to Denver

What a day!
J cannot believe that I am making her transcribe, but - hey - I made a commitment to my fans!  I suppose I'd be tired too had I been the driver.  I guess that 14 hours of driving as driver is stressful, as passenger it is mostly boring.
We started out from Mountain Home, ID.  The hotel was nice, but J woke up early & made us hit the road.  We were making good time until we approached Utah - then I am not sure if J got lost or we simply took an alternate, more scenic route (HWY 30).  The GPS did not think it added much time, but we were definitely not on Interstate; that meant fewer rest stops for sniffing & such.  She did allow us a good walk at "Little America", a rest stop right as we hit I-80.  It was a tad kitchy, but J was pleased with 50cent soft serve ice cream.
The real time/driving problem with time began after we got back on the Interstate.  Winds were 35+mph, and closer to Cheyenne they passed 50 mph!  Ivan the InPhenite Sprinter is usually a smooth ride, but it was a bit like a sail boat with those winds.  Happily Ziggy did not puke.  I think J got a bit tense, but she agreed not to stop.

After a BIG buffet in the 50 mph wind zone, Ivan briefly stopped accelerating, a warning light flashed, and then the skid warning light came on & stayed on.  As Ivan seemed to keep moving, there was no apparent flat, the storage pod & awning were still attached, and we had just passed a sign indicating NO SERVICES for 23 miles: we kept driving.  Once we got to the "Flying J" (really) truck stop, we rechecked the tires & restarted the engine - no warning light.  I guess that was just a cardiovascular stress test for J.

We had hoped to make it all the way to Falcon, CO (ASFA II site), but that was NOT going to happen.  Karen S, Jackie K, Barb F, and Jolene had all arrived in Falcon & checked back with us: safety 1st was the consensus.
Reaching Denver suburbs concluded 14 hours of stressful driving.  We had already been planning a visit with J's friend Maire on Sunday - but Maire & family agreed we could stop here tonight as well.  Even getting there was tricky: an accident on I-25, an overturned hay truck on our detour . . . I was ready to be done with the driving, too.
Ziggy & I got to meet Maire's 2 daughters & their dogs, an elderly, good tempered mutt and an energetic border collie-rottweiller mix (Maude).  Maude was a bit exuberant initially, but we had fun playing chase/tag outside (of course, she never touched me once I had room to maneuver).  Ziggy was uncertain to start, but got into the spirit of things later.
Now J refuses to write more.  I had planned to explain our "grand excursion' to any readers not familiar with our planned trip ass discussed on other group lists, but not tonight.