New Mexico Jaunt Fall 2018

WEDNESDAY, October 17

Baker City, OR to Heber City, UT

510 miles

We are off for another adventure! Afterall, we stayed home for just over two weeks! In that time Rick went hiking twice, trimmed all the church trees, washed cars, and caught up on chores. I pulled dead leaves and trimmed all the iris plants, the lavendar, and cleared the vegetable gardens. I canned pear sauce, jam, and syrup, applesauce, and processed a lot of crookneck and zucchini squash! Whew! Oh! Plus I prepared and preached on Sunday the 14^th! We earned the right to take off again!

Basically an uneventful drive down to Heber City. We left around 7:30am and Rick drove down to the rest area just east of Boise. I drove to Jerome, where we stopped for gas and Subway sandwiches, and then again until near Sweetzer Pass, when I pulled off and told Rick I was tired! He took us on in to Utah and into Heber City.

The mountains of SE Idaho had fresh snow on them in beautiful patterns. Some aspens are still in fall color, others have lost their leaves already. The sun was shining, the clouds were puffy, and it was beautiful.

Our Swiss Alps Inn in Heber City is beautiful. We have a large room with two queen beds, a table and dresser, microwave, fridge, coffee maker, plus a hot tub! The rooms are all decorated in a Swiss style, with a beautiful Willkommen sign on the wall as you enter. A nice find!

We took a short walk around the downtown. Heber City is a beautiful little town in a spectacular setting. Mountains to the west are lined with snow. Time to don our suits and check out the hot tub! Felt good! We dined in the room on the abundance in the ice chest, plus our last half of Subways from lunch. A little baseball to watch away the evening. (Note….game took too long. We went to bed and I didn’t learn of the Red Sox victory until Thursday morning!)

THURSDAY, October 18

Heber City, UT to Moab, UIT (via Canyonlands National Park)

307 miles

It is a beautiful morning in Heber City as we depart around 7:45am. The mountains to the west of town are spectacular in their beauty! Unfortunately they soon faded from view as we rounded a corner!

Wasatch Mts. west of Heber City

The drive to Duquesne was haunting. The clouds seemed to merge with the road the further in elevation we climbed – but we could see fresh snow on the peaks, patches of aspens which had just lost their leaves, and the flat plateau at the top. We passed both Strawberry and Starvation Reservoirs and then dropped in Duquesne – rest room, coffee, and gas break (we didn’t need the latter, but the price was better than we would find in Price or Moab!)

Morning light on Strawberry Reservoir

Cows on the road! 

I picked up a Road Tour Guide for Indian Canyon Scenic Drive at the gas station which highlighted a few sights along the way to the top of Indian Creek Pass at 9100’. I had checked frequently over the evening and morning with UDOT to make sure the pass was clear and open! NO PROBLEM!! The snow on either side of the road and powdering the trees was gorgeous.  And when we hit the spot that indicated an former cattle drive crossing, guess what we found on the highway?  Cows!!!

From the top of the pass, US 191 drops quickly down nearly 3800’ to the town of Helper, located on US Route 6. On through Price and to the city park in Wellington where we stopped for a break and I took over driving. It seems I

Indian Creek Pass area

get the stretch from Price to Moab frequently – Rick thinks it is a boring stretch of road!! It was pretty this morning, however, with fresh snow on the mountains to the east.

Just north of I-70, however, the gathering clouds had finished their ‘gathering’ and the rain began. In earnest. In fact, it was a pretty good downpour as I pulled on to the freeway. As we passed the first Green River exit, Rick suggested maybe we should stop in Green River and grab some lunch – anything to let the rain pass over. I pulled off at the second exit and check the weather on the phone. It showed the storm was just about done and to the south it looked pretty good for the afternoon. So I drove on to the Crescent Junction and the road south to Moab. At the rest area there at the top of the hill, we switched drivers and I checked the weather one more time. Looks good! We grabbed a quick bite of munchies in the car and pushed on to Canyonlands National Park!

Rock varnish seems to drip off the sliprock.

