Day 15: Loveland, Colorado to Ogallala, Nebraska #fiveexplore #travellingduringcovid19 #roadtripusa

Day 15 – July 31st

Alaina rolled out of bed still shaking and barely awake. She stumbled to the pile of presents and started opening. What a trooper. Nothing gets in the way of her birthday.

We headed to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo today near Colorado Springs. When we originally booked this, we thought it was in Cheyenne, Wyoming on the route to Nebraska. Oops. This meant we were driving south to the Zoo and then another four hours this evening to our next hotel. On the bright side, we had another day in Colorado.

Whilst heading through the capital city of Denver, the Rockies provide a constant backdrop to the east. As usual roadworks provided a constant impediment. In 2019 The Colorado Transportation Commission approved a $1.6 billion budget for road projects across the state. If you are looking for employment in road construction get yourself over to Colorado.

Leaving Denver, the scenery turned green and we moved closer to the Rockies. In a nearby air force base young cadets zoomed around in their small planes, training over the highway.

The zoo is located several hundred feet above Colorado Springs and is the highest zoo in America at 6,800ft. It creates a unique experience as you climb up hills to get to the next exhibit, whilst overlooking a panoramic landscape far below.

Highlights included feeding giraffes and elephants. As the elephant took the celery out of Alaina’s hand, I feared he would also eat Alaina as well.

We also saw sloths sleeping above our heads. They were so still they did not seem real. We came face to face with a grizzly bear playing in the water. A personal favourite was a goat chasing Sarah around an enclosure trying to eat her popcorn. Saving the best until last, we found an Orangutan family with a brand-new baby. The baby reminded me of Benjamin Button. His balding, wrinkled face was belied by his youthful naivety and playful nature.

We eventually extricated ourselves from the zoo gift shop and commenced our 260-mile evening drive to Nebraska. En route we stopped at a Colorado gift shop in Limon. This caused me to reflect on our time in Colorado. This is a state where many Americans I know would like to live. There is a variety of things to do. They have managed COVID very well. The natural scenery is beautiful. They have an excellent flag which adorns every highway you drive across the state. And of course, this is one of the best places to experience the Rockies. I will miss you Colorado.

The route north east took us through more desolated yellow fields and a huge wind farm. The silent growth in America’s renewable energy before our eyes. We also drove through the town with my favourite name ever – Last Chance. There were only about six buildings. Like Stegosaurus Highway the promise was greater than the reality.

As the sun set, we entered Nebraska. We searched for a state welcome sign but it was nowhere to be found. Most other states have one. Utah is ‘Life Elevated’. Colorado is ‘Colorful Colorado’. Perhaps Nebraska doesn’t want visitors. Two minutes into the state and our nose filled with the pungent smell of cow faeces. Welcome to Nebraska.

We found our hotel in the town of Ogallala. If there was a moment where we stood in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of America, this was it. We found our room and mustered together a late-night birthday cake for Alaina. We asked her poignantly: “So Alaina, what do you want to do now you’ve turned four?”

She answered: “Eat the cake!”

In addition to this daily blog, you can check out our Instagram feed for more photos and short posts documenting our 2020 road trip @fiveexplore