Planned departure was 7 a.m.; actual departure 9:30 a.m. My crew does not move swiftly and across the street, the Colorado River caught our attention. It was a picturesque scene with the river flowing in front of mountains covered in low vegetation. Yet it was slightly hidden from us by a chain of trees. This was a perfect photo opportunity. Two crew members had an extended photo shoot, especially the one with a tripod. We continued on and stopped at Walmart in Denver at 12:30 p.m. for another potty break and replinished our snacks. Onward to I-70 E until we reached Kansas. Kansas! I was supposed to be in Nebraska! I missed the I-76 E. Katrina, the Navigator, convinced me I would still get into Nebraska. Wrong! It was 6:00 p.m. and Matthew had to use the restroom so bad that he was threatening to pee in a Gatorade bottle. We stopped at a rest stop, played soccer and took pictures. In all the pictures, Kyla wanted to pose as the water bender. After getting advice from my cousin Vincent, who is a truck driver, we cut across Kansas on US-83 towards Nebraska. It was a back road that I hoped would lead us to Nebraska before dark. We saw two deer grazing by the road. As we approached, they bounded over the fence into the distance. We would see dozens of deer along the way, but they would be among the few that were alive. At 9:40 p.m., I could say, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” Kelsey drove onto I-80 E until we reached Omaha, NE. I had booked a room at Holiday Inn Express with priceline. $75 with tax ($98) was the cheapest hotel room during the trip. Our arrival time was 1:07 a.m. In route, I was excited to see $4.08 gas. I would fill up in the morning.