The skies were somewhat clearing (at least you could see the red rock a distance away!) as we turned off US 191 onto Utah 313 toward Canyonlands. Beautiful driving up through the redrock canyon and cliffs to the top of the mesa and grassland plateau. 

Still some trees with color!

Official 'Entering the Park' sign! 

Enroute to VC, we pass a herd of
deer frolicking in the grasses.

 We decided to go straight to the Visitor Center, skipping Deadhorse Canyon State Park. After a good 30 minutes of exploration, movies, etc. we took off, heading to the furthest point south, Grand ViewPoint and the short one mile trail from there.

But, as God intervenes, a big tour bus was right in front of us poking along, so when a viewpoint came up I said, ‘Let’s look up there and let the bus get further ahead of us!’ Good choice! (TY God!) The skies were still clear enough to see a good distance and the viewpoint was awesome in terms of its geology (a long protruding neck) and the views into the canyon. Picture time!

From one side of the neck we could see Schaffer Road winding its way
down to intersect with White Rim Road on the bench. 

Looking towards the Colorado River from other side of 'neck'

Standing just a few feet off of a 1400' drop! 

What a 'grand' view we had! 

And then it appeared that might be the ONLY view we would get. We drove into a dense fog – where you could barely see the bushes alongside the road. We skipped a couple of potential stops, and by the time we arrived at Grand ViewPoint, rain was falling, and the view was a wall of white cloud. It reminded me of our view out the window in Murren, Switzerland when we arrived there. We didn’t even get out of the car – just drove right around the loop and back up the 6 miles to the junction with the main road! By then it had cleared….just a little….so we decided to drive the extra mile or two out to Green River overlook.

Walking out to Green River overlook.

Glad we did. In spite of a light misting rain, we were able to see down to the White Rim bench 1400’ below us, and see tidbits of the Green River another 600’ below the bench. Around us were some pretty impressive sandstone formations. At least we didn’t get burned totally! We got two views!! We decided to call it quits and head on in to our hotel in Moab. If the weather looks better enroute home, maybe we will try Canyonlands again! Even tomorrow is forecast for sunny!

White Rim and the Green River in distance.

Rick at the overlook with rock formations in background.

Driving back out road toward Moab.

Sun shone on the redrock as we drove back to Moab. 

Peek-a-boo slot as you enter Moab looking towards Canyonlands.
Colorado River runs through here. 

We find our Red Stone Motel right in the middle of town, just down the street from the Moab Brewery (and McDonalds and the Canyonlands RV Park where we stayed our very first visit in 1994). It is advertised as the ‘Best Deal in Town’ and Rick found that to be true when he was making reservations. Still an expensive deal in town! But the room is nice.

We walk down to the Brewery around 4:30 to catch some early dinner, having not overeaten for lunch. Two bowls of soup and a crab and artichoke dip with pita bread appetizer later, our tummies are full. (Oh, Rick had a beer, but I decided to wait for my free wine in the room!)

Quiet evening in the room catching up and getting ready for more new highway tomorrow.

FRIDAY, October 19

Moab, UT to Telluride, CO

132 miles

Leaving Moab

A little more relaxed morning today, knowing we only had 132 miles to go, but not exactly freeway! We awaken to sunshine in Moab with low hanging clouds on the rimrock, pulling out of town around 8:45 after gas and coffee at the Maverick. Once we get to LaSal Junction, it will be NEW HIGHWAY!!

Southern end of La Sal Mountains

The La Sal Mountains, while clear, are hard to photograph with the sun in the east and the foothills in the way. The south side of the peak is such an incredible triangle shape, but finally Rick rolls down his window and I am able to get something of a picture that way!

We turn east on Utah 46 toward the Colorado border, just 22 miles away. Surprise after surprise greets us over the next 50 miles. We climb up through cattle country and gambel oak to a pass (and road construction….I

We chatted for abit.

talk to a cow in the feed lot while we wait for the pilot car) near the border. Over the pass and then we drop DOWN a narrow canyon and out through red rimrock to Paradox Valley – a wide open agricultural area west of the Dolores River. The entire drive was beautiful and different from what we expected (thinking Monticello to Cortez). While the aspens are past in the high country, the cottonwoods are in full golden glory along the streams and rivers.

