IMPERFECT Lady

Our Car Moving Forward.

We left the kids and headed south into Wyoming - on our way into Colorado. 

There are a lot of fields to travel through between South Dakota and Wyoming.  

Dropping into Colorado, the fun began.

It felt good to be in a snowless place - or almost. I did a short hike along the path and over the river.

This was a neat art installation at a park along a river - on our way to Estes Park CO.

It was fun seeing the mountain goats - near Rocky Mountain State Park.  (Which was closed due to snow)

It was exciting to see this Elk - he was with a few ladies.

I walked down a few streets in Estes Park and happened upon a cool gallery.  I LOVED the colors and the wonderful pieces of glass.  

I can see how these would be super fun to create. 

It was just fun to be in the presence of some cool art things!

We had a nice dinner at a Nepal Diner that evening. I had planned on going into town again in the morning, but....

We woke up to this sight out of our Hotel window.  The night before you could see the mountains in the distance - now it was hidden behind the falling snow.

Falling snow.

And we had opted to take off the winter tires before leaving - so with summer tires and mountain roads. My option was to stay put.  To weather out the late spring storm by exploring town and maybe going to see a movie.

My husband's idea was to drive out of it. 

And, so we did.

Down the mountain roads winding and climbing - with cars and trucks racing past.  Oh my  heart. It was bad enough on the flat interstate - I had been in terror.  Now.  Now on the mountain roads. It was so insane- it was hysterical - funny but so not funny.

You never knew what was around the corner. More slush, more snow coming down, too many vehicles etc. Plus it felt to me - like we were all racing down the mountain. I purposely didn't look over to see how fast my husband was going. I tried to breathe calm into our car.

When there were snowbanks, I actually felt better.  Something between me and the edge of the mountain.  I would not have dreamed we would run into this sorta weather again - after the Fargo Bismarck stretch.  

What was so triggering for me, was the unknown and weird way it would be. We'd go from dry roads and then back to slush.  Just when I would think we'd be out of it, up over a summit we would go and more snow and slush.

Driving down from Estes Park into Boulder and down to Golden was all on slushy roads. Winding turning.  We did not see the beauty that I am sure is there on a nice dry clear day.  But, I was happy to be down - more or less.  Well - I thought I was done with the snowy roads. They followed us through Vail and pass what I am sure are delightful sights - on a clear day.  

West on I-70 we drove - with little surprises of snow along the way. But, we also saw some incredible mountains - when it cleared.

We stayed in a cool mountain town and I was feeling relaxed that the snow was behind us.

Lots of the western towns have incredible street art.  

Cheyenne, where we stayed the first night after leaving the kids - had wonderful murals on its buildings. We also toured the Train Museum which was neat.  To see how the railway opened up the west.  

After a day of mountain roads and snow - was longing for the hundreds of miles flat plains we traveled through.

My husband said it takes you two days of driving before you start to see some spectacular views.  

 

By the way riding with a retired snowplow driver - has its advantages and downsides.

He appeared to have no fear of snow, mountains and speeding vehicles.

And on a side note. The mountain road we came down - a semi truck went off the road coming up.  His cab was hanging off the road - his trailer and not sure what else kept it from going all the way over. We saw more cars in the ditch, more accidents happened. There were travel delays on the opposite side of the road.

Oh, and this is an interstate. So we had two lanes going down. Cars would fly by you - with confidence of a fool.  

 

An experience I will not soon forget - and I am grateful for my husbands ability to keep our car moving forward.

 

Back Home

We had been to the Badlands when our kids were little. We both remember them climbing over these ball like formations. We never did see what we remembered. The new rules prohibit wandering off the trails.

There were a few small hikes/trails to see a better view.

We saw big horn sheep, mule deer, prairie dogs and buffalo here.

And more snow.

Enough snow to show some cool contrasts.

What a wonder nature is.

These trees are Juniper Trees.  The birds eat the berries and drop their seeds and are responsible for planting more trees in these canyons.

