19 hours in a truck packed tighter than a clown car. That sounds like fun, right?
It’s actually not that bad. We take turns driving and sleeping and the time passes quickly because we know we are getting closer to Colorado! We also leave very early in the morning or in this case, late Monday night. He would rather drive during the dawn hours when there is not much traffic to deal with.
After we got started, I slept the first shift and woke up almost in Oklahoma. Storms were brewing and we stopped at a roadside diner for a great breakfast. We were the only customers and the food was good and coffee hot. The owner had the place decorated in patriotic colors and she also had a Christmas tree with American flags and other red, white, blue ornaments.
I knew from last year’s experience that I needed to put on some compression socks for the rest of the drive. Last year, I had a bad experience with my feet and legs swelling after driving/riding so long. We scrambled to find a place that sold compression socks. Not going to make the same mistake this year. 
We passed through El Reno, TX and saw the tornado devastation. It brings back sad memories. They are just now starting the recovery process. But like the other towns who face natural disasters, they will pull together and help each other through this.
Then it was time to bring out the Travel Crack (I try to stay away from these except for long road trips. LONG road trips, not the hour long trip to Birmingham. The higher we got in elevation, the tighter it got!
Lunch was at Wendys. They are the best fast food place for gluten-free food. I usually get chili and baked potato. We ate fast and got out of Amarillo on a full tank of gas with eyes on the horizon waiting for the mountains.
Many hours and miles and cups of coffee later, we finally saw them!
Rain covered….
But the Pike looked as great as always.
Then the sun came through just for a few seconds. 
And the then rains cleared and the purple came out to play.
Colorado day 1 is finished! Tomorrow, we drive to Breckenridge for a few days. Right now, we are exhausted!