Paradox Valley

After the town of Bedrock on the Dolores we climb gradually toward Naturita and our junction with the San Miguel River. More canyons, cottonwoods, and small towns. This is wide open country without a lot of people or development. But small ranches and farms, or ‘little pieces of heaven’ are scattered here and there. We leave the river – just for awhile as eventually we will follow it up to Telluride. In the distance we can see our goal – the white peaks of the San Juan Mts.

Looking back at La Sal Mountains as we head east on Colorado 90 toward Naturita.

In the town of Redvale, we stop at the city park to use the porta potty sitting in the field! A cute little church rests across the highway. The park itself is lean – a shelter with a memorial picnic table. That’s it.

Peek-a-boo with mountains! 

On up Route 145 now toward Telluride. We rejoin the San Miguel and wind gradually upward through an incredibly beautiful canyon, the river lined with cottonwoods of color and red rimrock, juniper, and pine covered hills. Quick glimpses of snowy peaks began to tease us around the corners, but it isn’t until after we pass the road to Ridgeway and the little town of Sawpit, that we really begin to grasp the magnitude of the basin in which Telluride sits. Wow.

View from the Keystone Overlook just west of Telluride

Main Street, Telluride

Into town and we quickly find our Victorian Inn hotel. It is too early to check in, so we get a parking pass and head into downtown on foot to check out the lay of the land and grab a bite to eat. We find Steamer’s Burgers – I am lured in by the Bello Burger – portabello mushroom and artichoke hearts. Rick finds a burger to his fancy and we share an order of sweet tater fries. Yum on all accounts. Interesting reading on the environmental and health benefits of steaming meat as opposed to grilling or frying.

Along the river path

Peaks at east end of town

Alpine Chapel across
from Inn

We walk on up to the end of town to the city park and back along the river path to our hotel. We can check in and find ourselves on the ground floor (almost underground!) in a basic and adequate room. We unpack and crash for an hour to read all the materials, having decided earlier to take advantage of the beautiful day and the free gondola to ride to the top, hike abit, and stay on top for the sunset.

Looking down on Telluride and Sneffels Range from gondola

Our plan worked out great, except the ski run we wanted to take for the views was closed to both bikers and hikers. Sad face! We ended up on another one, but it deadended in snow and mud. We ended up taking the second gondola down to Mountain Village, but then quickly turned around and

The view from the platform area....

went right back up to just sit on the “wedding” platform and view the peaks. A lady from Oklahoma waiting for her husband and daughter to come down from a hike joined us and we had a great conversation while snapping sunset and alpenglow photos. I think Rick took as many pictures as I did! It was beautiful and the sun and mountains performed perfectly!

The lights of town twinkled below as we rode back down the gondola and walked the two blocks back to the hotel. A good day!! Tomorrow we will take to the trail! 

We exchanged picture taking with another couple! 

Rising moon as we ride gondola back up from Mountain Village

Glow of sunset on the peaks. 

Sunset orange peaks. 

Nary a cloud in the west, so the orange faded quickly. 

Alpenglow on the peaks and beyond! 

Sunset behind the trees on top of the ski hill. 

Looking down on Telluride as the alpenglow fades. 

Panorama taken from top of lift as we arrived.  

SATURDAY, October 20

Telluride, Colorado Exploration

A beautiful morning in the San Juan mountains! We have breakfast in the small little eating area in the lobby of the hotel – more people than seats, but we manage. Hot cinnamon rolls were coming out of the oven freshly baked!

Trailhead Sign

First stretches of trail

Then we pack up a few things, grab our hiking poles, and walk 4 blocks down Aspen Street to the trailhead for the Jud Wiebe trail. This 3 mile loop is described as climbing about 1200’ through aspen forests to terrific views over the surrounding area and the city itself. We seemed to be the only ones out for the first half hour or so, but I think we just got an earlier start! (It was shortly before 9 and just 33 degrees outside when we started!) Eventually the trail became much busier! Some were visitors like us, but many were also locals out for their morning workout!

