Like many others’ summer plans, mine did not go as
expected due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
During January/February I constantly checked my vacation day chart to
figure out how I was going to do everything I wanted to do. Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, bike trip, hiking
trip, Division I women’s volleyball championship. I kept hoping I had counted the days
incorrectly and more days would magically appear. They didn’t.
And then the world stopped.
For the past 10 years I’ve met friends somewhere for a
week-long, organized bike trip. The one
constant has been Steve. His now-wife
Deanna joined a few years ago, and his friend Tracy hit two rides (all three
are from Florida). Andy, Boris and Duane
(from Ohio) have made appearances. As
have Bob (St. Louis) and Little Linda (North Carolina). If you couldn’t guess, I am Big Linda.
Steve and Deanna originally planned a two-week trip to
Utah in May to visit Tracy (Tracy married Dave and moved to Utah last
year). After their flight was cancelled,
they postponed and decided to go mid-August.
I had contemplated squeezing in a week in May, but could do the entire
two weeks in August since everything else was cancelled. We drove.
Here’s how it went down.
August 15
Steve and Deanna left Orlando earlier in the
week. I was to meet them in St. Louis,
but they had brake trouble and spent the morning in Tennessee at a mechanic. I stopped to have lunch with Bob, and drove
on to a KOA
in Wakeeny, Kansas, arriving at 10
p.m. I’d never stayed at a KOA
before. I received late word from
S&D that they pulled over to sleep (they drive a utility camper/van and
sleep inside), and they’d meet me at the KOA in the morning. I was a little uneasy about staying at the
campsite by myself, especially arriving so late. I set up my tent quickly, thankful for the
cool breeze. I wanted to shower before
going to sleep, but didn’t want to be in the shower alone at night. After lying there for 30 minutes unable to
fall asleep, I got up and showered. My
fears were unwarranted – the campsite was quiet, safe and clean. Being so late, I encountered no one in the
bathroom. The shower stalls were nice –
complete with bamboo benches and floor coverings. The warm water felt heavenly after a long day’s
drive. That’s all I needed – back in my
tent, I fell asleep right away.
August 16
S&D arrived around 8:30 a.m. I took my time getting ready, tearing down my
tent while they took a morning nap.
After lunch at our camp-site picnic table, we left around 11:30 p.m.
headed to Vail, Colorado. Travel time was
around six hours and we gained an hour going from Central to Mountain
time. We checked in at The Sebastian
Hotel. Deanna’s
son Cameron works at Leonora,
a restaurant attached to The Sebastian.
We had drinks and a plethora of tapas for a nice, relaxing evening on
the patio.
I had only spent one night in
my tent so far, but it was nice to be in a hotel for a couple nights. Again, I was slightly concerned about staying
in a hotel. Normally I would share a
room with S&D, but I wanted my own room during the pandemic. The hotel was clean, everyone wore masks
inside, and I was careful in my room to wash my hands before eating anything or
touching my face. I’m diligent about
cleanliness in hotels anyway. Some
precautions I’ve taken for years: I wash
my hands after handling the TV remote, especially if I eat anything. I bring flip flops to wear in the shower, and
also to wear while walking around the room.
I never walk barefoot in a hotel room.
I remove the bedspread, fold it up and put it away (I read they don’t
wash those very often).
August 17
After a wonderful night’s sleep in a king bed, I met
S&D at Yeti’s
Grind in the middle of Vail Village for
breakfast. I’m not a coffee person, so
had their excellent oatmeal topped with granola, nuts and dried fruit. This was my first time in Vail Village (and Vail,
period). It’s so quaint and reminds me
of a European village complete with flowers in window boxes and brick streets
(that are heated in the winter!).
After
a leisurely start to our day, we rode our bikes on the Gore Creek Trail and saw
lots of beautiful, enormous homes. I
loved the temperatures in Vail – cool mornings and evenings, warm but not
stifling afternoons. Zero humidity.
Ate a delicious al fresco lunch at Vintage,
also in the village. They had two
hummingbird feeders hanging outside, and the hummingbirds went crazy around
it. After strolling through the village
with Deanna (Steve took a nap), we took a short bike ride going the other
direction on the Gore Creek Trail. After
the ride, we sat by the Sebastian pool in our bike clothes. After a quick nap back in my room, I cleaned
up and met S&D to walk to dinner at Yama Sushi. We dined with Cameron and his friend
Candace. (Candace Cameron! Get it?)
I don’t eat sushi often and normally stick to California rolls. I let the others order and we had a nice
variety of sushi. It was all amazing and
very fresh. I also tried unfiltered
sake. It kind of tasted like
bananas. We ended the evening with a
leisurely walk back to the hotel and called it a night. Wow – we did a lot!
