Tip #2 Ugly Monkey Says Never Let Your Gas Tank Get Below 1/4 of a Tank

We made it to Boulder!

Taryn and I are currently blogging away at a coffee shop in a Colorado collegetown with a spectacular view of the Rocky Mountains. I'm sipping my mocha latte and pretending that I slept for more than two hours last night. 

We left on schedule Sunday morning at 9:15 AM. We drove. And drove. And drove. New York.

 Pennsylvania. Ohio. Indiana. Illinois. Iowa. Talking, laughing, and singing songs, we kept ourselves entertained. We found endless amusement in

 taking pictures of "Ugly Monkey," a specially knit creature randomly sent to me from Bubbie in Hawaii. He graces pictures at the entrance to each state, celebrated at our "only 1,000 miles left" 

party, and even took a turn driving the car.

Stopping only for gas, we drove until about 2:30 AM, central time, so 3:30 AM Eastern time. A timely bout of insomnia allowed me to thoroughly enjoy humming along to Guster and Counting Crows while traversing the plains until the wee hours. We didn't stop until a deer stopped to admire my headlights a little too closely...daring us to see ju

st how effective Roxanne's (the Forrester) brakes and handling were. They, in addition to the mushroom clouding f-bombs and praise of the savior screeching from my throat, proved themselves able to avoid a very very messy start to our trip.  

We stopped short of Nebraska at a rest stop to sleep. Curled up in the front seats of Roxie, we slept until 5 AM. And then, firing up our engines, we hit the road again. I-80 Westbound stretched out like the red carpet before us. With a "night's" sleep, we were able to continue happy and safely onward. 

As I was advised by my Papa Neil, I never let the gas run below 1/4 of a tank. Out there in the plains, you never know just how far the next station may be. We exited when we saw a BP gas station sign just when we dipped below 1/4. 

Though we followed our tip cautiously, it doesn't mean that the precaution reached the

 midwest. It was my turn to pay for gas, so I popped the cap, swiped my card and grabbed the regular. But the gas never came. I squeezed, I rearranged, I even re-swiped. Still nothing. I figured I would inquire inside the store. To my surprise, the woman at the counter just chuckled and said, "Oh, well it looks like we've run out." Ran out? What gas station runs out of gas? Who do you call for that problem? AAA? 

Fortunately, another station was just down the road, and thankfully, we followed our helpful tip from Papa. We were able to scoot to the next station, fill up, and continue on our way. 

Taryn drove the long but final leg of the trip, brining us to our destination in Boulder. We

 laughed and screamed like kids in a candy store when we saw the Mountains, admiring their grandeur and reveling in the moment. With a cardboard cutout stating "Enjoy Life" taped to the dash, we completed our 30 hour journey in good spirits. 

And here we are, sleep deprived and exhausted, slurping the dregs of our coffee, searching for the energy to enjoy this new and exciting town. I think with a caffeine, we'll have a brand new set of adventures to blog tomorrow. 

We will be in Boulder and Denver through the day tomorrow (Tuesday). On Wednesday we head out for the Te-aH campground in Utah. Stay tuned.