Oh, how magnificent the trees probably were a few short weeks ago! The aspen groves on the north side of town, below some old mines and the Sneffels Wilderness Area are vast and thick. The trail is carpeted with layers of round leaves, a few green, a few yellow-brown, most brown! A few hardy survivors linger on the branches to ‘quake’ in the breeze. They won’t last long! But the trees provide beauty as we climb upward to a vast meadow we could see from the top of the gondola last night. At one of the first really good viewpoints, we found an information sign about Jud Wiebe and a wonderful bench erected as an Eagle Scout project! (Wiebe was a forest service employee dedicated to seeing accessible trails linked directly to town for Telluride locals and visitors. He died prematurely before seeing the trail completed, but volunteers continued the task!)

Rick and the view from the Jud Wiebe bench

The views across to the peaks behind the ski area and to the east to Imogene and Black Bear Pass are outstanding. We can find road routes, and learn from another hiker (who we also happened to have breakfast with!) that what we thought was a trail, was actually the jeep road over Black Bear Pass. (Rick later shows me the guide that indicates it is a one way only jeep route for experienced drivers only! In other words….not much of a road!) We can see the drainage of Bear Creek Falls well and more of the mountains behind it.

Crossing the grassy slope

Once we leave the large grassy hillside, we re-enter the aspen groves and wind our way down to Cornet Creek where we find vestiges of the snow from Thursday night,. In the shady places the trail is a little slippery! Back UP the other side of the creek (more up than I anticipated) and then we switchback our way down the hillside to the Tomboy Road and back to town. A good hike with some great views. We got our hearts pumping with the uphill climb at 9500-10,000’ elevation!

We found snow!

Add caption

Bear Creek Canyon behind Telluride

Telluride Mountains

Christ Presbyterian Church

We stop in town at Steamies again for our ice cream reward! Then back to the room. Rick had a sore toe (sock and shoe rubbing wrong on the downhill) so was done with extensive walking for the day. I grabbed the Historic Walking Tour from the multiple visitor guides in the room and took off to explore the town. First off, where is Christ Presbyterian Church? Discovered we walked within a half block of it this morning enroute to the trailhead! I checked out the church and then walked past the old schools, the railroad depot, brothels and crib houses, a stone jail, the Catholic church, old union buildings and hospitals, the first school which is now the town hall, and several historic homes owned by prominent Telluride citizens during the mining heyday. I ended at the Galloping Goose, the half truck-half train transportation that operated for over 20 years in the middle of the 1900’s.

Back to the room to download pictures. Around 4 we walked down to the Brown Dog Pizzeria for a Detroit version pizza. Very different, but very good! The pub had at least 8 TV screens going that I could see (more upstairs) and 5 of them were huge – spread across the wall side by side. Where else can you watch 5 games at once!! The place was busy!

At 6 we bundled up and walked back down to the gondola to ride up for sunset on the mountaintop. Had a nice visit with a couple from Denver visiting town, and then watched the sunset with a gal from Chicago. Very different from last night – more clouds to the west, but the sky didn’t hold its color as long in the west. But we did get some alpen glow, and the moon was amazing! However, it seemed colder – maybe due to a breeze! My fingers were cold!!! We rode the gondola back down with ‘Chicago’. Back to the room shortly after 7.

It has been a great introduction to this historic mining town nestled among mountains of 12,000-14,000’ on three sides. Incredible vistas. Not at all interested in the super affluent development of Mountain Village, but all that money keeps Telluride afloat as well.

Off tomorrow for ABQ!!  

This is digitally edited to get the alpenglow and the moon into the same picture.  (I HAD to try!)

SUNDAY, October 21

Telluride, CO to Albuquerque, NM (via Ouray)

333 miles

Today we drove the Million Dollar highway for the first time since 2012. This time was October, then was August. Today the road was well worth a million dollars! Snow was on the peaks, while many aspens were devoid of leaves, near Durango we encountered grove upon grove of blazing glory.

