Retired and Trippin

It was sunny and 77 degrees when we left our motel in Hays, KS this morning. We did a little lollygagging around, as you can tell. The motel did provide a nice complimentary breakfast - with BACON! We blasted east on I-70 all the way home with one stop. Upon arrival we did not go straight home. We enjoyed taco Tuesday at Margarita's, gassed up the car, and acquired a few groceries before making it home. Our total trip mileage was 2,975 miles over 13 days. It was a great trip with fantastic scenery.

There was a hiking and bicycling path behind our motel in Colorado Springs. A stream ran beside the path. Chris and I took advantage of the path for a short hike before we took off for Hays. Along the path we spotted two deer and several rabbits. And I always enjoy the site of Pikes Peak when I'm in the Springs. We departed for Hays, KS at 8:55. Skies were blue and the temperature was 70 degrees. Our route was Hwy 24 eastbound, Hwy 94 eastbound, and Hwy 40 eastbound into Kansas. We stopped at a roadside park (of sorts) in Weskan, KS for a picnic lunch. Along the way we lost an hour as we drove into the central time zone. At Oakley we got on I-70 which took us on to Hays. We checked into our motel in Hays and while Chris was setting up house I went to wash bugs off the car and get some ice for our cooler. When I returned to the motel Chris was in the motel pool so I joined her. We also took advantage of the motel's hot tub. At 6:30 we went to the home of Gary and Tere...

This morning was a leisurely one at our motel in Canon City. After our complimentary breakfast we left at 9:00 (66 degrees and cloudy) and drove to DiNardo's in Canon City to buy some of their cherry cider, which is quite tasty. We drove north and slightly east to Colorado Springs where we hooked up with my cousin, Deb, and her husband, Jim. Their daughter Laurie was also there and it was good to see her. They are family but they are also friends. We enjoyed a nice visit, lunch, and a movie with them. The highlight of lunch was strawberry shortcake, homemade by Jim. We checked into our motel in Colorado Springs around 5:00. It looks like we may enjoy the available pool and hot tub before calling it a night. The sun came out when we arrived in Colorado Springs and the high temperature was in the 70's. BEAUTIFUL day! No pictures were taken today. I intended to take a photo of Pike's Peak and of Deb and Jim, but I failed to do either.

When we left our motel in Cortez this morning it was sunny and 65 degrees. We drove east to Durango and hopped on Highway 550 north headed up to the Million Dollar Highway. It is one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on and in many places there are no guard rails which can pucker the ole orifice. If you click on the link to the photos taken along here I hope you don't get tired of mountain views because I took quite a few. There are a few photos of mountain streams and waterfalls also, which Chris really likes. We got in some exercise by walking in Silverton. It is a bit of a tourist trap but I enjoy the scenery and we did a little shopping. We also grabbed lunch at the Brown Bear Cafe before leaving town. To see all the pics taken along the Million Dollar Highway click on this link:  MillionDollarHwy At Montrose, CO we took US Hwy 50 eastbound headed to our day's destination, Canon City, CO. Along the way we drove by Blue Mesa Reservoir ( BlueMesaWate...

Breakfast was obtained at the restaurant associated with our motel. We shared a Denver omelette and it was LARRAPIN good! The guy in the office at the Circle D Motel in Escalante told me that Hwy 12 east of Escalante was the most scenic of the whole "scenic 12" route. He was right. The scenery varied from rocks to mountain forests and it was all beautiful, except for the 20 minute delay for road construction. At Torre we turned eastbound on Hwy 24 through Capitol Reef National Park, another pretty area. We did not stop to do anything, just drove through and took pictures. At Hanksville we stopped for gas and a little snack to hold us over until lunch (that would be late again today). The convenience store at the gas stop was built into the rock wall. With guacamole flavored chips in hand we departed Hanksville southbound on Hwy 95. This took us through the northeast end of the Glen Canyon Recreation Area and over the Colorado River. In this area an old town n...

Another BEAUTIFUL day! We left Hurricane, UT at about 8:15 and drove north to Cedar City. From there we turned on to Utah Hwy 14 eastbound. My map has this route designated as scenic and I definitely agree. At one point we could see a large canyon area way to the south. In looking at the map I'm sure it was the edge of Kolob Canyons or Zion National Park. Also along this route we saw areas of black rock, which I believed were volcanic rock. Very cool looking. At US Hwy 89 we turned north and drove until we reached Utah Hwy 12, which took us east. The Red Canyon area was very pretty. At about 10:30 we arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park, where we opted to use the free shuttle for transportation around the park. That ended up being a smart thing to do. There were so many folks in their own cars that the parking lots were packed. People would drive around and around waiting for a spot to open. Bryce Canyon was beautiful. Chris and I hiked from Sunset Point to Inspiration Po...

After a very good complimentary breakfast at the Best Western Motel in Kanab we departed at 8:15 for Zion National Park. It was cool, in the 50's, under blue clear skies. Thirty miles later we arrived. Chris and I drove through the park once before (in the winter) but we had never done the scenic drive accessible only by shuttle buses. Today we did it. It is a beautiful area as you'll see from the pictures. It is so immense, however, that pictures don't really do it justice. The shuttle bus starts at the visitor's center and makes 9 stops up into the canyon. We got off at stops #8 (Big Bend) #9 (Temple of Sinawava) and #5 (Zion National Park Lodge. Carl and Marge wanted to get home earlier than Chris and I do so, when Chris and I got off at stop #5, Carl and Marge went on back to the visitor's center and started the long ride home. Safe travels to them. It was great traveling with them - again. Chris and I took a short hike up to the Emerald Pools an...