We made it to Denver

Hello all,
We made it to Denver tonight after a 600 mile trek across Nebraska. As we headed into the Denver area the Rocky Mountains began to rise out of the valley ahead. It was a beautiful site!

Here's a photo from our hotel parking lot of the sun setting behind the mountains


This is a drawing I did after driving through Missouri.

Hannibal, MO and the Tom Sawyer Cave

So we left Brownsburg, IN this morning at 6:30 as usual and headed for Hannibal, Missouri. We changed time zones once we hit Illinois so we gained an hour on our day. I say we are ahead of you folks back home although Molly would beg to differ and say I'm behind. But in any case, that made the 300 mile trip to Hannibal feel alot shorter. We arrived at the Tom Sawyer cave around 10 am... just about the same time a bus load of 5th graders arrived. How exciting! Rather than share the cave with a bunch of obnoxious kids we decided we'd go check out the town and see the other sites and come back to the cave for the 11am tour.
We headed into town to see the rest of the sites along the mighty Mississippi riverbank. We got to see Tom Sawyers house (aka the Mark Twain Boyhood Home), Becky Thatchers House, The Tom and Huck Statue, The prison that held Muff Potter(there isn't actually a prison there...just a sign that said there might have been one at some point), and the Mark Twain Riverboat. It was a rather bleak and run-down old town but brought back many memories from the book.

Here's a few pictures from town


The town


Big Muddy


Tom and Huck Statue


Mark Twain Boyhood Home and The famous whitewashed fence



Missouri is known as "the cave state." There are two caves in Hannibal, the Mark Twain/Tom Sawyer Cave and The Cameron Cave. We took a tour of the Tom Sawyer Cave. It was an hour long tour that was given by a guide. The walk through was 5/8 of a mile and went 350 feet underground. The cave has been outfitted with lights that the guide switches on and off as you go through. At one point in the cave we stopped in the room where Tom and Becky lost their candles and got lost in the dark. The guide showed us what it would have been like for them by shutting off all the lights in the cave. It was complete darkness, the darkest dark i've ever experienced. You could stand there forever and your eyes would never adjust.
Up until 1997 when the cave was deemed a national landmark, anyone that visited the cave was able to carve, paint or sign there name on the cave walls. The cave walls are littered with signatures that go all the way back to the mid 1800's when the cave was discovered. Some are written in candle smoke which produces bold black letterforms on the walls and ceilings. In the 1870's Jesse James and his gang robbed a train in Saverton, MO. After fleeing the robbery site they found refuge in the Tom Sawyer cave. There is a room in the cave where Jesse's gangs signatures can be found. I tried to take as many pictures as I could inside the cave but the lighting conditions were hard to deal with. Some of the pictures are blurry or hard to see but you'll get the idea.

Walking through the tunnels of the cave




Some signatures made with candle smoke



The Cross at Number 2 - Where Tom and Huck found the treasure buried



Seal Rock - The blue light is added for effect but there is a natural pool of water that gathers beneath the seal shaped rock




After the visit in Hannibal we headed further west to beat the sever weather headed our way. We are staying in St. Joseph, MO for the night and head 600 miles to Denver tomorrow. It'll be another long day but we gain another hour once we cross over into mountain time about 2/3 of the way through Nebraska. Probably won't update again until Sunday night or so.

Until then...

A day through the worst state in America

So we left Niagra this morning at 6:30am ... which right now feels like days ago. We headed through a small corner of Pennsylvania before heading into the dreaded OHIO....DUN DUN DUNNNN


Saw some nice vineyards on the way through


Then it was on into Ohio and a stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cleveland Browns Football stadium was right next to the Hall of Fame so we checked that out. There was also a beautiful sculpture dedicated to the fireman of Cleveland who lost there lives on duty. Unfortunately you weren't allowed to take pictures inside the Hall of Fame but I got a few shots of the outside of the building. The architecture was magnificent.

Cleveland Browns Stadium






The Fire Fighter Sculpture





The outside of the Hall of Fame... Rock On!


Me in front of a cool Neil Young-Rust inspired guitar sculpture


Dad in front of the Johnny Cash Tour Bus



After the Hall of Fame we proceded onward through the hell that is Ohio. We were certain to drive cautiously due to the fact that there was almost always an angry trooper around every corner ready to pounce on any car that dares to disobey the speed limit. Nothing like being stuck driving the speed limit on a wide open stretch of prairie highway. Eventually we made it out of this wretched state and into Indiana. After a 12 hour day on the road we arrived at our Comfort Suite hotel.
We went to dinner at Applebee's and now are in for the night recouping.

Some severe weather is headed out way tomorrow so we've made a few travel changes. We're going to swing into Hannibal, MO and check out the Tom Sawyer cave and instead of spending the night there we are going to head another 200 miles through Missouri to take a chunk out of the 800 miler to Denver the next day. So it'll be another 12 hour day tomorrow and yet again the next day. But after that it's a few days in Denver to relax and see some family.

Next update from Saint Joseph, MO
So long.

Niagra Falls

Got to Niagra Falls today around noon, after stopping to see my grandparents in Syracuse. It was a quick drive, only 2.5 hours. We crossed over to the Canadian side of the falls after a few minutes of being drilled with questions by a female border guard... she was a real gem.

We spent the next hour or so wandering around the edge of the falls.... here's a few pictures.


The edge of the falls.....spooky


The historic Maid of the Mist



Beautiful Horseshoe Falls


Myself


So then we decided we should do something cool like go on the boat or go under the falls or something.... So we went on the... Journey behind the Falls.... oooooooooooohhhhhhhh We took an elevator down about 120 feet and then walked through some creepy tunnels to the edge of the falls

This is where we were going to be from above.... nice rainbow


The view underneath the falls from one of the tunnel lookouts


Thats alot of water...


My Dad and I getting soaked in our ponchos



Tonight we're going to to venture out to see the falls again... apparently they put some lights on them or something.... then to the casino and hopefully find a place to watch the Celtics.

Until next time....

Some photos from Turning Stone

Here's a few pictures from last night at the casino. Not a bad place to start the trip. Although I did lose about 40 bucks. But hell.... that won't even fill the gas tank anyways!




It was a typical hotel room... except for the fact that it was FREE!!!

Verona, New York

Day 1:
We left New Hampshire today. 11:36am. Headed toward our destination at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York. About a hundred miles into the drive I asked my dad what time he thought we'd pull into the casino. "4:02pm" he said confidently.... Sure enough as 4:01pm rolls around we come around a bend and within sight of the casino tower, which rises out the baren landscape of Verona. I couldn't believe he was right again.
We got our free room and sat down for a few but were sure not to waste anytime. We found ourselves in the casino and gambling within a half hour of our arrival. That lasted about an hour, then we hit the buffet and I fed myself till I was about to burst. Typical...
Now it's back to the casino to gamble away the rest of my evening. Unfortunately I left my camera cord in the car which was taken by a valet to an unknown destination.... so pictures tomorrow I suppose.

Next stop Niagra Falls.... 250 miles

See you there!

Road Trip Eve

Well... It's the eve of my college graduation road trip, and the excitment has yet to kick in. Could it be that I'm about to embark on the longest trip of my life? Or is it that I'm about to embark on the longest trip of my life in a car with my parents? Could be the latter. I'm sure, however, that as soon as tomorrow morning rolls around and I find myself in the car and on my way, I will soon begin to feel the excitment and anticipation I felt all year waiting for this day to come. First stop, Turning Stone Casino, just outside Syracuse, New York. What better way to start a 6000 mile road trip then by gambling away your gas money? I can't think of any other way.

Until then...

Oh and GO CELTICS!!