Off Hwy 62

We left Telluride around 8am, with a 7 hour drive ahead of us to reach Albuquerque where Luke had left his keys with Rick’s Mom. Highway 62 from Placerville to Ridgeway was new road for us over Dallas Pass at 8790’. An incredible route! The north side of the Sneffel Wilderness Area spread across the sky. We encountered a herd of elk racing alongside the heavy fences, hearing bugling in the trees up the hill.

Sneffels Peak and range as we head over Dallas Pass. 

Through Ridgeway and Ouray and we start the actual climb up and over Red Mt. Pass (at 11,000’!!) This first section of the highway is steep and windy with sheer dropoffs on the passenger side when heading south! It makes it exciting. Red Mt. Is rather white right now – layers of fresh snow covering the red soil that marks so many Colorado peaks.

Entering Ouray, view to south.

Leaving Ouray, view to north.

I can’t describe any more….the road was just one beautiful mountain after another. Every turn produced another peak, another field of spattered snow, another pinnacle. Breath taking. Undescribable!  We stopped at the Molas Pass Overlook (elevation 10,910’) and walked out to the viewpoint where we could see peaks for 270 degrees.

Molas Lake and view from Molas Pass looking north.

Nearing Durango....aspens still with some color!

We stopped briefly in Silverton to grab a fresh coffee and use the restroom. Then on down to Durango where we gas up and shortly thereafter I take the wheel until Cuba. We listen to more of our Clive Cussler audio tape as we cruise across the NW corner of New Mexico.

Brief stop at Continental Divide
near Cuba to grab a bite to eat!

Arrival in Albuquerque around 3pm at Mom’s, where we enjuoy some conversation and then a Subway dinner! Rick and I head over to Luke’s around 6:30, stopping enroute at Smith’s to pick up a few groceries. Luke had left us a great welcome note to Hostel 936...completed with wine in the fridge and counter, internet information, and bed instructions! Looking forward to seeing our son tomorrow evening when he gets back from Presbytery! 

MONDAY-TUESDAY, October 22-23

Mom-Luke Time in Albuquerque

These two days were rather uneventful! We spent time Monday with Mom (and I went to Dollar Tree and JoAnn’s!), plus we helped Mom with her laundry! Luke joined us around 5pm and we drove out to McDonald’s to meet up with Ran, Patty, Rach, Reg, and the two boys. They played, we talked and ate – ok, I did get into the play structure as well a few times and of course, ‘Uke was in there a lot!'

Tuesday we sat around Luke’s apartment until noon just visiiting and catching up. Then it was OUR laundry day and we took it over to Moms as she has a bit more efficient dryer than Luke! Called in an order to Papa Murphy’s for Ten Dollar Tuesday and Luke picked it up on his way over to share dinner and Mom time Back to watch Dodgers lose first game of World Series. :(  

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, October 24-25

Rob and Karen Arrive! Visit Time!

Rick picked up Rob and Karen from the airport Wednesday morning. Day spent visiting with Mom and lunch at the Village Inn. Luke popped in right as we were finishing up, long enough to say hi before taking off for the office for abit. We got back to the condo just as he was fixing his dinner!

Thursday was a full day of work for Luke (eg. he had a board meeting and wasn’t back to the condo until late), but Rob took the five of us out to Olive Garden for a late lunch which was fun. They then took Mom to SuperCuts for a haircut, while Rick and I visited Home Depot and started getting ideas for flooring, windows, etc.

I baked a couple loaves of sourdough bread at Luke’s, using his starter – I wanted to make sure it was in good shape after the trip down!  

Today's 'travels'

FRIDAY, October 26

Tent Rocks National Monument, Santa Fe

A day of adventure with Luke! I had seen images of this national monument I had never heard of from Facebook CAV friends. Luke had been there before and thought it would be fun, so off we went.

Tent Rocks NM is actually situated on lands of the Cochiti Pueblo SW of Santa Fe. Established in 2001, I couldn’t believe I had never seen it on a map (it isn’t) or read about it in the guide books. My passport book is prior to that date, so understandably it isn’t in that document.