I LOVE the fragrance from these Juniper tree.  Arches National Park also had the Juniper trees.

My new favorite.

These are the berries.

I was happy going on all the short little hikes to look over the canyons.  

Most of the National parks had really nice trails.

I didn't notice these signs until my husband pointed them. Often I would go on the trail and he would read the signs - about the history etc.

I love that these guys were just enjoying the sun and relaxing in it.

Beauty in their ragged uniqueness.

And I loved these bare wild trees.  My husband thought they were dead. I hope they sprout leaves this summer. I have no idea what sorta trees they are - but they had character.

Mule deer not caring about the vehicles that drive slowly by.

 

This was our last spot of interest. After this there were many miles of fields - mostly free of snow. We didn't hit snow on the side of the road until Minneapolis.  And of course more trees the further north you go.

We did 5 national parks, a couple of state parks and 6 states.  Next time I will research the area we are heading to a little better.  Find out fun places of interests and see when they open.  

All in all we had a wonderful time and it was good to step out of "waiting for spring". 

We returned to Spring in full download.

While it is good to go, it is always wonderful to be back home. 

 

 

Heading East

It was a breath of fresh air to leave the city behind and back to the mountain drives - heading towards the Tetons and Yellowstone.

 

Soon we were on a desolate stretch of road - miles and miles of seemingly black and white.  

Beautiful in its simplicity.

 

 

Our intention was to head into the Teton Mountains - Jackson Hole and up through the south east corner of Yellowstone.

We spent the night in a small town heading north to Jackson.

In the morning we continued North seeing more incredible mountain sights.

We could see the traces of recent snows - but the roads were bare and the skies were clear.

I'll be honest, I was a bit concerned to be heading towards the mountains again - and seeing them snowcovered.

The skiing appears to be in town in Jackson Hole.  This ski hill was closing on Sunday - we were there on Saturday.

This is the Million Dollar Cowboy bar - that my husband remembers when he was young going to.  40 plus years later and it is still a popular watering hole. 

Around the town square they had these antler arches. Very western.

Leaving Jackson Hole heading up to the Tetons, the snowbanks were so high, we didn't explore too much - we couldn't see over them and it was cloudy - so not to much to see.

Thankfully it wasn't snowing - but you can see they had just gotten a whole bunch - which is why the Road that passes through Yellowstone was closed and would be until late May.

They had it open for a few miles; but there wasn't much to see besides the snow.

Just to give you an idea.

And once you left the mountain tops, back to dry roads. It would seem impossible that we were just in snow higher than our car.

So we then decided to hit Custer Park and the Badlands heading East. 

 

 

Stir my Soul More

After Zion, we headed north to the Great Salt Lake. It was nothing like I expected.

The day we were there, many small birds (maybe ducks) were dead on the beach.

The smell alone made it a less than desirable lake. 

There was an open pit mine near by - we were a week early - for the three hour tour. 

Again, IF you plan - these things you would know. Next time. I will have to do some research before we leave home.

Also by the beach we were at was a Music Venue.

These mountains were in our windshield for miles.

It got a bit crazy around Salt Lake City.  We drove through and went to the Salt Lake First

It was a bit hazy - but we got the idea of the lake.

 

 

At an average water level of 4,200 feet, the lake is approximately 75 miles long and 30 miles wide, with 335 miles of shoreline.

 

Rugged Beaches here - there is an Island called Antelope Island, where they have better beaches. We choose not to go drive up there. 

This is another section, you can get to the water easily; but the smell of rotting birds made it less desirable.  We take for granted the pristine beauty and clarity of Lake Superior. I can't imagine swimming here - but the gentleman who took our Park Fee - said he does. And, that you can tell where you have a little cut, the salt gets into the wound.

 

 

This was the music venue.  There was a gentleman there watching the gate - expecting crowds of young folk.

 

We then drove to the mine - to discover we were a week early - so we decided to explore the Mormon Church. We didn't find the mega church; but found the city block where an older church was and their business offices and conference buildings.  They take up at least a whole city block.

