Monday, March 29th from Grand Island, Nebraska to Dorchester, Wi

For the last time on this vacation we packed up the car and headed home. We arrived in Dorchester at 6:00PM on Monday evening and I was so happy that Crystal was at the house waiting for us to get home. Shortly afterwards Matt, Shelly, and the kids arrived. They brought dinner down to the house for everyone and then a little later Mike, Roxann and their kids came. The only one that didn't come over was Nicole but she was at work in Wausau. It was so great to see everyone and really made us feel good that they all came to welcome us home. It was so great to get hugs from everyone!

For 4 weeks John and I have been on the road and we both enjoyed every minute of our vacation. We had such a wonderful time with everything that we got to see but we really just had a great time because we were together.

This will be the last post for this vacation. On the 16th or 17th of May John and I will head out on our bicycle with our Bob hooked on behind and bicycle to Middleton, Wi for the Couples on Wheels spring rally. From there our plans are to bike up to Stillwater, Minnesota. At that time we will decide if we want to head west to the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore or head east to Dorchester and then spend the summer biking in Wisconsin. I don't know if I will continue the blog or not but I know that we will have a great time doing the ride together.

I am writing this down in the family room so I can watch American Idol - John was watching Dancing with the Stars upstairs. When his show got done he came downstairs and said after spending the last 30 days 24/7 with me in just two hours he started to miss me so he came downstairs. Is that a bunch bull or what! lol

Happy Trails!

Sunday, March 28th, 2010 - Moab, Utah to Loveland Pass, to Grand Island, Nebraska

Sunday morning we loaded up the car and picked up a few groceries and then I had to make a stop at the gift shop before we left Moab. The sun was shining and there were jeeps all over Moab getting ready to head out for a day of fun. We only had to drive about 30 miles to get on the interstate and we were heading home, however, we had about 1600 miles to drive before we got home!

We spent the entire day in the car other than a few gas stops. In Colorado we drove past some beautiful towns such as Vail, Eagle, and Breckenridge and over Loveland Pass which has a elevation of 11,990. We rode along and saw the beautiful ski hills that were full of skiers and snowboarders. Looked like a great place to spend a lot of time outdoors. Beautiful, beautiful area!
We drove as far as Grand Island, Nebraska and found a hotel and called it a night. We knew we had another long day of driving on Monday!

Happy Trails!

Saturday, March 27th, 2010 - Moab to Potash to Moab - biking

We got up this morning to beautiful but cool day with blue skies and sunshine! We put on several layers of clothes and decided to go to Potash road and bike. This is a 18 mile (one way) road that is along the Colorado River. First we took a drive on State Road 128 which is about 45 miles of narrow winding road along the river with cliffs on the other side.

About 10:30 we went to Potash and unloaded our bike and biked 54 miles and what a great ride! There was a little traffic but not bad and a lot of other bikes on the road. Of course, not one of them was a recumbent but oh well - they just don't know any better! lol We stopped along the way and took some pictures of "Indian Writing" on the rocks and then also stopped and watched the rock climbers along the road. Wow, I could watch them all day - it is amazing how they climb up a almost sheer rock cliff - they make it look so easy!

This evening we did a little bit of shopping and then went to church at 5:30. After that we went out to eat at "Eddy McStiffs". It was a great little bar/restaurant with no smoking! We loved it!

Tomorrow we will pack up the car and head towards Wisconsin! This has been a wonderful vacation!

Happy Trails!

Friday, March 26th Shopping in Moab to Canyonland and back to Moab

We slept in this morning as it was cloudy and rainy outside so we were not in any hurry to get out and about. Once we were up and dressed we went to Denny's for breakfast. After eating we sat there and read the newspaper. All of a sudden we both looked at each other and said wow, this must be what it is like to be retired. I don't think we have ever just sat around in a restaurant after we ate and read the paper. It is very nice!

From there we went downtown and did a little bit of shopping and then decided to head to Canyonland National Park where we spent the next 4 hours sight seeing and doing some hiking. By now the weather was a little better, still cloudy on and off and very windy but at least it was not raining!

Overall, we still had a great day! Tomorrow it is suppose to be nicer outside so we are hoping to bike the Potash paved road which is approx. 18 miles along the Colorado River.

One more day before we head towards Wisconsin - I am getting anxious to see our family and friends!

Happy Trails!

