Getting the Hell out of Dodge

Day Three – July 1, 2016

Dodge City, KS – Pueblo, CO

287 miles – 4 ½ hours

It stormed last night. And there’s a railroad across the street from our hotel, with an active (and loud) train. And there’s a trailer park next to the hotel, with some late-night carousers, which caused me some anxiety. I did not sleep well and made an executive decision that it was time to get the hell out of Dodge. Sorry – I couldn’t resist.

Seriously though, we checked out a day early. There just isn’t enough to do in Dodge City. We spent the morning at the Boot Hill Museum, which is kind of cool. I enjoyed learning about the history of the town, although it’s fair to say I was the only one. Aud and Cammy had fun running around the old town. I took them to the Saloon for some cokes and Audrey and I ended up dancing on stage with some Old West show girls. No, I wasn’t drinking – it was 10:30 a.m. – just trying to get into the spirit of the Old West. Lucky for me, the boys didn’t bother to take a pictures of us. Hunter was mortified, but Barrett loved it. He was clapping and giggling as the Aud and I kicked up our heals and shimmied our skirts.

By the way, Barrett is on the mend! I’m still scarred from the infamous stomach flu outbreak during our Grand Canyon stop on the 2013 road trip. I’m saying a novena each morning to ensure no one else succumbs to whatever it was he had.

We blew out of town by noon, and found ourselves off the grid for a bit of our drive. Wide open spaces, with not another car for miles. Crazy.

We found a nice SpringHill suites in downtown Pueblo that had room for us. Thank goodness. We had dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, where we (myself included) were the youngest people in the restaurant. Barrett, obviously happy to be feeling better, was rather excitable. I think I heard everyone in the restaurant sigh as we left.

Back at the hotel, I took Cam and Aud to the pool for a little bit. The night ended once again with Hunter and I watching Friends. Best show ever!