San Diego - Biking, Son/Sun and Good Times

Chez Josh, San Diego, CA

Today was about as perfect as it gets. Warm weather, sea breezes, biking, and spending time with Josh.

 

La Jolla Cliffs

 

While Josh got some work in, Ned and I went out for breakfast. We stumbled upon this too cool for us coffee shop complete with a self serve coffee bar. There was at least 10 different coffee choices. The menu had things on it like pitaya bowls. We had no idea what they were so we settled for traditional things like poached eggs (yes, Uncle Bud the chicken laid an egg on the table) and an omelette.

I learned later what a pitaya bowl was so now am feeling a little bummed I didn't get it! (Turns out it's a dragon fruit-granola- yogurt bowl.)

 

One of my favorite bike rides is the path from Mission Bay to La Jolla. The people watching is epic.

We came upon Slomo, saw yoga on the beach, drummers, beach volleyball and smash ball to just name a few things.

 

Riding thru all the streets of La Jolla and looking at all the swanky houses was as much fun as the people watching.

 

 

 

After beach time was Balboa Park time. We were going to take in some museums, but the weather was so perfect we didn't want to go inside. We settled for more people watching and strolling along the promenade and thru Spanish village.

 

 

Tonight Josh took us on a bike ride thru various San Diego neighborhoods. We had a great time riding thru North Park, Normal Heights, Kensington, University Heights and Hillcrest. So fun to see all the different houses, restaurants and shops. I also really enjoyed having no idea where we were headed. Just blindly followed him down alleys and streets. So freeing to just ride!

Ned and I rode about 25 miles today. It almost justified the Indian meal tonight.

I really miss Josh not living close by, but love visiting him in San Diego. Thanks Josh for making our stay in San Diego so wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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California...& Kids

Chez Josh, San Diego, CA

 

 

We had a long drive out of Utah, across Arizona, thru Nevada and into California. Nevertheless, we still found time for a goofy museum. Downtown Victoriville has a Route 66 Museum. It is filled to the brim with kitschy stuff some, but not all related to Route 66.

 

We felt right at home driving this baby.

 

Most of the displays were around America on the move. The docents outnumbered the visitors and the place was crammed with memorabilia, but we still managed to have fun.

 

 

 

Of course, the highlight of our day was visiting these two! So, great to spend some time catching up over dinner and into the evening.

Josh and Marlina thanks so much for your hospitality. Just love you guys.

 

 

We ate at a fish restaurant and I think we sampled everything on the menu...crab, shrimp, fish and chips, fish tacos...Yum!

 

 

 

Believe it or not we are not sleeping in Winnie tonight. We are staying at Chez Josh. Just love his bungalow in San Diego.

Thanks Josh for letting us take over the bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom! P.S. What a luxury to have indoor plumbing under the same roof!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Zion Redux

Zion National Park, Watchman Campground, UT

 

Is there any better way to start the day than an early morning bike ride thru Zion along the Virgin River?

 

 

 

It reached 100 today so rather than do any hikes, the river called. We had a little spot to ourselves on the Virgin River. Occasionally some folks tubing down the river would float by. Our swimming hole was right after some rapids. Sometimes people would get toppled over and their tubes would get away. We had fun retrieving them - the tubes, not the people.

We were also in a little eddy. The water on the far side of the river would push us up to the rapids then we could float down. I have some cool video of Ned getting in on the action.

 

 

 

 

More bike riding this afternoon and then we hopped on the park bus up to the Weeping Wall. We've been here at least 6 times and have never seen so much water coming off the wall. It felt divine!

This pic is taken behind the water coming off the wall looking down the valley.

 

 

 

Dinner tonight at the lodge. Indian Fry bread tacos for Ned, grilled shrimp spinach salad for me.

 

 

 

 

The view from our campsite this evening. I'm gonna miss this place! However...

Tomorrow we head to San Diego to see Josh and Marlina. Can't wait!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Capitol Reef, Escalante and Zion!

Zion National Park, Watchman Campground, Utah

Today was a lot of driving, but broken up by passing thru 2 different National Parks and a National Monument. (What's the difference between a Park and a Monument? Answer: A Park is proclaimed by congress and a monument is proclaimed by a president).

Driving thru Capitol Reef National Park.

 

 

Capitol Reef National Park is unique because it's really about two things: the scenery and the pioneers who settled there. The rock colors and formation are amazing.

Capitol Reef got its name because the initial Mormon settlers thought one of the rock formations reminded them of the Capitol Building. The Reef name because the rocks form a waterpocket fold which is reminiscent of a barrier reef in an ocean.

 

Within the park is one of the original Morman settlements. The park is still maintaining the fruit orchards that the settlers planted here in the 1880's.

Today we were able to pick our own apricots off the trees. (Free if you just eat them right there, $2 a pound to carry them out). We opted to just eat them off the tree.

This park also sells little pies made from the fruit trees. Yum!! Canyonland has better scenery, but Capitol Reef has pie...so I call it a tie.

The bottom picture is a Mormon family cabin. They lived here with 13 children!! Only made it a year before moving on. Gee, I wonder why? (Seriously, how do you fit 15 people in this space?). Everyone...turn!

 

 

Driving thru Grand Staircase-Esclante National Monument is surreal. It feels like you are on the Thunder Mountain ride in Disneyland for a good hour. Up and down, snaking back and forth, while surrounded by colorful rock formations. It's the quintessential scenery from the Westerns we watched as kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We pulled into Zion about 5. We usually enter Zion from the Western side. Today, we entered from Checkerboard Mountain on the Eastern Side. As luck would have it we were greeted by a herd of big horn sheep grazing. Loved the babies on the rocks! These guys are so sure footed on these slippery sandstone rocks.