Heading up from the trailhead. 

It was a BEAUTIFUL time of year to visit!! The cottonwoods all along the Rio Grande form a solid side band of gold through the middle of the valley heading north. There was fresh snow on the tops of the Sante de Cristo Mountains east of Santa Fe. Tent Rocks is an isolated island of “Capadocia-style” rock formations of beehive cones, teepee tents, and pillars – most with a caprock of solid stone balanced on top! The walls of the canyons were striped with multi-colored layers and to top it off – an amazing slot canyon to hike through enroute to the top of the mesa!

Parking was somewhat limited and the entry station monitors it and when it deems the lots are full, visitors must wait at the gate until there is room! A good thing because the slots make it difficult for large groups of people to navigate the canyon in places. Single file-one direction only!

The trail was only about 3.3 miles round trip with one uphill section past the slot canyon to gain access to the mesa top. But overall – pretty easy. Just a few big boulders to climb up and over in a few places where I had to pass off my hiking stick or actually put my camera in my pocket.

The view from the top of the mesa extended to the snow peaks north, the Jemez mountains to our west, the Sandias to the southeast. And that band of gold cutting across the middle. We could see the broad earthen dam of Cochiti Reservoir and the lake behind it. (In the top ten of earthen dams size wise!) Rounded mountains, squared off mesa tops, pine trees, junipers, and rabbitbrush. Few wildflowers were still in bloom, but we did find the feathery seeds of Apache Plume and Chimasa – the rubber rabbitbrush blossoms.

Beautiful ponderosa

Rick takes a shot back at us!

Striped slots!

There were a few BIG steps. 

So cool!

Out of the slot and heading to the mesa top.

Slot shadows

Tent Rocks! 

Rock formations and San de Christo Mts. near Santa Fe in distance. 

Trail section and mountains

A few snacks and a picture up on top of the mesa and we hiked back down, encountering even more visitors on the way down. Back to the car and once in service we find messages from Randy coordinating dinner tonight. Finally determine we will be meeting at Papa Felipes at 5:30. Still time to head up to Santa Fe for a couple hours!

Family Picture! 

First Pres Santa Fe

Luke has had enough meetings in Santa Fe that he has access to the downtown church parking garage, so we are at the plaza quickly. We did take a pause to check out the interior of First Pres Santa Fe, which is the oldest Presbyterian church in New Mexico, having just celebrated its 150^th anniversary last year. A beautiful adobe style building.

The plaza itself was ablaze with golden cottonwoods and red ristras of peppers hanging in long columns from the light poles. We grabbed a fajita to share to tide us over to dinner, visited the Catholic Basilica, and then spent a little time in the Christmas shops! A couple successful purchases!

Catholic Basilica Santa Fe

We grab a coffee enroute out of town and arrive at Papa Felipes right at 5:30!! Randy and Patty are there and Rob, Karen, and G-Ma arrive shortly after (there was some confusion in communication due to group texts and my android phone vs. the iphones!) A good dinner time and conversation. One of those rare moments when Mom actually gets more than two sons together at once. All four hasn’t happened since Pop passed away, so three is pretty good! We are all heading out to Randy’s tomorrow.

We'll take better pictures tomorrow out at Randy's! 

Back to Luke’s to watch the Dodgers-Sox game. I only made it through the 10^th inning before crashing. Rick and Luke saw it retied up in the 14^th. Game eventually won by the Dodgers in the 18^th inning – longest World Series game ever. GREAT DAY!!!

Saturday, October 27

Family Time in Edgewood!

Ah, a relaxing Saturday morning at Luke’s! I worked on pictures and blog, cut out more felt for ornaments, and in general puttered while Rick and Luke watched football games! Luke also did his chores….laundry, house tidying up, etc. He has another guest arriving Sunday afternoon, so we’ll need to pick up our mess a little!

A short time in the swing with Aunt Ginger! 

