Colorado Country Roads

Yesterday afternoon at exactly 2:11 PM we decided since Joey didn't have to be back to work until Monday morning that we'd take advantage of the extra days off and go somewhere. First idea I came up with was Yellowstone National Park. Everybody was all excited for it, the kids were even in the car waiting on us for a change! We quickly packed up a couple days worth of clothes, a cooler, the laptop and camera bag, and we were on the I-70 heading East by 3:10 PM. At 3:12 PM Joey asks, "Exactly how far is Yellowstone?" Crap. I totally forgot that is was FIVE HUNDRED miles away, not FIVE HOURS. Ten minutes later we were West bound headed for Strawberry Park and their natural hot springs. Ten more minutes later I felt like we needed something comparable, big and grand, to Yellowstone, so that's when we decide on Rocky Mountain National Park.

We go through Glenwood Canyon Corridor first.


Instead of taking the I-70 up and going through Winterpark we decided to use the smaller county roads, 131 and 134.

What a nice treat they turned out to be. We basically followed the Colorado River all the way up.



We were expecting a Colorado Scenic Byway to be paved, but with the awesome colors we were seeing, we didn't mind the twenty miles of gravel at only thirty miles an hour, at all.

Nope. Not a complaint one.

A storm was brewing in the distance.



Once the sun went down we tried to get a room at Sulphur Hot Springs Resort with its twenty three pools, but they didn't have room for us. We definitely want to go back there again someday, though, it looked like a pretty neat place for the whole family. Kinda reminded me of the resort in Dirty Dancing, the time of the tango and the foxtrot. It was dark though, so who knows, I could be completely off.

We ended up staying in Granby, in a guest room of the restaurant we had just eaten in. After a fabulous authentic German meal I asked the waitress about the hotel across the street and she mentioned they had two guest rooms, would I like to see them? I thought it was odd, so...OF COURSE! They were outdated, but very clean, and we could just roll our overstuffed selves from our booth, right into our beds. Oh yeah.

Granby on Dwellable

Wrapping up AZ

We left Arizona late Monday morning, taking the same route through Payson and Route 191 across the Navajo Indian reservation. Lately we'd been having bad luck traveling during holiday weekends, mostly because we didn't even know we were traveling on a busy weekend until we were stuck in the middle of it, but this trip we knew ahead of time. We knew we'd be against traffic heading out of metro Phoenix for the weekend, but it was never more obvious how against the majority we were until we hit the mountains in Payson, and the bumper to bumper stream of cars and travel trailers trying to get back to the city.

It probably took those people five hours to do the ninety miles down the mountain.

Since we got a late start most of our drive across the Navajo Reservation was simply, beautifully......illuminated.












For the rest of the picnic pictures, check out Flickr. I wasn't intending to skip over so much of the weekend, but as I type this we're in a hotel outside Rocky Mountain National Park, eager to experience it tomorrow, and I know me: If I didn't get something posted tonight, it'd all be ancient history after the excellenceness that we're sure to behold tomorrow.

Trying to catch up

Hello? Is anybody still here? It seems like ages since I've blogged. In reality, it's only been, like...FIVE OR SIX WEEKS! In some ways a lot has happened, and in others I feel like I have done absolutely nothing. We're still parked in the same campground, in the same spot, with most of the same neighbors. Joey finished the last pipeline he was on, and after a week off has already started a new one. While he was working I was spending a lot of time with Lisa, mostly just hanging out and talking shit (my favorite past time).

We also shopped, talked about walking, drank (which is not normal for me) and danced on her roof.... basically became teenagers together again. I really miss her. It's rare that I meet someone I can totally be myself with. I hope our paths cross again someday, but I know it most likely won't happen. At least I have the memories, and lots of embarrassing photos to prove it.

We also managed to squeeze in a little road trip.

We left Colorado Thursday early evening for Arizona, via The San Juan Skyway again, only to drive it in the pitch black. I thought it would be scarier in the dark, but it was actually much less stressful. There was hardly any traffic and I couldn't see the cliff drop off six inches from the road while I was driving. I still hate driving at night, but at least I wasn't driving in the dark along a landscape I hadn't seen yet. We spent a glorious night at The Holiday Inn Express in Cortez, CO and was, for the first time ever, tempted to steal me some pillows.


I never tire of the landscape in the Four Corner's area, and this day it seemed even redder than normal.

We got to Joey's mom's house in Gilbert Friday evening, which is where we spent the next three nights.
(photo removed)
Saturday we spent the whole day in Phoenix with his Dad and Dianne, his sister Gina and brother Brian....
(photo removed)
and their lovely salt water swimming pool. The pool with the waterfall that the kids are not allowed to climb on.

I thanked Dianne profusely for letting the kids explore the rocks, discover their limits, and then enjoy the heck out of 'em!

Sunday, we went to Fremont Park with everyone and had a big picnic.
This is Joey's sister, Jackie, and her granddaughter, Skylynn. Jackie is a professional makeup artist that has done makeup for some very famous people, including Sen. McCain and his wife...and most importantly, moi. She also made my wedding dress. I know, not only is she gorgeous, she's freaking talented.


Blogger is about to shut down for maintenance and unless I send this unfinished, as is....it may never get posted.

I kinda feel like her....nanernaner.....you thought I had something exciting to write about..