Road trip

At Christmastime, Sarah said she had wanted to give us the gift of paying our entrance fees for the Denver Century in June.  She and Joel had ridden it last year and thought it was such fun that they wanted us to join them this year, but they were reluctant to give us this gift given the fact that that would mean we would have to drive two days each way for the privilege of riding with them.  We decided to do it.  I mean, how often would we have this chance?

Mark and I decided to make it a scenic road trip.  Our first day of driving was a long one... over 900 miles.  Mark suggested that we take "The Loneliest Road in America" (Highway 50).  It begins shortly after Reno and goes across the middle of Nevada and then through Delta, Utah.  We ended our first day's drive in Moab.  It was really fun to see the change in terrain both in Nevada and Utah.  We saw some cyclists on Highway 50 doing a ride that began in San Francisco and would end in Washington, DC.  (We talked to some of them at one of our gas stops.)

The next day we got up and went into Arches National Park and Canyonlands.  We had been to Zion and Bryce National Parks before, but never to Arches, so this was a real treat.

 Delicate Arch from across the valley - so many people that there was no available parking at the trailhead

 Landscape Arch

 Pine Tree Arch

 Skyline Arch

 Double Arch

 Above - Tower of Babel

The next three pictures are in Canyonlands

We had to keep our legs in shape for our big ride in Denver, so the next morning we got up and did a short 25 mile spin AND got to see more beautiful rock formations.  We returned to the hotel, quickly showered and packed up and were on the road again for the remaining 5 hour drive to Sarah's house.  Again, amazing scenery as we crossed the Rocky Mountains.

We had a day of rest and carbo-loading and then the Denver Century.  We had a great time!  Colorado is so beautiful and green in the summer.  We saw a deer with two fawns crossing the road at the top at Lookout Mountain.  The fawns were so small and still had their spots which we later learned meant that they were less than 10 weeks old!  There was a collective "ahhh" from the group of riders around us as they crossed, but no one was fast enough to pull out their phones to take a picture.  We finished the ride and about 10 minutes later as we were munching on our post-ride meal, there was a torrential downpour with hail!  (Rain in the summer, who knew?  I guess that is why it is green!)  We were so glad weren't still out on the course!  We saw lots of people finishing up in the rain and felt sorry for them.

Mark, me, Sarah, Joel getting ready to ride.

It was Fathers' Day the next day and Sarah cooked her dad a fantastic meal.  We took a few moments for some pictures.

 Sarah, Mark, Wanda

 Mark & Wanda with the grandkids

 Sarah & Joel & family

Ainsleigh

 Donovan

 Gemma doesn't like to take pictures unless she's moving--get a picture of me doing this, Grandma!

All too soon it was time to leave and head out on the road.  Once again we took the road less traveled, going through Vernal, Utah and in to the Salt Lake City area instead of going through Wyoming.  We stopped briefly in Park City to visit with Morrie and Dawn who were there with their grandchildren then pressed on to Rebecca and Austin's home in SLC.  We are so happy we always have a place to stay there!  We also had a chance to see David.  With this trip we had been able to see all of our children except Laura in the last two months!

We look forward to seeing all of them soon as we celebrate our 40th anniversary with them!