We left for Edgewood around 1, stopping to drop off some checks for the YAVs at Menaul and then heading out east of town. We arrived just as Rob, Karen, and Mom were pulling into the gate as well!

Such a cool swing! 

Randy and Patty have Regan’s boys from noon Saturday until Tuesday (the current schedule, it changes frequently!) so it was a lively afternoon of play time with Jax and Weston amid family conversations. Luke and I took Jax outside for awhile to play (basically hide and seek games!) until we were exhausted. Weston eventually took a nap.

Luke and Jaxon chillin'

Pizza, veggies, and fresh Rachael baked pumpkin chip cookies! Karen and I finished off half a bottle of wine! Regan got home around 5:30 and Ryan even emerged from his cave for awhile – we got him included in a family picture! Watched a gorgeous sunset from Randy’s upper deck. With the vast views both east and west, his place is a great spot for sunrise and sunset!

We headed back into town around 8. More football, then sadly watched the Dodgers blow their 4 run lead and lose in the 9^th inning. :(

Sunset!

Tough to get EVERYONE smiling!  

Mom and her boys....minus Rod!

Trees are ablaze with color!

SUNDAY, October 28

Albuquerque Old Town

A BEAUTIFUL day filled with sunshine and temps in the 70’s. We arranged to meet Rob, Karen, and Mom in Old Town at 11:30 for brunch at the Back Street Grill and then a wander around Old Town. Breakfast burritos or quesadillas for all!

San Felipe di Neri

Fall colors dot the plaza area and as usual the San Felipe di Neri Chapel is gorgeous against the deep blue sky with its white and terra cotta colors. I also spot a few roses still blooming and a couple even smell good! Other than coffee, we didn’t purchase ANYTHING in Old Town. Yes, I came out of the Christmas shop empty handed!! (Unless it was an authentic Chinese nativity, I refused to purchase Made in China products and we couldn’t afford the exquisite Oxacan black clay with turquoise set for $600!!)

Wandering Old Town!

We did find a new chocolate shop that was giving out samples and Karen bought a few t-shirts for Kurt and Megan. In general, just a fun few hours wandering around.

Back to Moms for a couple hours to chill (she napped!). Karen and I sat out on the balcony for awhile visiting. Then back to Luke’s where we met Amy, a former CHRPA co-worker, who was in town for a workshop. Fun gal – we visited until she crashed, having flown from the east coast and an early morning start! (Luke’s ‘hostel’ is filling up….I believe he is sleeping on the couch tonight!)

Highlight of evening …. I finally won a cribbage game! We switched sides of the couch and I think the corner must be the winning spot. I’ll test that theory tomorrow night! But the luck didn’t extend to my Dodgers, who lost in the World Series. Baseball over for the year.

MONDAY, October 29

YAV Tie-Dye and Goodbyes

Our last day in ABQ! We enjoy a rather lazy morning of conversation with Luke and Amy before Luke leaves to coordinate YAV Community Day at 11am. Rick and I visit with Amy until noon when we head out to pick up a few groceries needed for the trip home. Amy is being picked up at the condo around 2pm for her drive to the west side of the state for her workshop (south of Gallup)

We leave at 1 headed down to Menaul for the Tie Dye Party with the YAVs. First stop is Dollar Tree to pick up some table cloth covers and a bucket to put the filled dye bottles in when we are finished. Then through the entry gate, “You here for the Tie Dye Party? Know where you are going? Have fun!” and back around the football stadium to Teacher’s Hall.

Luke has the card tables set up in the shade of the big trees and I engage the help of the YAVs to mix up the soda ash and get the dyes mixed up. Then it is demo time and time to roll! I meet Lauren, Kim, Julie, and Brooke (in order of height!) Lauren only dyes one bandana and then leaves for basketball practice – she is helping coach the middle school girls team at Menaul. The other three have also brought some t-shirts to dye in addition to the bandanas Luke bought for everyone. Sadly, I forgot to bring the YAV stencil they planned to use on the bandanas. I will have to mail it down! (Perhaps along with the photos for Mom!)

