Weeks 1-3

After much planning and massive amounts of preparation, Sharon and Dave’s Excellent Adventure finally began.  Given our history, you might expect that we’d set off to conquer a mountain, explore some remote wilderness area, go hang gliding or bungee jumping. Good choices. Good guesses. All, however, would be incorrect. With our new found freedom, our first priority was to visit family.

Prior to leaving, we made the trip down to Tempe to visit Ethan. Now it was time to visit Aaron, Vanessa and the grandkids in Durango.  Over a period of ten days, we went camping with Oliver and Kiri, we went to the rec center pool, we hiked, we biked, we ran, watched soccer, played games, got dirty, threw rocks in various bodies of water,  read books, went to the playground, watched shows and generally just had fantastic fun. We also had fun with the grown-ups. Good as always to catch up with Chris and Donna. Stana graciously gave us the benefit of her many years spent visiting Thailand. That may very well come in handy next winter.

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It’s been said that guests, like fish, both begin to smell after three days. After a week and a half we had long since passed that point. While it was time for us to move on, it was sooo hard saying  good- bye. It was especially hard knowing it would be several months before we passed that way again.

The always stunning drive north from Durango helped ease the pain of parting. A bike ride in the vicinity of Silverton reminded us of our ultimate goal…and gave us an opportunity to try out our arctic biking gear. Happy to report that we were perfectly comfy biking in 35 degree weather among snow capped peaks.

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After a night in the mountains, we arrived the next day in Loveland to continue our family and friends tour. While Katie (and her newly minted doctorate) completes her education requirements in Memphis and Salt Lake City,  Kevin accepted a job offer too good to refuse. The catch? The job is in Loveland, CO. Fortunately Katie was able to join us for a long weekend. Kevin’s apartment is located in a very cool historic downtown area of Loveland. It was the  perfect base camp for several days of exploring the local trails and plentiful microbrews and tap rooms in the area. Friday was bonus day. Our good friend Glen had moved from Flagstaff to Fort Collins. She was able to join us for a full day of hiking in the mountains,  micro brews and games. Jim and Jeannette also popped in for a quick hello.

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Once again the good times had to end. Katie returned to Memphis and Kevin left for work. Two weeks after leaving home, we once again said our “good-byes” and began the next leg of our journey….several weeks of wandering on our way to Bellingham.

It was a dark and stormy … day when we left Loveland. Frosty temps, rain and snow squalls convinced us to keep driving west across Wyoming. We found a lovely spot to spend the night near Flaming Gorge.

Next day we arrived at Grand Teton N.P. Thus far, winter has been somewhat reluctant to vacate the premises. We had more day of iffy weather before getting some glorious 70 degree days. We took full advantage of the good weather to do some hiking on the still snow covered trails. We took some long bike rides in and around the park. We had a lovely evening hanging out with Anthony and Morgan. Turns out Morgan is an AZ native and NAU alum. These chance meetings are such a fascinating and enjoyable part of travel.

I unfortunately do not have adequate language skills to convey the awe inspiring nature of the park. I’lll some pictures speak for me.

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May 8th…more snow squalls. Forecast tonight is for a low of 21 degrees with a brisk north wind. We are very thankful for our cozy teardrop. However, the constant cold is starting to wear a bit. Today in Prudhoe Bay there is a 2 degree windchill and snow squalls. We are at least…considering…some alternate starting points for our AK bike trip. We’ll see what the next few weeks bring. In the short term … Yellowstone here we come!