August 18
Move day. I
didn’t mention earlier that we parked in a public lot that was a 10-minute walk
from the hotel. During the summer the
lot is free so we chose that instead of paying for hotel parking. It took extra effort/time to store our bikes
in Cameron’s apartment, but was well worth it to save some cash. After another leisurely morning of coffee
(and oatmeal), and after loading the bikes on our cars, we left for Moab,
Utah. Cameron joined our caravan on his
motorcycle. Fires closed I-70, so we
took a detour that doubled our drive time.
What should have taken four hours took eight. But the sights we saw! We took Independence Pass and saw the
Continental Divide. Stopped in Leadville,
CO for a break and had dinner at Karma Kitchen
in Fruita, CO. Arrived at the Canyonlands
RV Resort and Campground around 9:30 p.m. A long but scenic day in the car.
August 19
We rose early to get mountain biking in before the
heat of the day. Tracy and her husband Dave
arrived in Moab yesterday to bike with us.
We chose to do some of the KlonZo
Trails. We
started with a beginner trail and I handled that fine. I brought my brother Paul’s 20+ year-old Gary
Fisher. He doesn’t mountain bike, so has
tires that are smooth in the center and knobby on the sides. I rolled up to Tracy in my Gary Fisher and
she immediately said, “Going old school, huh?”
Absolutely! We did an
intermediate trail next (a guy in the parking lot said it wasn’t too
hard). It was. Steeper inclines and the altitude got the
best of me. We ladies continued on a bit
and then caught the Zoltar trail until it met the gravel road that led back to
our cars. The guys did the rest of the
intermediate trail. Good decision for
us. Mind you, we were riding mostly on
huge rock formations. Fun, but difficult
and a bit intimidating. I thought I did
well on my old-school bike. We chilled
at the cars and cheered the guys on when they rolled in an hour or so
later.
We had lunch back in Moab at Antica Forma,
then drove through Arches
National Park around 3 p.m. Yes, we were there during the hottest part of
the day, but there weren’t many other people around.
Oh yeah – while riding, my brother’s bike
computer registered 103 degrees. It
didn’t feel like 103 though. After Arches
we returned to the camp site and got in the pool. Ahhhhhh.
Off to dinner at the Moab
Diner, then in bed by 10 p.m.
August 20
Cameron left early returning to Vail. Tracy and Dave left for home (Heber City,
Utah) after breakfast. S&D and I
intended to check out Canyonlands
National Park. I
donned my Utah T-shirt for today’s travel.
(I bought it at a Wal-Mart about 15 years ago because I thought it was
funny. I may have worn it once since
then, and thought this trip would be the perfect time to dust it off.)
We turned onto UT 313 from US 191 and soon
found out we’d have to drive about 25 miles just to reach the entrance to Canyonlands. We drove a few miles, stopping a couple times
to take some pictures, and mutually decided to skip Canyonlands. I was content with our decision at the
time. It’s only more rocks, right? Now I wish we’d soldiered on since we were
there. I feel silly that we missed
it. And I found out after I got home
that Canyonlands is an International Dark Sky Park! I wish I had investigated that more. Next time.
We got to Tracy and Dave’s around 5 p.m.
They live in the Red
Ledges development in Heber. I’ll take a moment to say that when Deanna asked
me about staying at their house, I was uneasy.
Nothing personal; I wasn’t
initially comfortable with the idea of living in someone’s house during a
pandemic. After talking with Deana and
Tracy, I changed my mind. Dave works at
home. Tracy currently doesn’t work
outside the home. We each had our own
bedroom and bathroom. My other option
was a nearby RV park. It looked nice,
but I felt having my own bathroom space was cleaner than using a public
bathroom. The other pluses – sleeping in
a bed and the convenience of going downstairs to my room, as opposed to driving
back and forth to a campsite. Their
house was plenty big enough for all of us to spread out while inside, but we
spent most of the time there sitting on one of their two outdoor decks. We enjoyed a relaxing first evening of dinner
and sitting on the lower back patio watching the deer, coyote and
hummingbirds. And playing with their
dogs, Ally and Otto.
August 21
Another mountain biking day – we drove to the Aspen
Grove Marina and rode the Strawberry
Narrows. We rode out and back, around 10 miles (we
didn’t do the entire trail), with a rest stop at a clearing overlooking
Strawberry Reservoir. The view reminded
me of Lake Bled in Slovenia.
