But I made it to Colorado !

Without a tow truck !

Crossing the border into Colorado.

Near mile marker 390 near Arriba, CO.

More wind turbines came into view outside of Arriba, Colorado.

I was passing by the Limon Wind Energy Center outside of Limon, Colorado.

Built in three phases, Limon I, II, & III cover more than 55,000 acres and produce enough electricity for 185,000 homes.

Passing by the Limon Wind Energy Center, Limon, Colorado.

But the real treat arrived 20 miles later.

Near mile marker 370, Genoa, CO.

I smiled when all 14,114 feet of Pikes Peak came into view off in the distance !

This is why I'm here !

Mile marker 365 outside of Limon, CO.

I began to understand what Heather meant by the many "wide open spaces" comments she has made about the region.

My view was definitely "wide open" and didn't vary much from what is seen in the photos above and below.

I enjoyed that wonderful view seen in the previous photos for the next 60 miles until I reached the small town of Bennett, Colorado which sits about 15 miles outside of the Denver metro area. I had been on I-70 since 7 AM this morning. But now I needed to head north toward Greeley. I could have stayed on I-70 to the E-470 Denver Bypass, and then picked up US Route 85 north to Greeley. But I was quite intrigued by all of the wide open space photos Heather has sent to me before, and decided to see them for myself by exploring the local secondary roads. I got off of I-70 at State Route 36 in Bennett, Colorado.

Traveling north meant the Rocky Mountains were off to my left.

Normally, I would perch the camera on my shoulder and hold the button down.

But this road was almost completely empty, which allowed me to stop here and there.

So I took advantage of the opportunity when it presented itself.

From Bennett, Colorado, I headed north on State Route 79. And by "north," I mean directly north on a perfectly straight road.

Looking off to the west made me wonder if the sunsets in this part of the country are as amazing as it looks like they would be not only for the mountains, but also for the almost completely unobstructed views.

Still on a perfectly straight road with not a curve to be found anywhere !

And not another vehicle to be found anywhere. So I stopped to take a few pics.

I stayed on State Route 79 until it ended 22 miles later, enjoying this view the whole time. A couple of turns were needed to get me to County Road 49 heading north toward the eastern side of Greeley and my hotel downtown. And even after missing a road sign for one of those turns and having to backtrack, (County Road 60½ ? Who names a road "½" ?), I made to Greeley, Colorado.

My longest east-west cross country drive, which totaled 1,500 miles, proceeded without incident. I'm happy to report that my Beautiful Disaster Jaguar XK8 performed like a proper Jaguar, and reminded me once again why I fell in love with the car in the first place.