Never enough of Isaac!

Friday, Jan. 30th.

We went off on our own, which we are fine with us, as we're adventuresome. We drove to Park City. We had called Meghan to try to see her, which isn't going to work out, but we said hello and she gave us some good suggestions for hikes. We got off at Jeremy Pass, which is right outside of Park City. There were some trails up in the hills, which were beautiful. We put on our snowshoes and took off. Gus was very happy! We took a short hike, as the altitude is affecting us some, and it was what we wanted to do. On the hike, Dan's bindings broke, and my snowshoe fell off. We then just carried them and walked in our boots. This really wasn't a problem, as there was a path.

We went to the Olympic Training Center village, and ate lunch from our cooler bag in the car. No training was going on, though they were readying some of the ski jumps. It's still a really cool place though.

We then went into Park City, and walked around this charming, but very yuppy, town. Went into a few of the shops, and hoped to see some celebrities who might still be around from the Sundance Film Festival that just ended. (we didn't)

Drove back to SLC, then Rachel called, wanting us to come over to babysit, which we happily did. I had brought him a book called "Mommy", which is a pop up book by Maurice Sendak. He LOVED it, gently touching the pages as the images popped up. He looked at it over and over with me and when Daddy Matt walked in the house, he had to show it to him and insist that HE read it to him.

We decided just to have pizza for dinner, so we went to get it. The pizza place was frenetic with all these kids parties, so we decided to do it as take out. It took a long time, and Isaac did very well, but was getting impatient. We finally got it, brought it home, and enjoyed it there. After Matt put Isaac to bed, we headed back too, as we were tired and Matt was going to try to get some more work done.

Beautiful Utah

Thursday, Jan. 29th. Happy Birthday, Melisa!

We drove into Salt Lake City from Rock Springs. We were going to take a side trip down to Flaming Gorge, but after being on the side road to it for about 5 minutes, and again, experiencing wind and blowing snow, AND a very icy road, we changed our minds. I was driving, determined to conquer the winds.  I realized the trick in passing tractor trailer trucks, so became confident. (the trick is to speed up as you pass them so you don't get caught in their draft.)

As we got into Utah, we were amazed at the beauty of it. The sky was bright blue, the mountains majestic and inviting. We've seen this before, but it's breathtaking.

We got in the afternoon, and when Matt was out of school, he stopped by with Isaac after getting him from daycare so that Isaac could meet Gus. Well, Gus was a bit hyper, eager to slurp poor Isaac's face, and Isaac was a bit wary of this big creature. He was interested, but standoffish, which is understandable.

We then followed Matt to their house, leaving Gus in the room. We played with Isaac while waiting for Rachel to come home. They have a babysitter every Thursday evening for their night out---it's Ashley, who was their nanny and whom Isaac loves. Isaac was a bit shy with us, but Matt sat him down in a nearby chair, and we slowly played a game of putting things into a box and taking them out. Then we played footsies. He smiled and laughed, still playing in his intense way with figuring things out, like how to close the box and put things in it, and handing items back and forth.

We went out to dinner with Matt and Rachel, had a really good relaxing time with them.

Wild , Weird and Windy in Wyoming

Wed. jan 28th. On the road.

We drove on a side road from Estes Park back up to Laramie, Wyoming to catch back up with I-80, to continue our way to Salt Lake City. I think it was 287, and was a short cut. Good grief, this was the drive from Hell! It was so windy that Dan had to drive it, I could not handle the van. We were in the middle of high desert and prairie (what is the difference anyway between them?) Wind and snow were gusting across the road, which was fairly deserted except for trucks. We saw one trailer truck overturned on the side of the road, and expected to see more. It was desolate on top of windy. I had to use the bathroom, of course, and Dan had missed one town along the way, expecting to see others. Well, there weren't any others! There were "locations", I guess you could say, but they consisted of the name of the ranch that populated the area, or there was an abandoned post office.

We finally stopped at one place that had a post office-general store-antique store combined. As we walked up the creaky stairs to the rundown place, we saw a sign that said the use of the bathroom was 75 cents. Well, I didn't care, I would pay. However, the bathroom was nothing but a porta-potty about 70 ft. away, and it was too snow covered to get in. (I wondered what the shop owner woman uses, but I didn't as as she wasn't very friendly)

So we did manage to get to Laramie and stop at the first gas station we saw. Relief was nice, but it was short lived, as we quickly found out that I-80 was closed going west to Salt Lake City. We tried an alternative road, to bypass the section that was thought was closed, but that road was closed too. We found out that the roads in Colorado were open, but would have had to go down to Denver and cross mountains that way. We deliberated and deliberated. We weren't in a rush, that's what's nice about being retired. Matt and Rachel are both busy with their careers. We had no assurance when the road would open. They had been closed for long periods of time over the last three days. Truckers wandering around, rumors were floating all over the place. . Getting stuck in Laramie was not a dream place, but driving down to Denver meant going over windy roads again. It would have been a 300 mile detour, and heavy snow was forecast for Colorado. We finally decided we would have to just hole up, and we managed to find a brand new Fairfield Inn that would take the dog. It was actually beautiful. As Dan went to move the car and bring our stuff in, he came running into the lobby, where I was on the internet looking at weather reports, and shouted, "it's moving, cancel the reservation!"

