Indiana to Denver

Elko, NV in Ottumwa, NE
McAllen, TX in Kearney, NE
Seattle, WA in Denver, CO

Wow! We travelers really do move around a lot.....

I headed out on Sunday afternoon, with Aco in the passenger seat. She makes great road-trip company but isn't very good with the navigation. Actually, most of the time she sleeps while I drive. Oh well, at least she doesn't bark or whine.

I made it to Ottumwa, Iowa to visit a travel friend from Elko, NV. We had a nice time catching up and I slept like a bear in the winter. Before we left in the morning, Aco and I headed to the dog park! There wasn't anyone else there but it was nice to let Aco out and play a little before being cooped up in the truck. It's a good thing we did too, the next part of the trip was a long one for her.

From Ottumwa we headed to Fremont, NE and I enjoyed a late lunch with Jason (Best Recruiter in the World...yeah, ok I'm sucking up). We ate at a place called J's. It's an old original building in the town that has been refurbished. It's a beautiful building with the old tin ceiling and exposed brick walls, cherry wood dots the interior. The food was top notch and I had the best cream of broccoli soup of my life! Jason gave me a short tour of the town and showed me how to get to the local dog park. After we ate, Aco and I washed the truck and headed to the park. We spent about an hour playing with the other dogs at the park then hit the road again.

An internet stop at Aurora, NE at the local truck stop, then my intentions were to head to North Platte, NE for the night. About 20 minutes from Kearney, NE my friend Teresa called and wanted to meet up. She lives and works about 45 minutes outside of Kearney. It was quite the unexpected surprise!! Teresa was at work and not able to meet until around 11p (it's about 9:30 now). I stopped at Kearney to wait for her and hopped onto the internet again to work on some paperwork for the upcoming strike job. I ended up at a Caribou coffee shop that was attached to a gas station and was actually closed. The gas station attendant let me hang out in the comfy chairs in the closed coffee shop.

Teresa and I headed to the local Perkin's (the only place open) and reunited over coffee. It was wonderful to see her agian. We met in Texas on contract and I haven't seen her since 2005!!

It was about 0200 at this time so I hit the road fired up with caffine and made my way as far as North Platte (NP). At NP, I dropped the backseat down spread out the sleeping bag, grabbed my pillows and was nearly instantly asleep (around 0400). Aco took up post on the center console watching for passers by. She was still sitting there when I woke up about 4 hours later. Coffee and a toothbrush were enjoyed at the truck stop with bed-head and we were back on the road again.

We made great time to Denver, CO and were greeted by Teresa (2). I am staying with Teresa (2) and her sister, Lisa just on the outskirts of Denver. I'll update more later....

ps: My plans are ever-changing. Still looking at working the strike in CA Oct 28-30th and my start date in Germany has been pushed back to on or around the 1st December.