Steve suggested
I ride his e-bike today. Why not? I felt a little guilty using assistance
(low), but got the hang of it and especially enjoyed the drop seat on the
descents. (With the e-bikes, you can
ride with no assistance, or press the button for low, medium or high
assistance. You still have to
pedal.) Had lunch afterward at the Daniels Summit Lodge &
General Store, taking in the picturesque mountain views. After dinner at the house, I visited a friend
I know from Indiana who lived a short drive away in Heber. Shannon, her husband Mike, and their two
girls have lived in Heber for several years.
I know Shannon from my high school basketball days, and we got to know
each other better when we were named to the 1986 Indiana All-Star Team. She’s been trying to get me to visit them for
years. When Steve mentioned Tracy moved
to Heber, I couldn’t believe it! “I
have a friend who lives in Heber!” We had
a nice girl’s visit on her friend Velanie’s front porch.
August 22
Today was a rest day.
We enjoyed a pancake breakfast, then visited the local bike shop (Slim &
Knobby’s) and later, another bike shop closer to
Salt Lake. Tonight was my dinner with
Shannon and her family. Mike made ribs
in a Pit Barrel. Delicious!
Velanie joined us again and we had a great time visiting in their
beautiful backyard. Shannon and I don’t
see each other often, but when we do, we pick right up where we left off. Good friends are like that. She has a beautiful family and I’m so
thankful I was able to see them, even for a short time.
August 23
After a day of leisure, we were back in action with an
early morning drive (6 a.m. departure) to the Uinta Mountains. We did the 17
Lake hike from the Crystal Lake Trailhead, which
was six miles. What stunning views! We saw various remote campsites along the
way. (I would love to do backcountry camping
someday.)
We arrived home in time for me
to watch most of the Indianapolis 500 on my computer. No fans were allowed into the Speedway this
year, but at least they had the race.
Takuma Sato won his second on a yellow flag. Not an exciting ending, but there was plenty
of excitement during the race. After the
race, we drove to Park City and walked around the main street poking our head
into some nice (and pricey) shops. When
we arrived at Park City and were driving around looking for a parking garage,
we heard a strange scraping sound at one point.
We couldn’t figure out what it was.
Once we parked, we saw a couple in the garage who told us that a
skateboarder caught a ride by holding on to the back of Dave’s Jeep. The skateboard was the scraping sound! So “Back To The Future!”
August 24
Big day today – we drove to Deer
Valley Ski Resort.
They have ski lifts that take your bike to the top of the mountain! Who knew?
(Apparently everyone in Utah.)
We
rode Holy Roller (Easy), Deer Camp and Sunset (Intermediate) and some others. We had a successful first run. At the beginning part of the second run on
Holy Roller, I got a flat back tire. I
had a spare, but when I looked at it, it had a shrader valve and not a
presta. Oh no! I felt like an idiot, but that was the tube
Paul gave me as a spare and I didn’t pay attention to the valve. Luckily, Steve had an extra that would fit my
bike. In his car. Deanna and I sat at the top and waited for
the others to ride down, get the tube, and return to us. In the meantime, Deanna comforted a woman who
had just broken her collarbone on the first part of the trail. She sat waiting for the Deer Valley EMTs with
her husband and two sons. Deanna broke
her collarbone a few years ago, and told the woman, “You will ride again!” As she talked to the woman, I made an S-O-S
signal in the dirt in case no one returned for us.
They eventually did, we changed the tire, and
resumed our ride. I thought it was
supposed to be an easier trail, but it was still pretty difficult and
rocky. It’s mostly downhill, but still
had to dismount the bike several times.
After we finished the second run, the guys wanted to do a harder trail
so we girls found some chairs and enjoyed the view waiting for them. About an hour later they finished their run
and we decided to head to the car. We
thought about taking the gondola down one more section to the parking lot, but
decided to do the Tour Des Homes (Intermediate) trail instead. (According to the Deer Valley website, “This
is the least difficult trail down to the Snow Park base area.) It was great – we saw some fabulous homes and
saw moose – two close up in someone’s back yard and two in the distance.
We made it to a slightly declining gravel
road that led to the parking lot. About
100 yards from the end, I heard a commotion behind me. I turned and saw Deanna in a ball on the
ground. She tried to avoid a hole in the
side of the road and ended up hitting it and going over her handlebars. The Deer Valley EMT came quickly (they saw us
from the main buildings by the parking lot) and initially concluded that she
broke her collarbone. They worried she’d
also hurt her back so put her on a board and loaded her on the ATV, taking her
to a waiting ambulance. I felt so bad
for her! She kept saying, “I’m
sorry! I’m sorry!” about ruining the
rest of our trip. I was more worried
about her and her injuries. They took
her to University of Utah medical center.