After one more trip to the bathroom we hopped in the car, followed ALL the trucks on I-80, and drove and drove, to Rock Springs, Wy, on the western side of the state. Again, Dan had to do the driving because of the wind, and the drifting snow. It was a tense ride, but he did really well. We are listening to a great CD, by the way. It's "A Traitor to Memory" by Elizabeth George. So that has been great to listen to, and calmed our nerves. The sky was very weird as there is such a large expanse that you can see for miles. You could see where the snow was bad, and where it was clear. But you could see it for very long distances. Wyoming is so expansive, I can't describe it any better than that. Wide open, with brush, and some foothills. But the sky! It seems so big and open.

We finally got to Rock Springs, and stayed in another new hotel, The Homewood Suites. It was really nice, and we were really happy to have a nice place to stay and relax. Dan got takeout from a nearby Village Inn, so we chilled in our nice room. We realized it's cheaper and nicer to get take out rather than deal with restaurants all the time.
Pat

Cozy and Cold in Charming Estes Park

Tuesday, jan. 27th.

We drove into Estes Park today, as we wanted to take a side trip.

I went to camp here oh so many years ago, and have loved it. I have been here with

Jason a few years ago to revisit it, but was so happy to return with Dan.

We found a really cute little cabin in the woods to stay in, pictured above.

We then drove into Rocky Mountain National Park. It was absolutely gorgeous! Part of it was closed in the winter, but we did see a lot. It is so interesting to see a National Park in the winter, with all the snow and wind. We didn't see a lot of wildlife, though we saw a herd of elk in the park and then later. The weather, however, was incredibly cold! It was so cold there was no way we wanted to take a hike, plus the paths were totally snow covered. I got windburn just taking some pictures. Magnificent, but freezing.

Later, we drove around Estes Park, went to the Stanley Hotel which advertised itself as being the inspiration for the hotel in The Shining. Stephen King stayed there and credited it in the movie. We saw a herd of wild elk on the grounds of the hotel. Gus was growling, but fairly well behaved. We had been told at our cabin that he had to be on a leash, and if there were Elk around, he couldn't be outside. The cabins we stayed in also had wild turkey trotting around, and it reminded me of the ones I saw last year in Novato.

We had a really cozy night in Estes Park. There was a hot tub in the cabin, and it was wonderful. We had take-out food from the Safeway, and some wine from home.

The wind, however, was howling, especially the next day, and Gus is apparently afraid of wind, so he was quite anxious and ready to leave. So we hit the road back to Wyoming.
Pat

Nebraska sure is big and boring

Monday Jan 26. We drove from Des Moines to Cheyenne Wyoming in weather that ranged from 9 above to -15. We stayed at the Days Inn in Cheyenne, which leaves a lot to be desired but was clean and warm. Dinner was Outback take out chicken breasts. In general the roads were clearexcept for about a half hour of snow, and then the windblown snow of western Nebraska and Wyoming. I took a picture of the sunset on the road in Western Nebraska. It was eerily beautiful, set in cloudy skies amid a flat expanse of land.Tuesday, we are headed to Estes Park after looking around Cheyenne and visiting the world headquarters of Sierra Trading Post. The picture is of a cowboy statue at the State Capital in Cheyenne. Gas is cheap in Wyoming, about $1.45 per gallon. Dick Cheney was good to his home state.

It is so cold, even Gus wanted to come inside. Next stop Estes Park.

Happy Family Time in Des Moines

Jan. 25th.  We left Buffalo Grove after breakfast and drove to Des Moines, for our next stop.  It was a seamless drive.   Got to Des Moines around 3, were so glad to see Melisa.   Her apartment is very nice---it's a new place, very cozy, small but nice sized rooms.    It's very good for her.  We went to dinner at the famous Rube's.   We first discovered this Iowa restaurant when Matt went to Grinnell College 17 years ago!  It's a "down home" place where you pick your own steak, from the cows that they have raised and processed themselves.   The steaks are huge, and the best you have ever eaten, and that is a challenge!  Anyway, Rube's has opened another restaurant near Des Moines so we hungrily went there, and it didn't disappoint.

We slept very well, and have had a really nice day today.  Did some shopping, ate lunch at the great Vietnamese restaurant next door to Melisa's apartment.   This morning, we walked to the neighborhood grocery store.  We love this neighborhood, she can walk to so many places, and the neighborhood is friendly and nice.   Later in the day we went to the art center, which is very nice and just the right size.   Bought some groceries for spaghetti, which Pat made, with Melisa's help.  Melisa made Pat's salad dressing.   We are finally feeling relaxed, very relaxed, and that we are on an adventure.    This has been a good transition.