Thursday, March 25th from Monticello to Hole in the Rock to Moab to Arches National Park

We left Monticello this morning and headed towards Moab. Once again, the sun is shining and we are looking forward to a fun day! On our way we came upon a special tourist trap called "Hole in the Rock". If you are ever in the area you will need to stop and spend some time there. It is very interesting and here is the link: http://www.theholeintherock.com/index.html

Although I said it was a tourist stop they really only charged $5.00 per person to go on a tour of the home (if you decide to tour the home) and you could view everything else outside without any additional charge. Unusual for a tourist stop.

Besides the home, built in the rock, there are also some very interesting forms of sculptures outside made out of old tools, scrap iron, spark plugs, wrenches, license plates, pick axes and etc. welded together and sculpted into animals and also a jeep with steel wheels made from the scrap metals. The entire body of the jeep was covered with license plates from all over the U.S. I have attached several pictures of these items.

After spending some time there we headed for Moab and got a very nice reasonable hotel room. The first place we stopped at had a room with a king size bed for $55.00. We decided to go further into town and check what other hotels we could find - we wanted one that had a continental breakfast. We stopped at three other hotels and they all wanted $100.00 or more per night so we quickly drove back to the first one and booked it for three nights. There is a
"Jeep Safari" weekend going on so there are a lot of people coming to Moab this weekend to participate in that. Every where you look you see people in jeeps. You can also rent a jeep if you want.

From there we took a walk on the main street of Moab and spoke with a gentleman that told us that there is a road called Potash that is approximately 18 miles of paved road that a lot of bicyclist bike and it follows the Colorado River. John and I took our car to check it out and we are anxious to bike it tomorrow (weather permitting). The entire 18 miles follows the Colorado River on one side and rock cliffs on the other. There were a number of places that people were doing rock climbing so we stopped and watched them.

After that we headed up to Arches National Park and did several hikes there to a number of arches and then headed to a grocery store. We picked up a rotisserie chicken and salad and headed back to our room for a quiet evening! We are hoping for good weather tomorrow to go biking - otherwise we will probably head to Canyonland and take in some of the sights there.

Happy Trails!

Wednesday, March 24th Torrey to Capital Reef National Park to Natural Bridges Park to Monticello, Utah

Our first stop after breakfast this morning was at Capital Reef National Park. From there we did a 2 mile hike at Hickman Canyon to see two stone arches. We ended up putting on several hundred miles on the car today to get up and over the mountains and closer to Moab. So a good share of the day was spent in the car. We also stopped at Natural Bridges National Park and did a short hike there before checking into a hotel. The scenery was amazing all day today and the different terrain from one mountain to the next was very interesting!

I figured for sure that as we got close to Moab we would be out of snow. However, today as we were driving we went in and out of snow all day! I guess we are not in Arizona any more! I am also a little bummed because I did not have cell phone service all day and had planned on calling the kids to see how everyone is doing. Hopefully I will have service once we get to Moab.

We went out to eat at a place that was recommended by the hotel owner - it wasn't that great and wasn't worth the $.

Tomorrow we will head to Canyonland and then on to Moab where we will spend a couple of days before heading to Wisconsin.

Happy Trails!

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2010 Tropic to Calf Creek Canyon to Torrey, Utah

Another beautiful sunny day but it was windy and cold starting out this morning in Tropic. Little by little we are working our way further north and into higher altitudes and is definitely reflected in the weather temperature. At the hotel there was another couple that stayed there last night and they were loading up there vehicle to head out. They were parked right next to us and she said "you have to be the couple that everyone was talking about that was on that beautiful bike in Zion". This coming from someone that was 150 miles away from Zion and they were still talking about us. Our poor bike is looking more and more out of place as we head north into snow country.

We drove to Escalante and had breakfast and then went to Calf Creek Canyon to do a 6 mile hike back to a 125 foot waterfall 3 miles back into the canyon. We both really enjoyed the hike!

We drove on Scenic Byway 12 and it was breathtaking (I mean it almost took Kathi's breath away because of the height on each side of the road).

At times like these we are at a shortage for words. For three weeks now we have seen nothing but fantastic scenery, good weather, and so fortunate to be able to see and do the things that we have. How many ways can you say you have had a great time? We are truly blessed to have had this opportunity!

Tomorrow we will head towards Moab to visit the parks in that area such as Arches and Canyonland. We are tentatively planning on being home a week from today!

Happy Trails!