My Adventures and Travels

Under tragic circumstances, I had to go buy new shoes yesterday. Unfortunately, it seems that in the excitement of wearing my flip-flops for the first time in many months, I left my trusty tennies in Williams, Arizona. I clearly remember looking at them when I was getting ready to bring all my things out to my car, but I'm not sure what happened next. Did they stay in the hotel room? Perhaps get put on the roof of my car? Either way, they did not come home with me. Now, I may not be your typical "girl" shoe shopper. 1. I buy most of my shoes at REI. Actually I can't remember the last pair of shoes I bought from somewhere else. 2. Although I spend a lot of money on my shoes, it is because I'm on my feet all day and it's worth it, not because they're designer duds. Fortunately, I had not only a 20% off coupon, but also my rebate check from last year. So, here they are! Not much is more fun than sporting a new pair of shoes...and I LOVE the red!

2100 miles, 3 baseball games, 2 national parks, and 1 broken windshield later, I am back home in Colorado today! I went from the mid-80's in Tucson yesterday to rain and snow in Denver today-YUCK! Maybe I should have stayed! Other than that, it'll be nice to sleep in my own bed, and in the same place for more than one night! Now, just the dreaded tasks of cleaning out my car and unpacking all those warm weather clothes remain. Back into the closet they will go, for this is Colorado!

So, Monday morning, drove from Williams, AZ, directly to below baseball game in Phoenix. Then, to Grandma's house for lots of food, and sleep in a bed with no one clomping around above! Fortunately, she did not see my busted windshield and insist on my repairing it in Phoenix. Tuesday morning, down to Tucson, directly to the next Rockies game (they lost) where I met up with Amy and her family. After the game, the pool. Here are a few pics of Todd Helton from the game yesterday.

Upon returning to my car after the Maryvale game, this is what I found: I made it down to Tucson, where I had a bit more time. This morning a glass person came right to the hotel parking lot and I have a brand, spanking new windshield...and a bit less money i n my checking account! Unfortunately,

I always wanted to go to one of those games where you can sit in the grass and watch. Monday, that's what I did at Phoenix's Maryvale Park. The Rockies beat the Brewers 6-5!

I spent the day at the Grand Canyon today! It was pretty amazing. Just like the pictures you see...only bigger. Now in Williams, Arizona. I took 67 pictures today. Here are a few of the better ones. The watchtower. You can climb up and take pictures. Afternoon shadows start to creep in. Bonus: can you find the condor (AKA "the ugliest bird alive") above? Below, I've zoomed in on it-it's perched on the whitish rock near the middle of the picture.

I mentioned last night that there is some confusion regarding the time. I just realized.. My hotel alarm clock says 7:13. My cell phone says 8:13. My laptop says 9:13. Meet the Press is on (9:00 at home). I have not yet been to my car. YIKES! This would all be irrelevant if 1. I didn't care about making it to the "trading post" during breakfast hours and 2. There wasn't a full moon talk at the Grand Canyon that I am going to tonight. *sigh* Better start asking around!

My first *real* day of travel has gone very well. I woke up before my 5:30 alarm in Grand Junction and hit the road around 6:30. It was still dark when I left, so it took awhile to fully wake up (you all know what a morning person I am!). I felt VERY glad that I checked before continuing on after Grand Junction, because there is NOWHERE to stay between there and Moab. (Good advice, Toni) And, turns out, it is "Jeep Safari" in Moab this weekend, whatever that means. From what I could tell, it means everyone in the U.S. with a jeep was driving through Moab at the same time as me, and probably filling up all the hotels. Anyway, got to Arches around 8:30. What a place! It is stunning, and hard to describe, so the pictures below will have to suffice. Light crowds, warm weather, some short hikes, all was well. I just read an article in National Geographic (Adventure or Traveler??) about "arch hunters" which are just what they sound like, people obsessed with finding new a...

North Window and South Window Landscape Arch-over 300 feet wide!!

I am FINALLY on spring break-hooray! Tonight I'm staying in Grand Junction, CO. I was hoping to make it closer to Moab, UT before calling it a night...but characteristic of Utah, there are no towns between here and there, and it's about 2 more hours. Still, made it a good distance considering I worked all day, and now I can get a good night's sleep before I move on in the morning. Going to Arches National Monument tomorrow, so hopefully there will be fun pictures to share soon!

The Good: I leave for Arizona on Friday! I am driving down through Utah, stopping at Arches & maybe other places, and staying for a day at the Grand Canyon. Next, I head down to Phoenix to see my Grandma, and then continue to Tucson. It is supposed to be in the 80s when I'm down there! A couple of my coworkers/friends might even join me for some or part of the trip. I am so ready to get out of town! The Bad: Five to ten inches of snow overnight? Seriously? I'm over it. Also, the first televised Rockies game since October was today, and it was rained out. At least it will be nicer when I'm there. The Ugly: I am seriously sick. Overnight got hit by some nasty stomach bug, haven't eaten since yesterday, and can barely keep water down. YUCK. I am picturing in my head my little guy on Thursday who came up to me crying because his tummy hurt. Hoping this thing runs it's course quickly! I have dragged myself to a sitting position to get online though, so maybe I'm ...

Okay, I'm trying to get caught up. March 1: Poker night at my house! This was a GREAT time with good food (if I do say so myself) and a wonderful group of friends. Even friends of mine that had never met acted like they've known each other for years. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard! Above, Rene and Deedee hit it off famously. Clockwise from lower left: friend Mike, boyfriend Toni, friends Shannon, Chris (also a coworker), his wife Rene, Deedee's hand, and the back of Christina's head. Christina, Mike, Toni....and a famous Nelson margarita!

How long has it been in this country since youth were this excited about a candidate?

I left my camera cord in Toni's bag...since then, I've been taking pictures but they're trapped in my camera. I feel like I just can't post without pictures! Anything I don't get posted tonight will have to wait until Friday, because I have conferences til 8pm the next 2 nights! Well, with or without pictures, here's what's going on in good old Colorado. 1. I had a great poker night at my house Saturday night with friends. I have never laughed so hard at a poker game, it was a great success! (Future post) 2. In preparation for said game, I put up several framed photos from my travels and my living room is feeling more homey this week! (another likely future post) 3. Saturday: 70 degrees. Record-breaking high, doors and windows open all day and into the evening. My friends and I at Old Chicago:"Why isn't your patio open???" Sunday: woke up to about 5 inches of snow on the ground and blowing everywhere. Why is my house so cold? I should know be...

Why is it that February is the shortest month, but usually feels like the longest? My theory is that it's not the weather...but the fact that the weather has been lousy for months on end. So, it was with excitement that I realized I could turn my calendar to March today! It is a cheery picture too, of a field of wildflowers. Well, we won't have any of those for a few months here, but I can hope that our occasional freakish warm days become more the norm instead of record breakers! But, because it's Colorado, there is also the possibility of big snowstorms and snow days (one year we got 33" in Denver and 4 days in a row off of school!). Well, at least there's always spring break. So, hooray for March!