We later got word she did break her collarbone, along with 10 ribs. (FYI most humans have 24). Her back and head were fine (thank goodness!). We weren’t allowed to see her in the hospital
due to Covid, so Steve and Tracy took her extra clothes and her phone, while
Dave and I watched National Geographic shows about the Grand Canyon and
Yosemite.
August 25
In the morning Steve found out Deanna would spend
another night in the hospital. We four
drove to Sundance
for lunch.
It’s lovely, but not what I
expected. It’s so small! It’s basically a ski resort with three
restaurants and a Sundance store. That’s
it! And I found out the Sundance Film
Festival takes place mainly in Park City.
After lunch we drove through the Wasatch Mountain Range – amazing! Back in civilization, we stopped at Scheels. I’d never heard of it, but it’s like Dick’s
Sporting Goods. Kept tabs on Deanna, had
a nice dinner at home, and sat on the back deck.
August 26
Tracy and I took an early-morning walk around the
neighborhood. There is a lot of activity
in the Red Ledges with all kinds of homes still being built. Later in the morning, Steve and I rode the
e-bikes to explore more of the neighborhood.
We got turned around and couldn’t figure out how to get back to the
house. I started to get tired, then
remembered I was riding an e-bike so I upped the assistance to medium. Problem solved! After lunch, Steve, Tracy and I drove to pick
up Deanna. On the way we stopped at
Costco and a Sundance
Outlet (Tracy appeased me by stopping here. I could have spent the afternoon there, but
felt a little pressure to not take too much time. I got a great deal on a colorful top – regularly
$98 and I got it for around $25!) Finally
heard from Deanna that she was being released so picked her up. Had dinner and relaxed outside again,
focusing on Deana and keeping her comfortable.
August 27
With Deanna out of the hospital and the rest of our
trip cancelled, I decided to drive home a little early. S&D and I were supposed to leave August
25 and visit Zion National Park, Lake Powell, Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Tracy said I was welcome to stay with them as
long as I liked. After thinking about
it, I thought it best to leave for home and let Deanna convalesce. At that time, I wasn’t sure how long S&D
would stay before driving back home to Florida.
If I left today, I could be home by Sunday and save three PTO days as
well. I toyed with driving home in two
days, stopping in Kearney, Nebraska.
That would be two 12-hour days, which didn’t sound fun. Ultimately, I chose a route closer to what I
originally intended. Today, I drove to
Lake Powell, with a quick drive through Bryce Canyon.
Our group plan had omitted Bryce, but when we
come back out this way again (we WILL come out this way again!), Bryce is on my
list to explore more. The rock
formations and colors are spectacular! I
also like that there is a surrounding forest.
It took me an extra three hours to drive into and out of Bryce along the
scenic drive and get back to the highway.
To stretch my legs I did the one-mile hike at Inspiration Point. I arrived at the Wahweap
RV & Campground at Lake Powell around 5 p.m.
Pacific time. (I didn’t realize Arizona
was on Pacific time!?) It’s a nice
campground next to a lake (hence the name).
The wind was ferocious, so I had a challenging time setting up my
tent. I’m not sure why (maybe since I
was by myself?), but I didn’t put anything inside my tent. Usually I put my sleeping bag and pad inside
and maybe another bag. I staked it well,
pounding the stake hooks as far into the rocky soil as I could. My plan was to get food in Page, a short
drive from camp, and then watch the sunset at Horseshoe Bend. I planned to shower when I returned to camp
since it was still 90 degrees. I found a
taco place and brought my dinner to Horseshoe Bend. After parking, I walked 15 minutes to the bend. I timed it just right, sitting for 30 minutes
or so enjoying my tacos perched on a rock.
I alternated between taking in the incredible rock formation and a
spectacular sunset, and watching in horror out of the corner of my eye as other
sightseers walked out to the edge of a rock to take photos. One slip and…I don’t want to think about
it.
After the sun disappeared, I walked
back to my car and returned to the campground.
Except when I got to my campsite, my tent was GONE. I got out of the car and looked around. It was like it had never been there. I retrieved a flashlight from my car and started
walking with the still-gusting wind. I
passed three empty campsites and finally saw a family and asked, “Did you see a
tent fly by here at any time?” The
little boy asked, “A what?” I responded,
“A tent.” Again, he asked, “A
what?” “A TENT.” The mom finally said she saw something a
while ago and then I saw it in the distance, wrapped around a prickly
shrub. By this time it was around 9 p.m.
and it still felt like 90 degrees. I
extracted the tent from the shrub and wrestled it apart in the wind, breaking
the poles. Sigh. I stomped back to my car and found refuge
from the wind in a bathroom building enclave, folding up my tent. I threw it and the broken poles in my trunk
and then got in the car. The camp office
was closed. Should I sleep in my
car? It was too hot. And I wouldn’t sleep. While I still had camp Wi-Fi, I looked up
motels in Page. I settled on a Travelodge
for $47. Sweet! I wish my tent hadn’t broken, but I was
thankful to have a king bed and air conditioning. What a night!
