Utah to Colorado – Sept. 2010

We ended up leaving Roosevelt after those two nights, but not before Joey determined I needed new tires for my car. (I sure am glad he thinks to check things like that.) While we waited for my tires Jewel spent her time in Dinosaur Country chasing Dinosaur Grasshoppers, and I got reacquainted with multi colored landscapes. Being in Hawaii all that time I forgot there were colors other than green and blue.

We decided to head to our familiar stomping grounds of Colorado and made our first pit stop before even leaving Utah. Since we were in no hurry we walked around this desolate spot along the small highway for a bit and found all sorts of neat things. One being this huge cave on the other side of a large wash:

Then there was a partially decomposed Elk

And a not so lucky Raccoon’s tail

When we crossed from the prehistoric land of northeastern Utah into Colorado it was like the landscape changed immediately. Along this two lane mountain highway Joey pulled over because he knew I would just love this view. He was right. I loved it so much I ran across the highway to snap a few pictures, only on my way back I wasn’t paying attention at all until I heard him scream at me….RUN!!….. Instead, I froze, but luckily the truck swerved, coming within inches of almost hitting me. As if I wasn’t shook up enough over that, the rest of the drive down this mountain was littered with falling rocks, and not just rocks, but large boulders.  Thank goodness we didn’t have any oncoming traffic during all the times we had to swerve to avoid the boulders.

Soon enough though we were down in familiar, beautiful, Grand Junction, CO. (I still have yet to climb that mountain!)

I just keep following my Man In His Truck toward one of our favorite places in Colorado, Parachute.

We have friends that are like family that live there, so we went to visit with them while we continue our hunt for the new RV.

no matter how many times I say it I still can’t believe it…it’s been a year

It’s been a year since the accident. I remember the surgeon saying Joey’d be back to himself and back to work in about six months. I remember thinking, six months…we can handle that. It’s been a year since the accident. We’ve handled it, but it hasn’t been easy.

While we were in Wyoming we took a day to drop down into Colorado so Joey could see the surgeon and get reviewed for Maximum Medical Improvement for the insurance company. They would have flown him up here from Texas but the anally efficient person in me figured out that we could instead take a few weeks/months to travel up there in the bus and let them reimburse us for the gas instead. It was a tough decision at the time, but so glad we chose that route.

It was just a few hour drive down from Rawlins and we passed some more gorgeous countryside. It was solid open country, with antelope, deer, geese, prairie dogs, mountain goats, sheep and elk interspersed with drilling stations and the always present Elk Mountain in the background. The drilling stations were painted to match the landscape so they blended right in and didn’t look obtrusive at all. Even the massive Craig Power Plant makes for a beautiful setting. To see it up close is jaw dropping.

So we stopped for a quick break and a little tutorial on how to turn coal into energy

The doctor’s visit was quick, and then it was all over. It seemed like we were waiting for the last six months to get to this point and then it was over in a flash. We were in Texas because of the accident. We drove up north, and landed in WY to see the doctor, because of the accident. The last year has been as hard as it was, because of the accident. Now it’s all over. We’re free to do what we want, wherever we want. We hadn’t thought much past this point. What now?

We stayed in Wyoming another week because we have learned an important lesson for living on the road with today’s increasing gas prices………Stay put until you know where you want to go.

Rest Stops and Postponements

We had to get to Colorado for an appointment after leaving Nebraska so we allowed ourselves just enough time to visit one of Joey’s work buddies in Cheyenne. When we walk into his mobile home Jacob was a little bewildered. He said it looked like a tiny box from the outside and was shocked how big it was on the inside. I was shocked after all this time of going from place to place, visiting homes after homes, mixed with the wide diversity of friends we have, that the kids have never been in a mobile home! I spent quite a few years living in a double wide as a kid so I never thought much about them. Apparently to Jake (as he likes to be called now, opposed to Jacob), it was pretty darn fascinating. We’re here to show you the World, Kid.

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The thought of driving through Wyoming was not very thrilling, but  I’m here to say that Wyoming is one gorgeous, highly underrated, overlooked state. Almost as soon as we crossed the border, I was scrambling for  photos.  

Eventually we pulled into a rest stop where we learned our appointment had been canceled and postponed until the next week. Now what are we going to do?

I make lunch while we try to figure out where to spend the next week, and then I step outside to catch a shot of the storm rolling in. Then a little while later and we’re still just hanging in the rest stop, absolutely loving the views we decide to stay longer and watch the storm build some more.

Right around this time Jake is saying, “Okay, I’m cool with getting an RV spot now”. Only, we weren’t.

What Jake really wanted was to play on the XBOX so Joey set it all up for them in his truck with a power inverter, since we have no generator and without XBOX and Wii, have no need for one, and let the kids play for a few hours. And we got to enjoy this big, peaceful, wide open country, with it’s view of Elk Mountain……..all from the comfort of our home.

San Juan Skyway, Part I

For our trip to Arizona we decided to go against Microsoft's quickest route and opted for our own route, going through Durango and the Four Corners area. Would you like to come along?

We just went through Grand Mesa, again finding ourselves on some typical flat ranching land, but I can hear the San Juan Mountains calling our name already. First I have to say, Let's be thankful Joey's doing the driving.

Not that I don't watch the road, just sometimes it's not my road I'm watching.


The town of Ouray, which is the Gateway to the San Juan's, also claims to be "The Switzerland of America". I'm not exactly seeing Switzerland yet, but I'm lovin' the mustard river. This is definitely a first.

We have to stop.
I have to get a closer look.

It's not so yellow on the bank, but check it out under the melting snow.


Maybe these are the cause of the yellow river?


Ahhh, it's an old iron mine, that makes sense. Now it's under a massive water restoration process, beautiful, no?

A closer look reveals old mining buildings.


Say good-bye to this part of the San Juan Skyway Loop.


We'll be revisiting the other side of the loop on the way home, but for now it's time to call it a night and get a room. We even managed to top off a beautiful day with a two room suite in Cortez for only $59. Two rooms! (Those living in an RV with kids will understand my excitement.)

Durango on Dwellable