Not sure how, but it's been 22 days already. Definitely ready ro be home, but what an amazing adventure!! Feeling very blessed! Can't wait to see our girls! 💁🏻🐾
8,100 miles. No mechanical issues. No bumps or bruises. We are blessed! ✌🏻️
Mel's Pix |
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Not sure how, but it's been 22 days already. Definitely ready ro be home, but what an amazing adventure!! Feeling very blessed! Can't wait to see our girls! 💁🏻🐾 8,100 miles. No mechanical issues. No bumps or bruises. We are blessed! ✌🏻️
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We drove in to Golden, CO for lunch while Andy worked. we learned that in CO, it's tradition to drizzle honey on your pizza crust! Woody's was de-lish! Later we drove in to Denver to meet up with Andy for a tour and some dinner. We met one roomie (Mike) who referred to us as more of the "Stain Train." We do sorta travel in packs, huh? Great seeing you, Andy! Hard to believe "Big Andy" and I were just dating when you were born! ❤️ Made it to our campsite in Central City, CO (casino heaven!) a little after noon. Took some time to get settle in, have a nap, etc. About 2:00 got a call from AND-EEEEEE!!! =) Made plans to meet up for dinner.... him coming up to our campsite and showing us a good BBQ spot in town. So good to see him.... what adventures he's having! Hope to have pictures of him/us soon.... Tuesday we headed out while (Andy worked) to Rocky Mountain NP. 10 hours later we were home, exhausted and hungry! Long drive there and back, and a long drive around the park! Colorado did not disappoint, however! Lots of wildlife!!! <fist pump> Today ventured out a mere 9 miles from our campsite to explore our fifth NP in Utah. I never realized how amazing this state is..... You'd think after seen one or two or four parks in the same state, you've seen them all. Wrong! Amazingly, every single park is very different in its terrain and vegetation. We were amazed at the impossible red rock formations at Arches NP. This park took the Utah cake, I'd have to say. We lucked out with temperatures in the mid to upper 70's to explore the park, when the average July highs reach 100 degrees! The clouds help keep the glaring sun off of us and my camera lens which helped me capture some nice shots of the rocks. At this point we are also getting more skilled at the whole selfie thing, too! We arrived in Moab, Utah today. It was a "leisurely" 322 miles today (that does feel like a relatively short drive these days), so we had time to grab some lunch at the trailer and still head out to the nearby Canyonlands National Park. We felt like we had even better views of the canyons here than at Grand Canyon NP although clearly it was not nearly as expansive or deep. Still staying at Kanab, Utah. Today headed north past Zion to Bryce Canyon National Park. More beautiful red rocks and incredible formations! This is our fifth NP this trip! Still more to go... It's been in the mid 90's in the lower elevations, reaching the low 80's in the higher elevations. Night time lows usually in the 50-60's. It's also extremely dry out here. We've not seen any rain yet since we left the soggy Midwest. Back to Arizona we go... drove south about 75 miles or so to visit the Grand Canyon's north rim. (fyi, it's 203 miles from the north rim to the south rim!) After seeing Zion and all of the rocks I was surprised to find much of Grand Canyon NP full of beautiful forests and wildflower-filled meadows! You rarely see the canyon from "the road" at all. You make lots of stops and little hikes to viewing spots. We left Nevada..... honestly ready to leave that desolate, barren, sagebrush and cattle-covered state. Our next destination being Kanab, Utah. Ironically the route we took drove us to the southern border of Utah, into Arizona for a bit, then back north just over the state line into Utah. 300 miles in all. We got all set up, had a nice nap, then off to Zion NP about 40 miles north of our campground. As you look at the rock formations at Zion, keep in mind that most was carved and shaped by water. Hard to imagine! By comparison, the Great Basin National Park offered less in the way of new views and landscape. The Great Basin actually refers to most of the state of Nevada's landscape. The water in this area, surrounded by mountains, does not drain to any bays, oceans, or major water sources. While the national park was nice to visit, the town of Ely and the area's wildlife (or prospect thereof) was neat. Today we said BUH-BYE to California. We left Yosemite around 5 am and headed north and around Lake Tahoe to the East. (It's worth the trip around, wouldn't want to repeat those wicked mountain roads towing the trailer!) A couple hours into our drive we stopped for fuel in Fallon, Nevada to prepare for our trip along Route 50 - better known as the "Loneliest Highway in America." It has been Paul Andrew has wanted to drive this route for a long time. It definitely lived up to its name! Who knew Nevada was so.....empty? |
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