 

It was weird to have the church surrounded by a fence - not real welcoming.

Yet inside there were young folk willing and ready to talk about their religion.

I was intrigued enough to enter and see what was behind the fence.  The flowers were the most welcome sight. They smelled so delicious.  

They are a little beaten down - they were recovering from the latest snowfall.

 

Nature is my religion - and the church felt like a dismal place after the garden - let alone all the wonderful landscapes in the national parks.  

This is the church on Temple Street.  There were young girls - so innocent looking - doing their duty of sharing the message. 

 

One of their church's business offices/conference center. The religion is a big business - 

 

 "Citing some former employees of the fund, the WSJ report at the time said that the Mormon Church's investment fund, Ensign Peak Advisors, had assets worth about $80 billion to $100 billion as of 2019, which easily surpass some of the biggest funds in the world such as Harvard University's endowment..."

This was in a dome shaped building next to the church. More young girls ready and willing to talk.  A man was playing an organ.  The stage and lights seemed out of place.  

I am glad I saw it.     It was Easter weekend, so perhaps they were getting ready for a show/service.

 

I know I am so jaded when it comes to religion. But the contrast between nature and religion and what parts of it stirred my soul.  I felt breathless and inspired by nature - and the Mormon church and city block of buildings that supported it - left me feeling its pretense.

 

They say that less than 50% of the folks who live in and around Salt Lake are Mormons and the numbers are decreasing. 

 

Knowing how a child can be made to follow any cult they are born into - and its costs.  I was relieved to have the city in our rearview.

It was refreshing to see city spaces - of art.

 

For some reason these expressions stir my soul more.

 

 

More Left to Come Back For.

After Bryce, we drove to Zion. This park the road goes through most of it.  At the Western end you can then take a shuttle to see deeper in to the park. They no longer allow traffic to just drive through this section - unless you are a guest at their lodge and perhaps camping.

What I didn't know, until we got on the shuttle, was that you couldn't just hike when you wanted. The hiking reservations had to be made one day in advance.  So, needless to say I didn't hike.  

There was one I wanted to see - the Narrows. I wouldn't have hiked in the water, but would have liked to see the beginning of it.

I had bought a lifetime pass for National Parks and this really came in handy - for all the parks were now free. Or we got our money back - more or less.

Again nature was so incredible.  It was actually hard to take it all in.

This tunnel was 1.1 miles long. There were windows here and there.  I tried to capture the windows in the side of the huge rock mountain - but I was shooting into the sun.

Just above the green is one of the windows. It is crazy to think how they made a tunnel and how it doesn't collapse with the weight of the mountain on it. This too gave my nerves a bit of worry. I just kept being curious and the nervousness took the backseat.

It was a nice day for a ride through Zion.

These goats enjoyed climbing the rocks.

It was simply amazing to see such sights.

I can see why these parks are crowded and how they have to start limiting the folks who are out and about on the trails etc. Yet at the same time, we who road trip without reservations and go where our curiosity takes us - get caught missing out.  

At least there still was plenty to see from the car.

There is much to see in this part of Utah. More left to come back for.

 

Work of Art that Nature Made.

We left Arches and drove to Richfield for the night.

I was getting used to seeing the Mountains on the horizon.  They were so fascinating to watch and wonder how we would go through/over them.

We went out to dinner and this is the sight that greeted us. Of course the moon appeared much larger to the naked eye.  

The next day we drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. You did not need a reservation - but most of the park was closed due to snow.  We did however get to see a wonderful canyon. I would have like to hike on the bottom - not on the sides or rim of the canyon.

First we drove through red rocks and tunnels.

There was a short paved path, so my husband was able to see the canyon too.  Yes we found more snow!  But it was warmish - like mid 40's. Perfect hiking weather. I would have needed my snowshoes.  Didn't think to pack them.

The view did not disappoint.  There is a trail that starts at the top and has switchbacks down - there were boot tracks, even though the sign said 'trail closed'.

I would love to go back there some day and hike.

