1 Our Route

It was more or less due west out of Wichita into the mountains of southern Colorado by the end of the first day.  From then on it was up and more up and across the continental divide to our western most point at Cortez NM, near the Mesa Verde National Park.  We then re-traced our route a tad before heading north for a bit, then turning east and re-crossing the continental divide and hooking up with the headwaters of the Arkansas River (which when it flows through Wichita is pronounced the “R-Kansas”).  From there is was more or less due east until it was time to head due south for Wichita.  We spent almost 95 hours more or less in the car, in those 9 days, covering just over 2,000 miles.  You can do that arithmetic if you want, but suffice to say it was slow going.  It was gorgeous and interesting none-the-less, but I had to promise Virginia we will SIT near SEA LEVEL for our next vacation.