As yesterday's adventure was shared with the Rainers, some questions have come up.  First question is that of Why is Flat Jonathan with me, instead of flying to Kansas City?  Well, as you already know, FJ took a detour to promote Active Rain to the Cyber Professionals at their annual Spring meeting, held this year in New Mexico.  Once there Flat Jonathan had many options.  He could have ended the trip and flew directly to Kansas City, but heard there was a tornado there.  Having watched Dorothy and Toto at least 10,000 times as a child. Flat Jonathan has a fear of tornadoes and strong wind.  His fear is not unfounded, since he only weighs a few ounces, he really has to be careful.

So after considering all his options, Flat Jon decides to take a Road Trip to Colorado with kk and Larry.  A road trip would give him more time to relax and enjoy the scenery.  He could have the ENTIRE back seat to himself (instead of being inside a suitcase) plus get to see some countryside he's never seen before.

Carbing UP
So after a good night's sleep Flat Jonathan packed his bags and met kk and Larry in the lobby of the Casino.  We decided to take him to The CRACKER BARREL for a hardy breakfast of chicken fried steak, biscuits and gravy, grits, hashbrown cassorole and unlimited coffee. Considering his horrible experience from the night before, we wanted him to have a nice lumber jack breakfast before starting out on our road trip.  FJ also needed the ballast.

FJ Gets High on  Colorado
The first part of the 424 mile drive was uneventful.  Flat Jon slept most of the way until we reached the state border at the top of Raton Pass.  When he saw the famous "Colorful Colorado" sign, he just had to get out and have his photo taken, just like 3 billion tourists before him.  We cheerfully obliged him.  He was so happy with such a simple thing.

The view was wonderful, we could see the Rocky Mountains and the lovely blue sky.  The wind started to kick up, but in the car it didn't really matter.

The Bãno Challenge
It wasn't long before Flat Jon began to feel a need for a pit stop.  After drinking all that coffee it was getting very urgent for us to stop.  Larry couldn't find a rest stop, so Flat Jon said, just find me a bush.  Any bush will do.  Larry pulled off the freeway, onto a dirt road.

There were no bushes.  This is high plains desert FJ, what did you expect?  

As Larry slowed the car down, Flat Jon opened the car door was an obvious urgency.  It was horrible!  The wind which we didn't feel inside the car was so strong, it swooped him up and he was gone in a flash. 

Foiled  Again
We watched in horror as Flat Jon flew like superman, no like a uncontrollable kite in a hurricane, swoosh! The low flying Jon finally found his bush, only it wasn't a bush.   It was a Buckthorn Cholla (read CACTUS). Ouch.

Larry and I ran as fast as we could to save him from further pain of impalement.  The brave little guy, thanked us gratefully, but still felt the urgency previously mentioned...  We turned our backs to give him privacy and swoosh!  The wind carried him off again...

This time it was worse.  He became entangled in a passing tumble weed blowing by at a speed of at least 120 miles an hour! There was no way we could ever catch up with him.

Oh poor, poor Flat Jon! 

Tearful and heart broken, we stumbled back to the car.  Flat Jonathan was gone, gone from our lives forever.  sniff, sniff.

Just lost or gone forever?
It was hard to drive on without him.  We wanted to call 911, or maybe Search & Rescue, but the cell phones didn't work. We were out of our calling area.  I couldn't even get my air card to work.  Flat Jon was doomed, indeed.  sniff sniff.

Larry, the smart one realized maybe it wouldn't be so bad. The wind was harsh and swift, but it was blowing due north.  Due north? Do you mean Flat Jon is blowing due north to Denver right now? 

Yes! Larry said, by my calculations he will be in Denver 3 hours before we get there...assuming the tumble weed lets him loose, otherwise he will end up in Wyoming or Canada. 

Humm, I wonder did Flat Jon carry his passport? Oh, let's not worry about that now.

FJ's resourcefulness wins out again!
Sadly we settled into the car. Hours passed, then all of a sudden I looked up and on the back of a FEDEX Truck, there he was...smiling and happy to see us!  He said the tumbleweed ended up getting stuck on a fence along I-25, so he cut himself loose and started hitchhiking.  Gratefully, the driver  picked him up.  He was so happy to see us again.

We hugged and cried, then dried our eyes.  Flat JonWe still had a Road Trip to finish! 

Be sure to watch the Slide Show...more to follow as FJ makes his way to KC, KS and Fran White...

Flat Jonathan's Road Trip continues...