Moab & Arches

I can't believe how few photos we took in Moab! We both LOVE Moab so much. It was my first time there and I thought it would be all desert & grit but it was amazing. Neither of us wanted to leave and we can't wait to go back.

Glenwood Springs

Glenwood Springs, Colorado is famous for the hot springs spa located on the outskirts of town.

We found it to be a bit commercialized for our tastes so we searched out the secret hot springs on the other side of town instead. We enjoyed them by ourselves for a spell and then had an adventure meeting a couple of locals who were as different from each other as two people could possibly be. That was an interesting conversation, let me tell you.
We camped east of town at another fantastic site alongside another river ($free-fifty, of course).
In the morning we headed to a popular attraction called hanging lake.

Aspen to Glenwood Springs

The Rio Grande Trail from Aspen to Glenwood Springs was finished only one or two days before we rolled into town. We were so lucky! I was especially lucky because I got to ride it the whole way. Mark took a turn shuttling.

Thank you Mark!

Mark rode with me for the first 15 miles or so of the 44 miles total. It was fantastic!
He rode back to get the car so he could meet me in Glenwood Springs.
The usual midday storm came during the middle of my ride. Wow! The rain came down SO hard and the lightning cracked like mad. I put on my jacket and thoroughly enjoyed myself while singing along to Wicked with my iPod the whole way. It was awesome.

I rolled into Glenwood Springs and found a farmers market where I bought us some fresh bread. Afterwards I rode to the local brewery where Mark met me and we had lunch.
What a perfect day!

On to Aspen

After Fraser we headed toward Aspen, Colorado. Mark had been there ages ago and wanted to see if it was as amazing as he remembered. We drove the back way along Highway 82. It was stunning and there was surprisingly little traffic. On our way we encountered one of Colorado's infamous afternoon storms. Let me tell you, it goes against every survival instinct to drive straight towards black, black clouds. . .

. . .but, that is exactly what we did.

Fraser Hike

While we were in Fraser Michelle went hiking and Mark went mountain biking. I got the camera that day. Fraser was amazing in all directions despite the damaged trees from the Mountain Pine Beetle.I saw an otter swimming at the edge of this beautiful pristine lake on the way up to the trailhead.

Fraser and Winter Park

After Rocky Mountain National Park we cruised to Fraser and Winter Park, Colorado.
Of course the first thing we spotted as we rolled into town was a Thai restaurant.
What a treat while camping!

Top of the World!

Mark and I absolutely loved the Rockies. On our way out we traveled Trail Ridge Road which crests at 12,183 feet!

Rocky Mountain National Park

We cruised to Boulder, CO after Fort Collins. We were there for all of one afternoon before heading west toward a unique alpine village called Nederland. We camped nearby in a

Ft. Collins Rocks!

Horsetooth Park Wildflowers

Chris has chosen to live in a very beautiful area of the country. He was teasing us about how hot it gets in Redding by the time we left. I was hiking to the "waterfall" so I got dibs on the camera that day

New Belgium Brewery

Ahhhh. Fort Collins, Colorado. What a beautiful place.

All of us--Mark, Chris, and Michelle--have been meandering this way for over a week. We left home and have spent the last week or so in Utah. Unfortunately, we're pretty sporadic picture takers who can take a vacation and not shoot a photo for two weeks and then can turn around and take thirty-two self portraits in front of the same beautiful lake, mountain, or tree. So, needless to say, we don't have any photos of my family from this leg of the journey.
During the drive through Wyoming and Colorado before we hit Fort Collins, Chris was beside himself wondering when we were going to "get there." He was so excited to see his aunt, uncle, and cousins. But when we got to Fort Collins Mark and I simply weren't ready to take him to his aunt's house yet. So, we took him to. . . Yep, you guessed it--the New Belgium Brewery. Chris has already toured the Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon and we thought it would be nice for him to see this brewery as well. It is quite a part of the city of Fort Collins and we weren't sure he'd have another opportunity; plus, he's a lot of fun to hang out with. At the end of the tour when the group had broken up we asked our tour guide if we could slide down this narrow, steep, and twisty slide they had in the building and she let us! As fun as it all was I think Chris was relieved that we headed straight to his aunt's house the moment we finished the tour.

Clean out the fridge

This was the vegan goodness we cooked up right before we left. I call it the "cook up all the veggies in the fridge 'cuz we're going on a road trip" dinner. It was tasty and I discovered a food setting on our camera. Cool.