And More Spring Break

Kristie’s Birthday

Argh! Blog Pad Pro is giving me fits and crashes when I am adding photos, thus the Spring Break Series.

I had a nice visit with the Jordans of Redmond Oregon. Kristie and I had a couple of lazy days together and then on Sunday evening Avery and Anika joined us. John had to work through my visit except for Wednesday. Wednesday was a big adventure as we took Bob out into the hills and road up steep hills and splashed through puddles and explored narrowing trails. Lots of fun.

It was a good visit and then I headed back to Colorado. I felt that the scenery was better west bound than east bound. Odd, same country but from a different direction. Crossing Oregon on Highway 20 was easier than Highway 26 - faster and straighter most of the way. Weather was pretty darn good both ways. On the way to Oregon I had about an hour of rain in Idaho as I approached Twin Falls and then the last hour as I neared Redmond a combo of rain, sleet, and snow. On the way back I had sunny skies until I approached Laramie Wyoming. Then, clouds built and I could see snow in the distance. Eventually I had sleet then snow and high winds. When I turned south onto I-25 towards Longmont I drove back into sunny skies.

I stayed at Hampton Inns on the way to Oregon and back. Twin Falls Idaho heading west and Brigham City Utah heading east. Dinner in Twin Falls at Jaker’s was great, dinner at Brigham House was not. But, the hotels were comfortable and Hampton Inn breakfasts are passable and reliable.

I didn’t have to deal with too much craziness on the drive either way. There was the guy in rural Oregon who turned left in front of me and the guy who passed me, pulled in front of me then hit his brakes all while hand holding his phone. I do wonder why drivers have not discovered cruise control or or turn signals or hands free phone options in their cars. Too much technology for them to handle? Oh, and when you pull into a rest area, use the parking spaces, not the traffic lane or the truck parking. I’m surprised some of you can find your way home.

The Camaro is a wonderful long distance cruiser. So much quieter and more powerful than the Miata. It was a joy to drive, comfortable, great gas mileage - about 28.5 mpg for the trip. I wish the weather was warmer so that I could have the top down! I doubt I will drive out to Oregon again unless it is part of a bigger trip. We will in the coming year visit Mt. Rushmore and spots in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Taos, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Bryce, here we come!

Desert Scenery

Bob

Brigham City Utah

Where’s Colby?

Continental Divide

On The Road

We left Longmont this morning and headed east. This evening we are at a New Victorian Inn in Lincoln, Nebraska. They allow pets and it is a comfortable place. Shelby is very content here though L.C. is under the bed.

The cats did pretty well on the drive, settling down after about an hour. They were ready to get out of the car at end of the day though. I think eight hours is enough for them and for us too.

 

The trip was uneventful though traffic picked up quite a bit the last 100 miles or so into Lincoln. High point might have been our bald eagle sighting out near Kearney. Oh, and coming into Lincoln, Lola our GPS, took us right through downtown Lincoln. She is so enterprising.

We are in our room after a Friday night dinner at the local Red Lobster. We ate at the bar rather than wait for a table. Friday night, Lent, what are you gonna do? Are there a lot of Catlickers in Lincoln? While we drove we talked about our new home and life in Longmont Colorado, and we are happy and content with our choices. Yes, we are making major changes in our lives, and leaving friends behind in Chicago, but we will be building new friendships and will still see and visit with old friends. Sometimes change is good and this is one of those times.

Longmont

We are settled into our seven week rental in Longmont Colorado after a long but uneventful drive from Glen Ellyn.

We left Friday morning January 1 and headed west. The cats were not pleased with their fate and let us know for about 2 1/2 hours until we stopped in Davenport for a short visit with the Knox crew. Sharon got a couple of kitchen towels from Kathy and we put them in the kennel with the cats. For some reason the towels in the kennel allowed the cats to settle in with them and quiet down. They were fine until we dragged them out of the car in Kearney where we stayed at the pet friendly New Victorian Inn. it was clean and the staff was friendly. Not a fancy place by any means but they only charged us an additional $25 for two cats. It was a long day for us at about 630 miles over about 10 hours, but splitting the driving made it bearable. A few years ago I would have tackled a 12 hour driving day; no more. The good side of doing 630 miles on Friday was that it left only about 5+ hours to drive on Saturday. After Friday, this was easy.

We arrived at our rental house, unloaded the car, and then took stock of what we had and what we needed plus considered what we would fix for dinner. We were hungry so went to Cyclhops Bike Cantina. We've been there before and it did not disappoint this time. A trip to Target, Lucky's Market, and Safeway took care of our shopping needs and we were soon back home to unpack and relax and enjoy an easy dinner at home.

Bed felt wonderful but I was able to rest more than Sharon. I was a bit cold and Sharon was hot and she did not have her favorite pillow. A trip to Macy's in Boulder on Sunday supplied a pillow and a light cotton blanket which should help with the sleep. We also picked up some kitchen essentials which were lacking in the rental - mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, and wineglasses. We then walked around downtown Longmont and had a nice lunch at Pumphouse Brewery. The place was packed which told us it was a popular local spot. After walking back to the car we went to check out the new mall, Village at the Peaks, which has a Whole Foods built but not finished. They now plan to open in November of 2016 darn. There was a new liquor store, Wyatt's Wet Goods, and I have declared it a go to! Prices comparable to Binny's and a good selection of everything. Next was a stop at King Soopers which beats Safeway. We picked up a few more needed items and chicken and bread for dinner.

Tomorrow Sharon is scheduled to work all day - from the house and I plan on house cleaning and exploring, and shopping for dinner. Welcome to Longmont!

