Day two began the same way day one began, with me putting my suitcase in the car before sunrise.

Only this time, I felt much better about my decision to drive. My Beautiful Disaster Jaguar XK8 has performed flawlessly to this point. This doesn't really mean anything, though. The next rollback ride could be a few miles up the road.

But I felt good in spite of the frost all over the car. This is late November, and the weather does that during this time of the year. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

The roof had to stay up for a while, at least until the sun came up. Speaking of which.

Mother Nature seemed poised to treat me to a wonderful sunrise.

Unfortunately, traveling in the opposite direction means I would only be able to enjoy it in my rear view mirror.

So sunrise over Walmart would have to do for now.

I mentioned earlier that I've never been any further west than Kansas City by car. So this means today's journey will take me into uncharted territory, something I'm really looking forward to. Getting there will be pretty easy – Follow I-70 west for about 600 miles to just outside the Denver metro area where a couple of Colorado county roads will then take me to Greeley.

I'm guessing this will translate to around 9 hours of driving. Factoring in the additional hour I will gain by crossing a time zone, I should be in Greeley well before dark. But I won't be if I keep staring at the sunrise. I checked the oil and coolant levels (which were both full) and hit the road.

Kansas City, Missouri was empty on this Sunday morning, which was great !

Like any large metro area, traffic can be unbelievable at times. But not this morning.

I've been on this section of the road many times in the past.

Starting to see evidence of sunrise approaching.

Starting to see evidence of sunrise approaching.

The Harry S. Truman Sports Complex sits on the eastern side of the city.

The Harry S. Truman Sports Complex, Kansas City, Missouri.

Kauffman Stadium is home to the Kansas City Royals MLB franchise.

Arrowhead Stadium in the background is home to the Kansas City Chiefs NFL franchise. The lights were on in preparation for today's 1 PM game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Thankfully, I was passing by early enough that I didn't have to deal with game day traffic.

The city skyline came into view after passing the sports complex.

The bridges crossing over I-70 seen in the photos above and below are for I-435, Kansas City's oddly shaped bypass. I've been on I-435 north many times on my way to the Ameristar Casino and their wonderful buffet.

The city skyline was not only getting larger, but also becoming beautifully illuminated courtesy of the sunrise.

Normally, a perimeter highway is the better choice when traveling through a major metro area. The additional time needed to travel around the city on the bypass is usually offset by not having to deal with traffic in downtown. But this didn't matter at 7 AM on Sunday morning. I stayed on I-70 and headed into downtown.

The prominent buildings of Kansas City as seen from I-70 westbound are as follows (L - R): AT & T Long Lines Building, Kansas City Power & Light Building, Richard Bolling Federal Building (in front of One Kansas City Place), Town Pavilion, Bryant Building, Kansas City City Hall, Oak Tower, 925 Grand (formerly the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City), 909 Walnut, (formerly the Fidelity National Bank & Trust Building).

Another view of the prominent buildings of Kansas City from I-70 westbound (L - R): AT & T Long Lines Building, Kansas City Power & Light Building, Richard Bolling Federal Building (in front of One Kansas City Place), Town Pavilion, Bryant Building, Kansas City City Hall, Oak Tower, 925 Grand (formerly the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City), 909 Walnut, (formerly the Fidelity National Bank & Trust Building), US District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

The normally east-west Interstate 70 made a northbound turn at the Power and Light District downtown which gave me a great view of the skyline. I perched the camera on my shoulder once again and started shooting.

The prominent buildings seen in the photo above are (L-R): Jackson County Corrections Center, Richard Bolling Federal Building (18 stories), Jackson County Courthouse, (22 stories, sits in front of 1201 Walnut and One Kansas City Place), Tower Pavilion (38 stories), and the Bryant Building (26 stories).

L-R: Jackson County Corrections Center, Richard Bolling Federal Building, Jackson County Courthouse, 1201 Walnut (in front of One Kansas City Place), Town Pavilion.

L-R: Richard Bolling Federal Building, Jackson County Courthouse, 1201 Walnut (in front of One Kansas City Place), Town Pavilion, Bryant Building, Kansas City City Hall, Oak Tower.

The prominent building in the center of the photo above is Kansas City City Hall.

The building with the two pointed towers seen in the photos above and below is the 35-story 909 Walnut. Originally known as the Fidelity National Bank & Trust Building when it opened in 1931, the building was converted to a mix of apartments and commercial office space after it was sold in 2000.

Currently, 909 Walnut, is the tallest apartment building in the Midwest outside of Chicago.

Interstate 70 turned westbound again once which put the Power and Light District off to my left. The Missouri River is out of view in the foreground of the photo above. The open space is actually part of the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport.

A small piece of the Missouri River can be seen on the far right side of the photo above, (the Missouri and Kansas Rivers meet at that point). The large building is part of the Barlett Grain Company.

Interstate 70 crossed the Kansas River made a southbound turn which put the city skyline off to my left. This means I was treated to sunrise over Kansas City for a brief period of time.

I put the camera on my shoulder again and started shooting.

Holding the button down with the camera set in "continuous burst" mode resulted in about 20 pictures.

After cropping, straightening, and some minor processing, I managed to capture a few decent shots.

Sunrise over Kansas City, Missouri.

Sunrise over Kansas City Missouri.

From this point onward, I would be heading into uncharted territory. Everything I encounter beyond the city would be a new experience me.

The road curved westbound again and the crowded feel of the metro area began to disappear. Population density seemed to drop off significantly near the Kansas City Speedway about 10 miles west of the city, and disappeared altogether after that. This section of I-70 is now considered part of the Kansas Turnpike, a toll road that stretches from Kansas City southwest all the way to the Oklahoma border. Tolls are collected on a short stretch of I-70 from a few miles west of the speedway to the I-470 interchange outside of Topeka, Kansas.

The toll road continues south on I-470 from that point toward Oklahoma, while I-70 continues west toll-free. Motorists like myself who exit the toll road in Topeka pay $3. I paid my fare and continued west into Topeka.

The Kansas State Capital of Topeka is comparable to Athens, Georgia in terms of population, but takes up less than half as much physical space. The views of downtown from I-70 were partially obstructed by the median. Nevertheless, the dome of the State Capital Building is visible on the right side of the photo above. The tall building in the center of the photo is the Topeka Tower.

The drive through Topeka didn't take much time at all.

After a few minutes of city skyline, EVERYTHING disappeared ! Only wide open rolling hills remained.

Westbound I-70 west of Topeka, Kansas.

With the exception of the occasional small town along the interstate, I-70 would look like this for the rest of my trip.

I took the photo above near mile marker 343 where I entered into a part of the country known as the Flint Hills.