 

He loves to be right near the edge to see it all.

It actually was neat to see it in the winter.  Kids of all ages were climbing around the rim with yak tracks and some with snowshoes.  I can't imagine being here in the heat of the summer.  An incredible work of art that nature made.

 

 

Waiting to Get In

The next day's plan was to get to Arches National Park.  To enter this park you have to make a reservation. Some spots are filled months out and then there are opportunities the night before - at 6pm they open the link to apply for a spot.  

 

I was a bit worried we would drive all the way to Moab and not get in.

But, we got our spot. I was so excited.

We had the perfect day - bright and clear!  

The landscape started to change.

And we started spotting jeeps. Big groups of jeeps.  They were on trails on the sides of these hills or formations.

And the landscape just kept getting better.

While we were waiting for our reservation time of entering Arches, we drove into the town of Moab.  And the Jeeps were everywhere - all sizes, colors and some were outfitted to the limit. I wish I would have taken pictures, but we were so enthralled by the volume of Jeeps.  A sign then clued us in "Moab Jeep Fest 2023".  

So some of the jeeps were out on trail rides of various levels of skills.  

This all tickled me - being a former Jeep owner.

I loved seeing them all.

 

I was so excited to start going on short little hikes that led to wonderful views. 

The arches are incredible to see and climb near.

The trails were so exciting, you never knew what sight you'd see over a hill or around the corner.

I love the Juniper trees - They smelled so good!

And I loved the cactus in the park.

 

It was perfect hiking weather - mid 40's.  

Perhaps because we don't have these plants, I loved seeing them.

The Arches National Park was one of my favorites - maybe because I was able to hike on so many trails.  My husband was so patient and let me explore to my hearts content.  It would be cool to be there in the night too - to see the stars through the Arch Windows.

I am so happy we were able to get in.

I wasn't a fan of the reservation system, until we were in and the crowds were controlled. I think they are on to something, even if it is inconvenient and troublesome for the older not so internet savvy folks.

I get it though.  

Even in the early spring, there were lines waiting to get in.

 

Nature of home

We traveled over to Martha's Vineyard by ferry.  I wasn't expecting there to be so many open beaches; I pictured the shorelines all privately owned.

This sign appeared by a sandy road heading towards the beach, a sign that said you are welcome to drive, if you dare.

My husband put it in four wheel drive and on we went.  What a fabulous beach this road led to.

In the middle of Martha's Vineyard is this wide open public beach!  I am sure mid-summer, it would be much busier than we found it.

I was so excited to be near the ocean and on sandy beaches!

And, I think the mail jeep loved the adventure as well.  Oh the new sights we seen, and traveling truly does expand your mind. 

Driving down the beach on the Vineyard, can it get any better than this!

The majority of our time was spent seeking new sights, traveling down roads, and up hills and mountains.

Nature is a canvas that stretches far beyond what our minds can hold.

The ocean beating against the rocky shore made incredible sounds!  While many flocked to this sight, to see Kennebunkport and the Bush summer place, I loved the shore!

I loved the wooden pathways that wound their way to the sea. The smell of the ocean, the sounds of the waves and the emptiness of it all, was simply perfect. 

Traveling off season, we were mostly free of crowds. 

It was hard to enjoy and capture the feelings of the vineyards.  It would be so fun to go back with my bike and a few days to ride. 

All the shorelines I visited along the ocean were unique and fun to see.

So many miles to explore. I walked short distances and tried to bring in the beauty I saw. This recovery road trip not only helped with my physical recovery, but soothed my soul.

These shores allow us to come and breathe in peace.

I loved the beaches before the summer season begins

And the very early sunrise - 5am the beaches are empty and full of nature's beauty.

We travel without an agenda, no real destination in mind. We wake and wonder the roads and make choices as they appear. 

I am so grateful for being able to see and experiences new places.  It has inspired me to travel and see more of the nature of this planet.

My heart and soul was very happy to have seen so much, and very happy to be back home.

Nature of home.