Some may wonder if I feel safe staying at a motel as a female traveling
alone. I love a good motel, especially when
traveling with a bike. I back my car
right up to the door and appreciate the easy transfer of my bike and other
belongings. Yes, the door opens to the parking
lot, but there are adequate locks and a door chain. The room was clean and reasonable. I slept like a baby.
August 28
Today I drove from Page to Rio Rancho, New Mexico,
just outside of Albuquerque. I looked at
the Waze app prior to leaving and saw that the Petrified Forest and Painted
Desert are right off of I-40. As I
continued to drive with my Garmin, I realized I hadn’t yet hit I-40. I finally stopped and looked at my map and
realized I was going a different way than I intended. The Garmin led me south on 98 out of Page,
connecting with 160, then to 191. SO out
of my way! When I finally reached I-40 I
was past the forest and desert. Gah! I would have to backtrack an hour to get to the
forest and desert, so I skipped them.
(Note to self: Always look at a
paper map prior to departure to make sure the Garmin is going the way you want
to go.) My reason for stopping in Rio
Rancho was to see my mom’s cousin’s daughters, Donna and Pam. Pam has lived in NM for 20+ years. Donna and her husband Burl just moved there
this past June. Their other sister,
Barb, lives part time in Anchorage, Alaska and part time in Rio Rancho. She and her husband Wayne usually arrive in
September, so I missed them. I only
spent two hours in Rio Rancho, but it was so fun to catch up with them and see
Pam’s home, and to meet Pam’s partner, Mar.
They were so nice and had pizza and salad for my visit. From there I drove three more hours to
Tucumcari, NM to spend the night at another cool motel – this time the Historic Route 66 Motel. While this motel was great – also clean and a
good value, it was my second choice. I
wanted so much to stay at the Blue
Swallow Motel, also in Tucumcari. The rooms look so cool. Some even have garages! But the rooms were twice the cost of the
Route 66 ($50 vs. $100). If I ever get
back to Tucumcari with friends, I hope to share a room at the Blue
Swallow.
August 29
My reason for going on to Tucumcari was to have a shorter
drive day today to Aurora, Missouri. Up
at 6:30 a.m. Mountain Time, I left at 7:15 a.m., stopping in Amarillo to check
out the Cadillac Ranch,
a row of colorfully spray painted Cadillacs sticking halfway out of the ground
in a field along I-40. It’s an easy stop
and worth checking out.
I arrived in
Aurora around 6:30 p.m. Central time, ready for a front porch visit with my
favorite Missourians, Kelly and his wife Mary.
Along with their wonderful company, I enjoyed the picnic supper they
provided – pulled pork, potato salad and deviled eggs. And they sent me home with a container of
chocolate chip cookies. Mmmm! On top of that, they gifted me with a new
favorite hat with “MO” on the front. I left
their house around 8:45 p.m. to my final destination of the trip – my Airbnb in
Republic, MO, half an hour away. This
place was so nice! And even though it
was well-stocked with snacks, I didn’t eat anything (so rare for me!). It was late, I’d had a wonderful meal, and I
was ready for bed.
August 30
Last travel day!
I was up at 7 a.m. Central and home by 4 p.m. Eastern. After unpacking the car, I was determined to
wash the millions of bugs off of the hood and grill, and clean my bike, which
had traveled hundreds of miles on top of the car, not to mention riding on
dirty, dusty trails. Ambitious, yes, but
I knew I’d sleep better knowing they (along with myself) were both clean. Back in the house, I talked to Deanna. She was doing well on their drive home and
they’d stopped in Wyoming for the night.
What a trip!
After initially thinking I wouldn’t get to go anywhere over the summer,
I’m glad I took a little chance to go on this adventure. Some may think I was reckless, traveling during
a pandemic. I felt comfortable and safe
at each destination. I had no problem
using public restrooms at gas stations or camp grounds. I (and others I encountered) wore a
mask. I washed my hands. I kept my distance. In Heber, we created our own bubble. The only regret is Deanna’s accident. She is on the mend and I hope to revisit some of the places we missed on this trip. What a wonderful way to celebrate Steve and
my 10th bike anniversary. Happy
anniversary, Steve! Here’s to many
more!