Home

My GPS reports 5,296.6 miles on this trip. Glen Ellyn Illinois, Estes Park Colorado, Boulder Colorado, Moab Utah, Redmond Oregon, Boulder Colorado, Glen Ellyn Illinois. elevation from 575 feet to 12,600 feet. 89:30 moving time with a moving average of 59 miles/hour.

Places and Things I Dislike...and Like

The entire corridor from Provo to Salt Lake City. Omaha at rush hour. Boulder/Denver at rush hour.

The Interstate Highway system is really awesome. Thanks Ike. We couldn't do it today. Eastern Oregon along Route 20 is beautiful. Southwestern Idaho and Southwestern Wyoming are great to drive through and take in.

Being on the way home is nice, but as the traffic picks up the number of rude drivers does too.

Biking in Boulder is wonderful. And, my new bike is too.

 

Road Trip Observations

Visitors to National Parks are easily distracted. They often forget the purpose of yellow lines in the road, the usefulness of turn signals, and that there are other people on the road behind them. We saw in Rocky Mountain National Park that animals are an amazing draw that make folks do incredibly stupid things like drive off the road to park, or stop in the road, or worst stand with their kids close to large, wild animals. In Rocky Mountain National Park the attraction was elk. Why would you stand with your kids anywhere close to an elk herd? They are not pets. They are wild. The same behavior is multiplied in Yellowstone with buffalo.
Interstates. They get you there but they sure are uninteresting. Maybe it is not just the interstates, but perhaps the country they go through. Some of the worst are through the Midwest and west. Iowa, Nebraska, eastern Wyoming and Colorado and don't forget southern Idaho!

Dining On The Road

I have had some wonderful meals on this trip, most memorable in Boulder and Moab. Not to say I haven't enjoyed my meals in Davenport, Lincoln, Ontario, and Redmond. In fact, today was one of those high points with a vanilla porter and fried onion rings at Smith Rock Brewing in Redmond.

And, let's not forget Gobble, Gobble Balls that I made on Monday night in Redmond. Follow the link and find the recipe on Saveur. I made a fetticini carbonara without bacon or pancetta to go with the meatballs. This was a winner.

In Boulder, Ella's is not to be missed. This southern diner Hungarian fusion restaurant provided me with the best chicken fried steak I have had in twenty five years. And finished off with a Dobos torte as seen below. Sharon found this restaurant and it is on her regular schedule now.

Moab was home to the Desert Bistro. This was quite a surprise even though Jim at the bar at Bistro Monet told me it was good and the Trip Advisor reviews were positive. The dishes were beautifully prepared and presented and delicious. The service was great. The only downside was the pricing. They were not cheap but they were serving prime ingredients in a place you do not expect them, especially Hawaian fish.

 

 

 

2610

Since my last blog post I've driven 2610 miles and I am now sitting at John and Kristie's house in Redmond Oregon. I've been to and stayed in Lincoln Nebraska and Estes Park Colorado Boulder Colorado and Moab Utah and Ontario Oregon and Redmond Oregon. Along the way I have hiked in Rocky Mountain National Park and biked in Boulder Colorado and driven through and hiked Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. Details to follow!

The photos below were all taken in Canyonlands and Arches. Wow.

 

Adjustments

Tomorrow willl mark one week since my final cataract surgery. I am still adjusting to life without glasses and contacts. Most evening I have an urge to remove my contact lenses and then realize I don't have contacts.in my eyes. When I wake during the middle of the night before I get up I reach for the night table for my glasses and then realize they are no longer there.

I am seeing better and more confidently each day post surgery. An example, I am writing this on my iPad on my portable keyboard. I can clearly read the text on the iPad screen and clearly see the keys on the keyboard without reading glasses. Oh, I do find myself putting on reading glasses when I do not need to. A habit I will need to break. I don't want my eyes to get lazy.

Tomorrow I see Dr. Sarkos and hopefully she will tell me I do not need to wear the eye shield at night and I can cut back on the three eye drops I am using. I also will ask for a recommentation on a eye drop for lubrication. My left eye sometimes feels as if I have something in it, though Dr. Lindenmuth says there is nothing there. Perhaps just a lubricating drop from time to time will make that feeling go away.

Yesterday I was back on my bike on both the Illinois Prairie Path and the Great Western Trail. Glen Ellyn to Elmhurst on the Prairie Path then up to the Great Western Trail from Villa Park to Lombard, then back to the Prairie Path to Glen Ellyn. Just under 14 miles. Next step 20. I did create bicycle problems for myself yesterday. I decided to "Slime" my tubes to prevent flats. The front tire went well but not the back. The tire valve remover tool that came with the Slime broke in the valve of the back tube and I could not get it out. I finally had to pay a visit to the downtown Glen Ellyn bike shop for a replacment tube. I now have a Slimed tube in the front tire and a new tube in the back tire and half a bottle of leftover Slime. I suppose the experience was good for me in several ways. It is possible that the stubborn valve was defective and would have failed wile I was riding and I would have been walking. I found my old tire levers in one of my tool boxes and got to use them to replace a tube. And, I got practice in repairing bicycle tires!

Last night I considered my route on this year's road trip. After spending the weekend with Lee and Peg and Sharon in Estes Park and then two more nights with Sharon in Boulder I head to Redmond. I decided to visit Moab, Utah and Arches National Park on the way. I will have one day to beautiful scenery and mountain driving from Boulder to Moab on Interstate 70. That will give me an afternoon and evening at Arches. Then the next day will be all driving with a target of Ontario, Oregon. I'll to a little sight seeing on the way as I will pass by the Great Salt Lake. From Ontario to Redmond will be an easy half day of driving.