We cleaned up our mess and then went inside to sing a few songs (the YAVs had requested Luke bring his guitar over!) I joined in for one and then Rick and I left to visit with Mom one final time. (Mom mostly napped, however, while the four of us watched TV!) Around 5 we contacted Luke, who would join us, and we made plans to go to HoLoMa Chinese for dinner. Closed. Rick and I were walking down while Rob and Karen brought Mom in the car. We walked down to ABC Chinese. Closed. By this time Luke had joined us. He got on his phone and found Ming Dynasty was open down on Eubank. Glad Luke was there to give Rick and me a ride!

Leaves near Mom's parking garage in the night light

It was worth it. A good meal we all enjoyed! And Mom took home MORE leftovers….she will be armed with food for the rest of the week, as we have eaten out EVERY DAY except Saturday and her fridge is filled with styrofoam trays!

Goodbyes to all the clan and we head back out to the condo to pack up the car and be ready for an early morning departure.

BTW....I won in cribbage again tonight and it was from the OTHER side. 

TUESDAY, October 30

Albuquerque, New Mexico to Heber City, Utah

599 miles

Back on the road again! After deliberation, we decided to just GET HOME! Two days, one night, highball it! So….we are up at 5:30am, pack up the final few

things, wake Luke long enough for a goodbye hug, and we depart the condo parking lot promptly at 6am!

Gas and coffee (‘On the house this morning, ma’m, no charge!) in Bernalillo and Rick drives us to Cuba with the skies lightening and reddening to the east behind us. I drive through the high desert plateau and white rocks of NW New Mexico to Aztec. Rick takes the wheel again through Durango and over the mountains! We take the 3 mile shortcut or bypass through Dolores, rather than down into Cortez, enroute to Monticello.  Near Dolores we pause for a cattle drive! 

Cows all around us! 

Gas and Subway sandwiches in Monticello!! We are cruising! Six hours of driving and we are right on schedule! We hit some rain as Rick drives through Moab, where I take over for my usual shift of the drive to I-70, the 25 miles of freeway, and then on up to Price. Somewhere near the freeway we break out of the clouds to blue skies and puffy clouds. Pretty drive to Price, stopping at the rest area. We checked the weather earlier and find no problems if we want to head back over the 9100’ pass to Duschene.

I pull over north of Helper on 191 and Rick drives the rest of the way into Heber City. It is remarkable how much snow has melted in the past two weeks on the high peaks.

Tuesday and Wednesday route home

In Duschene I reserve a room in Heber City at the Swiss Alps Inn again, just to make sure we aren’t “NO Vacancied” out when we arrive. We got ourselves all excited for the hot tub as we drove down the canyon (it was cooling down outside), but unfortunately discovered the hot tub had MAJOR issues and was closed down temporarily. No warm soak tonight!

Quiet evening in the hotel room. Looking forward to home on Halloween!

Wednesday, October 31

Heber City to Baker City

506 miles

Another long day of travel….sitting, driving, and more sitting!

We left Heber City around 8am, heading up the ‘back way’ to join back up with I-15 in Ogden thus avoiding the majority of Salt Lake City corridor traffic. Saw a beautiful hot air balloon near Park City, and the rising sun on the peaks of the

Wasatch were gorgeous. Rick drove to Snowville where we swapped seats. I drove to Jerome for a lunch stop at Wendy’s. Back on the road around 12:45 until Mountain Home. Gas, and then Rick took us home to Baker City!

Sunshine for the first part of the trip, but as we headed further west in Idaho the skies clouded over. I wasn’t able to get my “welcome home” photo of the Elkhorns near Pleasant Vallety because we couldn’t see the Elkhorns! We finished our audio book early in the day near Burley, and then listened to 3 Louie L’Amour short stories the rest of the day. All in all – a smooth trip, just another long 500 mile day!

A stop to pick up the mail and Rick got some candy just in case a Trick or Treater came to the door, but no show! Guess he’ll have to eat those Snickers himself! :)

Good trip – two new National Monument stamps, Telluride, mountain peaks, and some quality family time!!