A snowy night in Denver

I am not sure that I ever have (or wanted to for that matter) seen it snow in May - until tonight. Of all the nights for this to happen, it had to be tonight going into tomorrow morning. We are, of course, leaving Denver for Salt lake tomorrow; thus, we are crossing the Rocky Mountains. The scenery will be beautiful - white mountains, white trees, my white knuckles gripped tightly to the steering wheel. Sounds like the perfect recipe for a 538 mile peaceful relaxing car ride. We are all praying (meaning I strongly urged the kids) for clear roads and a safe trip. The trip should be interesting as well for all of the tunnels along I70 in Colorado. The Eisenhower tunnel is the highest tunnel on the US interstate system. Its elevation is ~11000 ft and the tunnel goes for almost 2 miles.

Today in Denver started poorly but ended up great. Allergies/altitude made me feel cruddy this morning. Thanks to Claritin and Tylenol, I was better by 10. We drove through residential neighborhoods still trying to break into spring while we were on our way to the Littleton Museum. Admission - free; need I say more. If you know me, the guide had me at the "FR". The authentic buildings really stressed to the kids to be thankful for what we have. The weaving and photography exhibits were a big hit with all of us. We each secretly chose our favorite and then revelaed them to each other.
Dino Ridge was next with essentially a dinosaur highway. We all got to see and touch dinosaur fossils and footprints. Fascinating to see; even more fascinating (I am sure) if it was not bitterly cold outside. We opted for the bus ride ($9 total). Well worth it to escape the elements and get the instruction from the tour guide.
After a quick lunch at Sonic, we headed to the Denver Science and Nature Museum. Truly impressive exhibits done very much in the diorama fashion (think the cavemen from Night at the Museum). The detail was exquisite - even down to the dust clouds from the paws of the cheetah and gazelle engaged in a life and death chase. The dino exhibit was amazing especially the full-size diplodocus.
Free meal at the hotel followed by swimming and bed. Essentially a perfect evening.

Things I am thankful for :
New car (roughly 28 mpg plus leg room for the front passenger side)
Free admission
Free food
My wife who always remembers we have 2 kids (especially when I forget)
My kids and their better than expected attitudes and resilience
God - for making snow melt quickly and allowing road crews to do a great job (I am confident of these things for tomorrow. After all, if we asked but did not really think God could do it - then why ask in the first place.) That is why I am confident tomorrow will be another wonderful day to rememebr as I share this experience with my family.