I remember talking to Heather about this trip when the idea first surfaced over the summer. If I was going to do this, Thanksgiving would be the only time that would work. This was fine because Thanksgiving was a long ways away, and I'd have a lot of time to prepare. Flashbacks to my school days as a kid resurfaced where it seemed like the school year would drag on forever. Vacation time, Thanksgiving in this case, would take an eternity to arrive. But I still lose sight of the fact that I'm now 50 years old, and that time passes by much faster. And sure enough, I found myself scrambling at the last minute to get everything done before the trip. But everything worked out in the end just like it always does.

And now it's over. I find myself at the end of my western vacation. All of those preparations resulted in a wonderful and trouble-free trip. Now I'm ready to drive home. I chose Friday to start my eastbound journey with the intent of arriving in Athens on Saturday. This way I would have Sunday to get back into the swing of normal life before returning to work on Monday. I would also avoid driving on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, which is traditionally one of the busiest travel days of the year.

The same overnight logic from the beginning of the trip applies here as well. Driving further on the first travel day lessens the drive on the second day. This is especially important traveling east due to losing an hour with each time zone crossed. So I chose Maryland Heights, Missouri on the western edge of St. Louis for my eastbound overnight. The biggest benefit of this location is the fact that the Hollywood Casino, (formerly Harrah's of St. Louis), sits about 2 miles from my hotel. I'll get to enjoy a dinner at the Eat Up Buffet, something my ex-wife and I did with regularity when we lived in Columbia.

Friday morning began in Greeley the same way it did for every morning on this trip so far – with frost all over the car. I awoke to clear skies, but with temperatures in the mid-teens. I can handle having the roof down with temperatures that cold without a problem for my 10 minute commute home from work, but not for several hours on the interstate at 75 mph. So the roof would have to stay up for a while. The good news is that clear skies were in the forecast for the entire day. I'll be fine once the sun comes up. Time to hit the road.

I modified my departure route from Greeley slightly. Instead of following the side roads all the way to Interstate 70, I followed US Route 85 south from Greeley to just north of the Denver metro area where I picked up Colorado Route 52 east in Fort Lupton, Colorado.

I was on Route 52 on my way to Greeley and thought it would be a very convenient alternative to Friday morning commuter traffic in Denver, (I.e. I could stop and take pictures when so motivated and not have to worry about traffic !).

That may look like the rising sun on the horizon in the photo above. But it was actually the headlights of one of the few oncoming cars I encountered on this road.

The sunrise was still a few minutes away, but was fast approaching as I picked up Colorado Route 79 and headed south toward the interstate.

I was hoping a large building would give the camera something to focus on.

Four minutes after I took the above photos, the sun started to make its appearance.

I managed to get a few good shots during my time on the side roads.

Interstate 70 arrived a few minutes later, and would be my home for rest of the day.

Pikes Peak came into view outside of Limon, Colorado.

It was time to say goodbye to Colorado.

But I'm quite certain that I'll be back.

My trip would remain uneventful for the next 750 miles. The roof came down not too long after crossing into Kansas when temperatures reached the mid-40s. The combination of a wonderful heater, heated seats, and dressing in layers made this leg of the journey quite enjoyable. I paid my $3 Kansas Turnpike toll again, this time from Topeka to Kansas City. Before long, I was crossing the border into Missouri.

I wasn't sure how easy it would be to get through Kansas City on a Friday afternoon. But I didn't have any problems.

I encountered some traffic, but nothing heavy at all. Perhaps this was due to it being the Friday after Thanksgiving. I was glad whatever the reason may be.

Traffic through the city was no problem at all. The mess arrived near the Oak Grove, Missouri exit where I spent my overnight on the way to Colorado.

Traffic on I-70 was moving along just fine until this point when it stopped.

A Dodge Ram pickup truck took a tumble across the roadway and landed in the grass off to the right of the eastbound travel lanes.

The delay was short, and traffic picked up immediately after passing the incident.

The remainder of the journey would remain uneventful.

I waved as I passed by Columbia, Missouri on my way to Maryland Heights where a casino buffet and overnight stay were waiting for me. Tomorrow would be final leg of the trip.