Spring Vacation 2004

Day 1 Friday March 19

Steve and I had been talking about our desire to take a road trip.  (Steve from the dynamic duo of Becky and Steve plus their son, "Ryan", our making memory friends!)  So we began talking about going to Utah to look over Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.  I began to look at related websites and exploring things we could do.  I also logged into AAA and used their trip ticks builder.  After a few dinners out at nice restaurants in the Portland area, well, here we are.

We are traveling in a Ford Excursion. It has a V10 and plenty of room.  So on Friday March 19, we loaded the big rig and left Porland, Oregon after Barb got off work and Ryan was released from school. We parked Barb's Beetle in Steve and Becky's garage.

Ryan is his usual suave self as we get ready to depart.  Of couse, what isn't said here is that when Steve and I picked him up from David Douglas High School, he was standing out front with a beautiful babe!  When we go on these trips he always says, "If you look good, you play good!"

We stayed in the Best Western Sun Ridge in Baker City.  There was still snow in the mountains outside of Baker City.    This is the same place I stayed last summer when I rode my bike across the USA.

There were many truckers staying here as well. This little cafe is where Team Stop A Lot ate lunch last summer on the Ride Across America.

Well, I got up at 5:15 AM and got a cup of coffee and enjoyed the sunrise.  We are off to Provo, Utah today.  I'll check back with you later. Today will be a great day!  The sun is shining bright and we are with great friends.

Day 2 Saturday March 20

Today is Saturday and oh what a beautiful day.  The air is cold and crisp in Baker City.  We left Baker City at about 8:00 AM.  Two hours later we arrived in Boise and ate a delicious breakfast at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant.  All four adults have been on weight watchers but this morning that all went out the window.  Ryan did the first stint of driving and did a great job!  This was particularly rewarding since he doesn't have his drivers license yet!   

After breakfast I drove to just past Twin Falls, ID.  We refueled and Steve took the wheel until we reached Provo, UT.  All in all we drove about 550 miles.  Great pavement and even better company!  When we got out of the car in Provo it was about 72 degrees.  The warm sun felt so good.  We checked into the La Quinta Inn and then  walked to McGraths Seafood Restaurant for dinner to celebrate Becky's XXth birthday.  After dinner we went to McDonald's for a 3pt icecream cone.   

It really hit the spot sitting in the hot tub and swimming in the pool.  Ryan and I plan to meet at 5:30 AM to workout.  This is real living!  We'll check back with you tomorrow night.  Good night!    

Day 3 Sunday March 21

Well, part of the fun on a trip like this is dealing with the unexpected.  I arrived in the exercise room at 5:20 AM.  I had just gotten on the lifecycle when something started to beep and the lights went off.  At first I thought the room had an alarm but soon realized that the power had gone off.  Next I was concerned that Ryan may have gotten caught in the elevator but that fear soon evaporated when he arrived at the door.  There was one emergency light on in the exercise room and the lifecycle does not require power so on we went.  Ryan checked with the desk to discover that a car had hit a pole and the power should be back on at 8:30 AM.  We worked out until 6:15 AM and then went back to our rooms.  The power was on by 7:30 AM so we were soon back on track.  The LaQuinta had a great breakfast which included fresh baked cinamon rolls.  Wow, so much for weight watches points.

We headed south of Provo, Utah and then turned off on highway 6, through Price and then a turn or two later on to Moab.  This part of the country is so beautiful and geologically ever changing.  I'll let the pictures tell this part of the story. 

We arrived in Moab about 12:30 and had lunch.  The food was bad and so was the service, but who cares?   Town was crowded and there was a definite hustle in its rhythm.  We found a reasonable room at the Ramada and the price was right.  We could walk through town from our motel.  By late afternoon town had cleared out.  The temperature was over 80 degress and the sun was out in full force.  We checked out a few places to rent four wheelers and eventually landed at a place which also provides Hummer Rock Crawling Tours.  We signed up to take a four hour tour the next morning.  It was time for dinner which was in a little Mexican Restaurant in the heart of town.  We had a very good meal.

We went back to the motel to sit in the hot tub and then it was off to our rooms for a good night's sleep.

Day 4 Monday March 22

We had to get moving this morning because the Hummer was going to pick us up at our motel at 8:30 AM.  We met at the Moab Diner, which was located across the street, at 7:15 AM.  We had a great breakfast there and it was also very reasonably priced.  The Hummer arrived right on time.  Our driver was a young man who looks a lot like Brandon, our son-law.  The driver's name was Daniel.  He was very nice and very easy going.  I'll let the pictures tell the story but this tour far exceeded my expectations.  Daniel took us over terrain I would have never attempted.  The Hummer is an amazing vehicle and Daniel is a fine driver.  Barb and Becky did not even scream when we climbed at angles over 75 degrees or when we climbed many of the same rocks mountain bikers ride called Slick Rock.      

After the tour we drove up to a beautiful breath-taking overlook near Canyonlands National Park called Dead Horse Point.  The view was indescribable!  We returned to town to dine at the Moab Brewery.  We sat outside on the deck and had a great meal.  Now it was back to the hot tub and the pool.  Our plan for tomorrow is to go explore Arches National Park.   

Day 5 Tuesday March 23

This morning we ate breakfast at the Jail House Restaurant.  I had ginger pancakes with apple butter.  Mmmm Good! We checked out of our motel and headed for Arches National Park.  Once again the views of the ever changing terrain were indescribable.  We did not do much of any hiking except to walk out to a couple view points. We drove and photographed every part of the park that you could reach by car.              

We now had decided to begin to work our way back toward Provo via Hwy 15.  Ryan took the first turn at the wheel and drove all the way to Salinas, UT.  He did a great job.  We ate lunch off the hood of the Excursion in true Brody style using my swiss army knife, having turkey sandwiches, while viewing land formations that are over 1,000,000 years old. I took the wheel at Salinas, UT and drove to our final destination in Tooele, UT.  This was after Barb had to do some shopping in the Cracker Barrel Restaurant Gift Shop.  The fact that we did not even eat there ought to tell you something.  We had a wonderful mexican meal in a little restaurant right down town called Melina's.  We made motel reservations for Day 5 in Winnamucca, NV. If you happen to not be able to get a room here, you are out of luck for another 350 miles.  This should tell us all something, and the adventure continues.

 

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