One lucky dog!

Boondocking

The Elk...

Joey Snad Dunes in Oregon.

Rocky Mountain National Park, Co

Trey and I took a side trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. A place we both have really wanted to see. However, this side trip was really about seeing how Trey could handle small bits of hiking around. He has been off his crutch for about a week now. He has a slight limp and some pain while he walks but his spirits are up, for the obvious reasons.

He has had a few missteps which have sent him into agonizing pain and despair. One day last week we decided that we would ride our bikes to the ice-cream shop and he put (slammed) his foot into the ground. Causing us to turn around and go back into the apartment. The other time was while walking, he pushed off the ground a little too hard and he felt a shift in his knee. (Could his ACL be torn?)

Anyways, back at RMNP. We drove there from Denver only about an hour and a half drive. In my mind the Rocky’s were going to be grand and rocky. I don’t know if the dense fog had anything to do with it, but it was more mysterious and hobbity. We drove the one way unpaved road to the top, something like 12,800ft of elevation. We stopped a lot along the way and looked at stunning waterfalls and fantastic overlooks. Even with all the fog we could see the beauty in the fog breaks. Unfortunately, most all the places we stopped had “no dog” signs. Poor Joey, no fun for him. He whined a lot as he does whenever he sees something beautiful, that he wants to smell and touch. Like the day we pulled up to the sand dunes in Oregon. Trey and I were discussing where to park and put the car in reverse, Joey thought we were going to leave and he threw a toddler like tantrum. I’ve never seen a dog become so animated at the thought of not being able to feel the sand between his gigantic sand dollar sized paws. And when he got out of the car he took off, full sprint to the top of the sand dune and didn’t stop running the whole time we were there. He is so cute.

On the drive out Trey and I saw a bunch of Elk but one in particular was huge! We pulled over and took pictures. I hiked down a little ways but at one point the elk shot me a look. I stopped dead in my tracks and knew not to get any closer; I then receded back to where all the other onlookers were standing. (Yes, I’m that person.)

We are leaving today (if we can get it together) and heading down to the Sand Dunes in Southern Colorado…

It feels good to be back on the road.

Rocky mountain national park, Co

Goblin Valley State Park, Ut.

Trey has been a driving machine. He has been putting in close to 400 miles everyday. I thought it would take us 8-10 days to get to Denver. But after driving only five days we will be arriving today. I don’t think we would have driven so far yesterday but finding a place to boondock was next to impossible. We just kept driving and ended up staying at a rest stop just outside of Vail. Trey and I have been getting horrible sleep the last four nights and last night was no different. Between noisy rest stops and the heat we are finding it impossible to sleep. The night before last was by far the most ridiculous night of “sleep” ever. Our day started in eastern Oregon. We drove all the way to Southern Utah via Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City was a nightmare. A rock flew off a truck hauling mulch and put a huge crack in the windshield. So, we drove to three different glass repair places only to find them all closed down or not there at all. After watching Treys face go from red to pink back to a normal peachy color we moved on. We drove till it was dark and we could see an awesome lightning storm way off in the distance. We were headed right for the storm so I freaked out and wanted to stop driving because with our luck we would end up in it. I kept having visions of the camper being struck. So, we stopped. We were just north of Goblin Valley in Utah.

From the time it took me to get from the passenger seat to the camper door I had been bitten eight times by mosquitoes. It was about 90 degrees out and the bugs were horrible. We spent our entire night killing bugs. We couldn’t figure out how they were getting in. However, we do live in a paper house so I guess they can get in however they choose. We ended up turning off all the lights and sitting in the dark. I eventually just laid in bed but the bed left like a heated blanket. Trey and I ended up holding ice packs and using a wet wash cloth to try and keep cool. We were up most of the night. The next morning we woke to find that we parked right next to the only marshy water pit in Utah…sigh.

Goblin Valley was amazing and totally worth the drive. There is so much to see: the goblins are truly freaky and the mountains reminded me of the huge gothic church that stands out in Prague, CZ.  

John Day Fossil Beds "Painted Rocks"

Trey and I drove for hours yesterday. Our plan was to make it from Hoodriver, Or. to Boise, Id., with one stop to see Painted Rocks at John Day Fossil Beds Monument. Our turn off from hwy 84 was just East of the Dalles. We started heading south though every curve and mountain pass Oregon has to offer (bit of an over-exaggeration.) From the map we thought it would take about in hour or an hour and a half. It took closer to three hours just to get there. Neither one of was really paying attention to the clock but we left Hoodriver around noon and didn’t get to the rocks until 4:30ish.

Trey and I drove and drove and only saw a few other cars here and there. I was scared just because of being so far away from civilization. We would come across towns of ten homes and spend twenty minutes talking about what kind of life those people have. Then we would come across towns with only three homes and wonder if the town of ten was the “big city.”

We finally made it to “Painted Rock.” Very beautiful as you will see from the photographs. But, was it worth it? Only if you happen to be driving through the middle of Oregon and plan on passing though. In that case I would say, “don’t miss it.”

We haven’t made it to Boise, yet. After the fossil beds we drove for another hour and a half and went to sleep. But it is now morning and we have 172 miles of curvy mountainass passes to go.