I could probably sum up today’s post with “we drove all day,” but I’ll try to write more than that.

We left Denver this morning a little after 9am. The weather was absolutely gorgeous there. Both kids suggested that sometime we should just take a vacation to Denver.

From Denver we drove north — and drove, and drove. We drove north to Wyoming, west to Utah, and finally north to Idaho. It was amazing to watch the landscape change. Most of Kansas and Colorado yesterday were flat. We started out today by seeing the Rocky Mountains, and then continued to drive over and through them. Utah had some of the biggest green hillsides I have ever seen, and through the Rockies we could see snow-capped mountain tops all around us.

Susan brought sandwich materials for lunch. We had planned on pulling over and having a picnic, but yesterday’s 95 degree weather turned into 45 degrees at the 7,000+ elevation mark in Wyoming. Instead Susan made sandwiches in the car, and we pressed on. Most of the stops we made today were at rest stops, gas stations, and visitor centers.

We had hoped to make it to the hotel before the beginning of the Thunder/Spurs game, but eventually I realized I had forgot to account for the time change. With a few button swipes I added the ESPN Radio app to my phone, which allowed us to stream the game and listen to it in real time.

We arrived in Twin Falls, Idaho about 30 minutes before sunset. We crossed a giant suspension bridge coming in to town, and then noticed guys in parachutes standing around — base jumpers! We pulled over to let the kids stretch their legs, and sure enough, before long guys were talking out on to this gigantic suspension bridge and jumping off it. The sun was setting so I only managed a few pictures before it turned dark, but it was still pretty awesome to watch.

All of today’s pictures have been uploaded to the photo gallery:
http://robohara.com/photo/index.php?album=Vacations/Alaska_2012
Today’s pictures start at the bottom of page 2.

Tomorrow morning is the third and final day of the first leg of our journey. From here, we’re off to Seattle by tomorrow night. The cruise to Alaska leaves Tuesday afternoon.