First the link to my Google photos. It is not all of them but it gives you an idea how much we did in two weeks.
My final thoughts on this trip. I am not a big fan of long drives. I am an anxious passenger. That being said, it was nice to see how the land changes with each state. You have Michigan with all its trees, the flatlands in the Midwest that allows you to see storms forming and then you have the Rockies in Colorado. It was fascinating watching this land change. Of course, the major cities were a pain to get through with loads of people driving through but when you got to the little towns, it sure became quiet. I enjoyed the slower pace.
Now the trails, yes... heights are not my thing either. I have lots of phobias. I had to push through them to get pictures. There were times I stood frozen in fear. I did have lots of help from John, our friends and my niece. Off topic, I did get a change to see Nicole in Colorado Springs for a few hours while we toured Garden of the Gods. It was hard to let her go as we said good bye but we had the chance to see each other and we should be grateful for that. Back to the trails, we dealt with a lot of different weather just driving up the mountain. I will not look at Michigan weather the same. Colorado's weather is bipolar! But you could almost guarantee that there will be rain up on the mountains the higher you go. We saw snow and Zeke got to play in some as well. The shelf roads were scary but they offered spectacular views! John had his gopro (knockoff) and it captured some of the views when I just couldn't look. Overall, if you were hot anywhere in Colorado, go up a mountain for a while and cool off. It's about 30 degrees cooler up there. It reminds me of going into your basement on hot days.
We did try some local restaurants. There was one in Ridgeway called True Grit Cafe. All inspired by John Wayne. Mostly burgers but you can choose what kind of meat. There was beef, elk, buffalo and veggie. I had an elk burger. So good! So worth it! In Illinois, we had a local pizza called Joe's and it was good! We ordered a chicago style pizza but it wasn't like Uno's at all but it still was delicious!
Of course, as with all trips, some unfortunate things happen. Directions and finding a place to rest while traveling was hard. It's nice having internet when it is available but when it isn't... well you made do. While on one of the trails in Ouray (Colorado), John's anitfreeze hose sprung a leak. Luckily a group helped us out. That was a lesson learned on what to keep in the bag of tricks. Our trails in Michigan are nothing like in Colorado. But Ruby Jo was repaired and has been doing well. Our RV, Cocoa Jo, got a rip in one of the slides awning. Stacy looked on Youtube on how to fix it. As a quick fix, tape it! John had some flextape and it is holding for now. The winds and the backdraft of the trucks whizzing by did not help but it's part of traveling. Now we know!
When we arrived home yesterday (About 5pm), we pretty much made dinner and rested. It was nice to come home and not worry about getting up and driving anywhere. Today I finished unpacking, laundry and cleaning up the birds and dog while John is cutting grass.
Great trip and we learned a lot of things on what to do/not do for long trips like this. Our travel friends also make it so worthwhile. So thankful for them!
Our next trip is not until August. We have some time to catch up. Tomorrow is Monday so back to life!
A presto!
