Pacific Northwest; Day 2

Another sunny day! When we departed Colby, KS westbound on I-70 it was 56 degrees.

Our plan was to take I-70 west all the way to Rifle, CO. Chris drove from Colby to about 30 miles shy of Denver and then I took the wheel.

Before we reached the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel we exited I-70 at exit 216 and drove south and west over Loveland Pass on Highway 6.

It was cloudy here but there was also a haze you can see in the distance. I've heard it is from the forest fires in Montana and other places north. I did not know it at the time but, as you'll see in the photos, I parked in a no parking zone. I discovered the violation when going through photos.

West of Loveland Pass we discovered a pretty grove of colorful aspen trees and stopped for some pictures.  The aspens are just starting to change and they are already beautiful.

Highway 6 took us west into Dillon, where we saw Lake Dillon and where we hopped back on I-70.

In Vail we stopped for lunch and a walk. Chris texted with our son, Bryan, who visited Vail recently, for a recommendation on a place to eat. We had a very good Ruben sandwich, slaw and fries at Garfinkel's located near the ski lift and gondola.

After a walk along the Gore Valley Trail we were back on I-70 westbound.

We made it to our lodging in Rifle, CO by 4:00 pm having driven 430 miles. Our low temperature for the day was 50 degrees at Loveland Pass and our high was 90 degrees as we were driving into Rifle.

To see all the photos taken today click on the following link: Day 2 Pics