Day 5 - Hays, KS - Part One

"All the pathos and irony of leaving one's youth behind is thus implicit in every joyous moment of travel: one knows that the first joy can never be recovered, and the wise traveler learns not to repeat successes but tries new places all the time." - Paul Fussell

Day 5 - Denver, CO to Hays, KS - Daily Distance - 343 miles - The Bucket Trip Distance - 1536 miles

The altitude is killing both of them.

We've got to get out of here.

Traveling has been exceptionally hard on my Mom. We had thought that it might be wise to stay a second day in Denver. But neither one of them can catch their wind.

My mom recognizes that the struggle for air here is a glimpse into the future with this disease.

Jack does better with the altitude but not by much. For the first time on the trip, he has been yielding to me to do some of the physical tasks that someone has to do on this trip. He has recognized that he needs to stop and pause when necessary.

We've got to get out of here.

I'm packed and ready to go. I've had breakfast and used the gym here. I wait until the complementary breakfast bar is about to shut down and then I grab them a variety of breakfast items so that they can choose what they want to eat.

I bring it back to their room by they are not ready for company yet. Let a prison guard, I slip Jack two plates of breakfast items as he cracks open the door and then I take a seat in the hallway and wait until they are ready to go.

This is going to be the longest leg of our trip.

We've got to get out of here.

And we are running out of time.