of Dorrance, Kansas I'll never know. From the posters in the window of the Agco to the signs of each family on front porches I felt like staying to go to church with these people on Sunday and hear how they make a living in Dorrance. 

In the early afternoon we made it to Colorado. I was so worried about timing and so I didn't capture the wrought-iron fence of the Bailey Ranch or Pikes Peak from a distance. This state has nine seemingly amazing national parks. I think I could do a road trip here just to see all of the amazing spots within it's limits, but we were forced to narrow our stay to one spot: Great Sand Dunes National Park.