Vacation Completed! Part 1

What a trip we had! Except for tornados, cold nights, windy days, fog, rain, and whatever else I'm forgetting, we had a memorable time to say the least! We mostly lived in our coats except for late afternoons. We had good weather on the way going to Colorado until we hit the western part of Kansas. Then I felt like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Let's just say we hope to never be caught in tornado alley again, at least for a long time. I happened to be driving while it all took place. I had to fight to keep the Highlander on the road. Between the rain, roaring wind, and nice sized hail, I'd say we were pretty much involved in some kind of tornadic activity. Felt like being in a washing machine while it was agitating. We knew that there was a tornado about 20 min. behind us and that we would be getting into severe storms ahead of us. The guy on the radio was very helpful and my mom kept checking the map, but I had to laugh at him from time to time. He said to take cover. I was ready to ask him if he'd been to Kansas lately! Where in the world do you take cover in a place like that? Anyway, we made it through all that, only to be in a wind/dust storm for about two hours after that. I should've stopped and had a burial for all the tumbleweeds that decided to cross the road and jump on my wheels. They should put up a sign that says, "Watch out for crossing tumbleweeds!". Needless to say, my mom was ready to cry because she's only had this vehicle for two months and the hail so nicely decided to take some paint along with it. Once we got to Colorado and found our cabin, the real fun began. The next day we went up Pike's Peak....it was 17 degrees and snowy on top and I was ready to yell (if I could've gotten enough air to do so), turn up the heat and give me some air! That night we went to the Flying W cowboy chuckwagon supper. It was too cold to have it outside but that was okay and the food was soooo good! We spent the next day at Royal Gorge....took a train ride through the bottom of the gorge first, then drove to the top. Now if you don't know, a bridge spans this gorge.....so, my dad got the bright idea to walk across the bridge. (You can walk, take the trolley, cable car, or your own car across it.) This is a suspension bridge and once you get to the middle, there's a nice sized space between you and the bottom of the gorge......over 1,000 feet. Not liking heights, my mom and I linked arms and tried to walk in the middle the whole way across.....nothing like the wind blowing the bridge to make it even more interesting and the bridge has wooden planks for the "floor" and yes, there are some cracks. My mom, sister, and I took the trolley back. Dad took the cable car. He tried to say that it was the best way to see it all. Yeah, okay I'll believe it just as long as I didn't have to get in it!