I’m about to head off on another road trip to Colorado, so I figure I should post a few pictures from last year’s trip first. 

July 2018

I usually fly when I go to Colorado to visit friends, but drove this time so I could bring Sage, my then nine-month old Border Collie. Susan joined me for the first half of my two-week trip, to Fraser where we visited Lynne and enjoyed short hikes and beautiful views. I continued on to Fort Collins where Nancy taught me how to make quilt.

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July 12 – Dive to Tonopah, Nevada

It was an overcast day as we drove through Yosemite and by the time we got through the mountains it was raining, so we skipped stopping at Mono Lake and drove through heavy rain with thunder in the distance.

July 13 – Drive to Escalante, Utah

A long drive with various scenic stops. At one point we were so low on gas in the middle of nowhere that we turned off the air conditioner. We made with a fraction of a gallon to spare.

July 14 – Scenic Drive into Colorado

We took a short hike in Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, followed by a gorgeous drive on Hwy 12 up past Boulder and through Capital Reef National Park. The rain followed us, but we stayed dry. We spent the night in New Castle.

July 15–18  

We drove to Fraser, CO where we visited Lynne and her family, and took several hikes in the beautiful Rockies.

July 19 – Drive to Fort Collins  

Susan and I took a final hike, a short round trip to a waterfall. Then, after leaving a few things behind for Lynne to bring home for us, we crammed four people and luggage into my small car, a Subaru Cross Trek. I took Lynne and her dad, Jim, to a hotel near the Denver airport, they were heading out on a trip the next day, and then dropped off Susan for her flight home.

July 20-23 – Sewing, Sewing, Sewing

My friend, Nancy, an awesome quilter, taught me how to make one. I bought everything I needed, including a sewing machine, and nearly finished making one for a queen-size bed, not a small project for a new quilter.  

July 24-26 – Drive from Fort Collins to Home

After a final walk along the canal, now a bit muddy from last night’s rain, I packed up the car and headed home. Google estimated six hours to Vernal; it took me about seven and a half with a handful of brief stops, including a grassy park in Rock Springs, Wyoming for a bit of fetch with Sage. The final segment of our first day, south on 191, was the most scenic. After checking into the Sage Motel, we took a hot walk around Vernal, it was about 98^oF (37^oC) and I ate dinner at the outdoor patio of a brew pub. 

The next day, I drove to Elko. Listening to books on tape kept me entertained, including Call the Midwife. I headed out early the next morning and reached home in the afternoon of the third day.