You could say you are getting two posts in a day because things were easy — and the nice thing about a planned easy day is that sometimes it is really an easy day.  So today was just that kind of easy day.  But the expectation is tomorrow will be harder, so why try to sneak a post in before departure on a hard day … is all I am saying.

We are sitting in a nice hotel in Westminster, Colorado after a day that just breached over 400 miles.  While 400 miles shouldn’t sound that easy, on the 75mph speed limit interstates of Nebraska and Colorado, it was as easy as they come.  There were long stretches of nothing, followed by longer stretches of nothing.  There were the threats of snow followed by the threats of cold followed by – warming.  But it got to be the point that I forced myself to have an hour lunch break, just to make sure I don’t feel weird about arriving by early afternoon.  Even with that, and a long break an hour outside of Denver, we still got in by 3PM.  Heck, the pup is already laid out on the bed, ignoring his food, and the sun is still up (and will be for a while).

Speaking of which, it’s probably a good time give a puppy dog update (or a ‘PUPdate’ … get it?).  Even with the attention on the road, I am probably handling this trip better than he is.  Not that he is in rough shape or anything, just that things are different.  Simply put, you dog owners know the best thing for a dog is routine.  They like it when they wake up at certain times, do their business at certain times, eat at certain times.  Not just that, they like certain surroundings too.  Heck, they love running around outside, but they are inherently cave dwellers, and they need that cave to feel good.  The last week, the pup’s world has churned over.  Gone is the wood floors and smelly backyards of Boston.  Gone is the doggie spa he gets to go regularly when daddy is out of town.  Sure, he has spent a lot of time in the car over the last few years, but riding in a car isn’t the most comfortable thing for him.  So, one of his big routines, namely sleeping for most of the day, is kicked out the window.  Every night he has a new surrounding.  Every day there are new smells.  Every place he does his business isn’t where he normally does his business.  The only real constant is me, so when he tries to cuddle up to me … it kinda gets in the way of daddy driving the car.  While he’s pulling off the cuteness overload when he snuggles up along the center counsel of the car, he does have have a tendency to do things like … adjust the side mirrors, bump my hand on the steering wheel, or occasionally knock the gear into Neutral.  Honestly, he’s not bad off right now, but I have seen him handle these trips better.  With the long stayover tonight, I am going to relegate him to what calms him the most — buttoning him up into the kennel.  No seriously, it’s his ‘cave’.  He feels most comfortable when left alone in there.  Maybe then he will sleep, rest, chill, and be ready to be a pest as we drive across the mountains tomorrow.

So — just to recap, here is the route:

I-90 across NY and Northern OH & IN; — DONE
I-80 at Chicago, across IL, IA & NE. — DONE
I-76 in Western NE into CO —  DONE
I-70 at Denver then across CO into UT — Tomorrow
I-15 through UT, NV, through Las Vegas, and then into CA
CA-210 to Burbank.

Tomorrow is a 640 mile run heading due west out of Denver along the famous I-70 route.  We could see some snow, but that would be snow that is not specifically predicted.  I-70 continues through Western Colorado, Eastern Utah, and ends when we run into I-15.  A couple hours down that road, and the last stay over tomorrow night in St George, where I will meet up with the fella who talked me into taking my old job (the one I just quit).  I am going to plan an early depature, intent to hit the road while my East Coast time zone brain still thinks its sleeping in.  If all goes well, we will be able to put everything into an easy cruise by the time we pass Rifle, an old sentimental stop of mine.

But for now, a little rest, then a chance to talk a guy into making his fantasy football team take a dump.