Due to the sub zero temps we delayed our departure one day. Snow and ice made the first day’s drive slow but we covered nearly 500 miles and parked at a rest stop near Ottawa, Kansas for our first night. Truck drivers and their big rigs filled the lot so we stayed on the perimeter to avoid the generator noise. The temps dropped to 19 degrees as we hunkered down with our down coats, ear muffs and mittens. When we woke the next morning we were surprised at the number of cars that had joined us for the night; obviously they were holiday travelers. As we drove south I kept turning down the heater notch by notch until I could finally shed my down coat. The landscape turned from a blanket of white to brown with open prairies as far as the eye could see.