Michael,

It’s Saturday evening and we’ve made it to Topeka now, just one state away from Colorado. No sign of snow here! Balmy, almost shirt-sleeve, sunny weather here in eastern Kansas. But we expect that to change as we rise onto the high plains. I think we have about 450 mi to go, so we should arrive in Boulder before dark, unless the winds blow us back into Kansas.

Our friend Chuck in Boulder says the predictions are that there will be high winds tomorrow, but the next storm is not supposed to arrive for a few days. There has been 48 inches of snow in Boulderville since Dec 20, but I suspect that most of it has melted or blown away by now. We’ve got an array of warmies–coats, windbreakers, mittens, caps, long johns–all ready for use when we get onto the high plains tomorrow. It’s hard to believe that we will actually be in winter after experiencing August for the last few weeks.

We use our walkie-talkies constantly to agree between the car & truck when to stop, where to turn, and make random comments. The walkie-talkie should definitely not be under-rated. Lots of times along our trip, we’ve had no cell phone coverage, and the w-t is so easy to turn on, we can jabber on and off about the scenery in short clips as we go. Once when Katie called me and Patrick in the truck, we were even able to patch Beth in through the w-t. Katie is currently in Savannah, and will drive to Atlanta tomorrow. I hope her timing to head west to Boulder won’t lead her into the next storm coming down from the NW.

We got a great view of the St Louis arch as we crossed the Mississippi into Missouri today. The thousands of shiny panels reflected the sun, the clear blue sky and the river like a giant parabolic crystal. We were tempted to stop, but as Beth says, we have to “keep up monentum”.

I haven’t had the nerve to check into our truck today. Last time I did(yesterday), the whole caboodle seems to have shifted rearward a little. I’m afraid if I open the back door now, the boxes and furniture will be pressing hard against the door and I’ll never be able to close it again. Better to wait until we’re at 4871 Darwin Ct, where the stuff can fall out onto the snow covered ground and we can shovel it into the house.

We gained an hour today when crossing from Indiana into Illinois, so we’ve had an extra long day, and I’ve got to hit the hay for another long day tomorrow. Wish us luck on the weather!

–rakkity & co