A Cross Country Road Trip and A Move to Denver

We listed our house for sale in November and after two offers fell through, the third one finally looked like it was going to take. We got an offer from a moving company - for what seemed like an outrageous price to us - so we decided to rent a uhaul to make our cross country move to Denver. We became weather watchers to determine which route we would take - we labeled them the northern route, the middle route and the southern route with a few hours driving difference between  them. When the time finally came to leave our house of 22 years, the northern route was determined to be the shortest and the weather looked to be okay. And we were off on our move!

The drive would take us through seven states - South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado - in a Uhaul truck with a car towed behind it. There wouldn't be much stopping or sightseeing, other than what we saw out the window, but it would be a good chance to see parts of the country that weren't on our usual radar. 

Day One -

Our first stop was only a few hours up the road to Asheville, North Carolina as we got off a bit later than expected. But we were able to eat dinner with a friend who was working there which was an added bonus.

Day Two-

 The next morning was a much needed slow one - we had spent a month packing up a house, going to doctors appointments, visiting with friends and family in a non stop whirlwind - and we didn't get on the road until mid morning. It was a day of driving through the Blue Ridge Mountains and Cherokee National Forest including a stop for some of our favorite pizza in Knoxville for lunch. Driving west meant the chance for some beautiful sunsets and this evening, just outside of Nashville, was a good one. Our stop for the night was in Oak Grove, Kentucky (the home of the US Army's Fort Campbell) and since we didn't want to unhitch the car, we walked across the street to a Waffle House for dinner - Mr. UR's first time eating dinner at this known-for-breakfast chain. We were the only diners there and it was fun to watch the staff interact on their down time - heard a little Kentucky gossip!

Day Three -

 Morning in Kentucky dawned as cold as cold could be. After crossing the Ohio River into Illinois, we hit our first - and only - bit of snow. Most of this day's sights was farmland until we hit St. Louis. We had a goal in mind - to visit a winery on Missouri's Hermann Wine Trail - by the end of the day so lunch was out of the cooler. 

Our only snow of the trip

Illinois farmland

The Mighty Mississippi

We had scoped out the wineries in the area beforehand and decided that Cedar Lake Winery was our best choice. Located about 15 miles off of I70 with plenty of parking for our big rig, Cedar Lake was the perfect place to stop for a break. Toasty warm inside, we both enjoyed a glass of wine and decided it would be a fantastic visit in the summertime with it's pond location and fields for picnicking. Dinner was at an Arby's by our hotel - a short walk in the cold - and an early night to get a good start the next morning.

Day Four -

The next morning we were up bright and early before the sun which allowed us to catch a colorful sunrise. It was our day to drive through Kansas - the Flint Hills, the flatlands, passing those unique windmills and ending up in Hayes.

Kansas' Flint Hills

 We asked the hotel clerk where we should go for dinner and she pointed us to Thirsty's Brewpub. Which was apparently the right choice - it was jam packed and we had a fantastic steak dinner. (And I have never been to dinner where someone was really wearing spurs - like to dinner, not as part of a costume) 

Day Five -

All that was left to do the next day was about 4 hours of driving - a bit of Kansas, a stop at the Colorado border (it had to be done) and then arrival at our new apartment. 

I70 bad weather gates -so glad that they didn't close for us

It was no mean feat to box up 22 years of living in a 5 bedroom house on a rural lake and then scale it down to a one bedroom apartment in a large city. But we did it. And I'm happy to have it done. On to new adventures!

I want to give a great big and heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone for their support, prayers and good thoughts. The gifts of time, money, diapers, donations and charitable giving goes beyond words and my family can't thank you enough! (You can read what happened and why we moved here) 

Linking up with: My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand!