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Fan Expo (Comic Con) in Denver

Amy Kline

Last year the boys complained that we saw too many “military forts, rocks, and sunken ships” so we asked them what they wanted to do on vacation this year. Their answer was a Comic Con. So here we are!

The people watching was incredible. So many people dressed up in their cosplay outfits. Hundreds of vendors of anything you could think of related to Star Wars, TV shows, Anime, or Pokémon (and any other fandom you can think of). Celebrities of TV shows and movies were there and were signing autographs and photos.

The boys loved it. Carson got a photo and autograph of Ella Purnell, who is the main character in Fallout TV show. Spencer got a photo with Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario in the video game, and then James Arnold Taylor, who is voice of Obi Wan Kenobi the Clone Wars animated TV show. Spencer also splurged on a sword that is a replica of Strider/Aragon’s sword in Lord of the Rings. Jeff and I went to a panel about teaching Role Playing Games in the classroom and then Jeff saw a Q&A with Brie Larsen, who plays Captain Marvel in the movie.

We spent about 5 hours there and then we were all ready to go back to the campsite. We had taken the commuter train to the convention center, and it was a lot hotter walking back as it hit 92 degrees today!

We were able to see another gorgeous sunset tonight and even the clouds in the opposite side of the sky were amazing. Once the sun went down, it cooled down and was another perfect sleeping weather night.

Sunrise. The sun hits the mountains first and they seem to glow.
We took the commuter train into Denver. No need to deal with traffic or parking!
I asked them to show me their reaction to their first glimpse of the exhibit hall
Who ya gonna call?
We never figured out who was driving R2D2.
R2D2 stopped to talk to us and say hi.
My favorite fandom? Harry spotter of course!
Dr. Who (his girlfriends favorite as they have been watching the series together)
A weeping angel from Dr. Who
Charles Martinet-the voice of Mario in the video game.
James Arnold Taylor-voice actor for Obi Wan Kenobi in Clone Wars animated show
Mario Lopez from Saved by the Bell
Andy Serkis-played Gollum in Lord of the Rings
Carson stood in line for an hour to get his autograph
Ella Purnell’s autograph. Main character in Fallout
I found Waldo!
This dinosaur looked real!
Wall-E
So many cosplay outfits
Big blue bear sculpture at the convention center
My boys❤️
Spencers big purchase. He’s wanted a “real sword” for years.
Another gorgeous sunset
As we looked at the sunset, the clouds behind us were very cool too!
The sunset just kept getting better and better!
The guy at the next campsite offered to take our picture. Turned out nice!
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Drive from Lincoln, Nebraska to Standley Lake, Colorado

Amy Kline

This was the second day of driving, but only 6.5 hours. We slept in at the hotel a little bit and go on the road about 10. The roads were a bit busier today since the holiday was over. We spent 4 more hours on I-80. The Dorsch Ford guy called us back and helped troubleshoot the weight restriction warning, but his team couldn’t figure out the solution either. We did discover a workaround by changing the towing option (going from camper to the generic or back), it helped for a little while each time. Once we turned on to I-76, the warning just stopped happening. So bizarre!

We weren’t sure what to expect for our campsite, since there was no water or electrical at the whole campground. It is in Westminster, and is a nature preserve and reservoir called Standley Lake and is in the middle of neighborhoods and malls and big box stores. The campsite is great! Jeff did a great job using Google Maps and the campground map and got us a site that has an amazing view of the reservoir and also of the mountains.

We set up quickly and then I went off to explore. The lake doesn’t allow motor boats or swimming, but does encourage paddle sports. I saw bunnies hopping around and also discovered a prairie dog town. I also found some cactus, and some other wildflowers.

Spencer fell asleep early and Carson is listening to his latest audiobook. Jeff and I watched an incredible sunset over the mountains.

Tourist trap bridge over I-80. Someday we will stop here.
Prickly pear Cactus
Crested wheatgrass. Invasive species.
Bindweed. Pretty but a very invasive species!
Native sunflower
Yarrow
A wheelchair accessible kayak launch. Very cool!
Prairie dog peeking out of its burrow
Lots of cottonwood trees around the shoreline
Thistle are really pretty…as long as they aren’t in my yard or garden!
A 34” wallet was caught in this lake fairly recently.
Bunnies are everywhere.
Incredible sunset!
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We are on an adventure!

Amy Kline

We left at 8:15 am, only 15 minutes past our goal. Impressive! Today was our longest day of driving. I forgot to take a before picture, so took individual shots while we were on the road.

Surprisingly, the traffic was pretty light all day long. We didn’t even have to slow down much in the construction zones. We did have one issue with the truck. The Navigation system has a really annoying notification beep for various things, one of which is a weight and height restriction. Our truck and camper is no where near too tall or too heavy, but the notification kept happening as we drive on I-80. Constantly. I mean like 30 seconds apart. It was hard to tune out because the sound of the podcast/music we were listening to, went down so the notification can be heard. We tried changing all the settings, I was googling to try to find out a solution, but nothing was helping. It has something to do with towing something, but we’ve never had this happen before. A very frustrated call was made to the dealership, so hopefully they call us back on Friday and provide a solution. We will be on I-80 for at least half the day tomorrow too.

We finally got to the hotel in Lincoln Nebraska about 7, ordered Papa John pizza delivered to the hotel room and settled in for the night. Happy 4th of July!!