We have a sweet little camp spot in the park. Our plan is to chill out for a couple of days and enjoy the park.

 

 

We rode our bikes into town in search of something for dinner. On our way back we woefully tried to take selfies while riding. It was a pitiful attempt, maybe something to do with the Polygamy Porter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Peaks and Valleys, Telluride and Canyonlands National Park

Green River State Park, Utah

 

 

 

Heading once more into the high Rockies for Telluride. Gorgeous day for taking in the views.

 

 

 

First thing we did in Telluride was hop on the Gondola and head up to the Mountain Village. I think we had as much fun riding the Gondola as our great-nephews, the Duni boys. We've heard a lot about it from them so we wanted to experience it for ourselves. Thanks boys, good tip - great fun!

 

 

 

Love the waterfall at the end of the canyon overlooking Telluride. We were last here 7 years ago and gosh how things have changed. The town seems to have grown and is even more upscale than we remembered.

We spent the late morning and early afternoon hanging around town, browsing in the shops and having lunch.

Bye Telluride. Hope it's not another 7 years before we see you again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The transition from the Rockies to the sandstone red cliffs was pretty dramatic. Here's some pics along the way.

 

 

 

 

Next destination, Canyonland National Park. After much discussion of whether we hit the southern Needles area or the northern Island in the Sky, we finally opted for the latter. Good thing. Our A/C went out just as we were coming into Moab. After talking to a couple of auto repair shops we found someone who will hook us up with a freon charge at 5 pm. (Back of the napkin math...45 min. to Canyonland, 30 min. to look around, 45 min. back. We got this).

Mmm...didn't factor in that things could heat up. Windows down, hair blowing, the chase is on.

 

 

 

 

NASCAR Eurovan driver Mr. Ned with wheels smoking breaks google driving estimate by 4 minutes.

 

 

 

Canyonland, Island in the Sky, or as we like to call it "Deadlline in the Sky".

We drove to a couple of the overlook viewpoints and dang...just jaw dropping stunning!

No...I'm not getting any closer to the edge. You'll have to take my picture here.

(For the record this is our 37th National Park out of the 59. Wonder if we'll ever make it to American Samoa or the Virgin Islands National Parks?!).

 

 

The Green River Overlook.

 

 

Winnie was all charged up and ready to go. By the time we pulled out of town at 6ish, the temperature outside read 116 degrees! We were going to drive back to Canyonland and camp in one of the primitive campgrounds. We thought it would be fun to get up super early and take some sunrise shots of these incredible views, but I called "uncle." I'm just too dang hot to go without a shower. After a quick perusal of nearby state parks, we found Green River about an hour away. We stayed here about 7 years ago and know it well. Nothing much more than an overnight wayside stop, but it does have showers! It's also the watermelon capitol of the world - who could turn that down? Shower and Ned set up his homemade mosquito netting under the awning. We're golden for tonight.

 

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Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Ridgway State Park, Ridgway, CO

 

We spent most of the morning driving next to the Arkansas River in a gorgeous valley. The Rockies were always in view which just made it ridiculously picturesque. Mid-morning we stopped in the little hipster town of Buena Vista for some coffee. Ironically, we ran into the same group of twenty-somethings from the day before in Leadville. The town this time of year was all about biking, rafting and kayaking.

Further down the road we made a right turn at Salida and drove over the southern Rockies climbing once again to 12,000 feet. Much to our amazement we kept passing cyclists taking on these mountains.

We passed an abandoned mining operation and kept stopping to look out at incredible views.

We spent most of the day at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We've been trying to get here for about 3 years and have always been foiled by inclement weather. Not today, it was in the 90's.

The Gunnison River created this canyon. Most of the canyon is 2000 ft. deep, but reaches close to 3000 ft. in some places. It took a l-o-n-g time to make this canyon, at a rate of 1 inch a century! The Black Canyon got its name because some places at the base only see daylight for 33 minutes a day.

 

 

We took the rim trail and were able to walk out to different lookouts along the canyon.

 

 

It's hard to get a photo perspective on just how far and straight down it is. You can still hear the river roaring from the rim.

 

 

 

Hard to believe but on the other side of the rim is a former akaline desert. In the early 1900's they blasted thru 6 miles of the solid rock and diverted the Gunnison River thru a tunnel into the desert valley.

In the bottom picture you can see the Rockies, the badlands and the now fertile valley, watered by the Gunnison River. Quite an engineering feat.

We watched a movie at the Visitor's Center about early explorers venturing into the canyon. It was originally declared to be "impenetrable". It would make a great Indiana Jones type movie re-enacting the early explorers trying to navigate thru the canyon. My fave, repelling the walls with nitro-glycerin in their backpacks. Yikes!

 

We pulled into Ridgway State Park at about 4:00 and 97 degrees. Before we even set up camp we just drove right to the lake and dove in.

Ahoy Debi....is that you floating way out there? You betcha!

Tonight we are camped on a hill overlooking the reservoir. It feels soooo good to be back to hot weather.

Things I've learned this trip. Rethink our roadtrip to Alaska...cruise?? I am definitely a hot weather camper. Of course, Ned likes the cold nights cuz I snuggle closer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Rocky Mountain High

Molly Brown Campground, USFS, Leadville, CO.

 

 

Bucolic meadow view this morning from our campsite. We didn't see any wildlife, but sure enjoyed the sound of the birds and pine scented air.

What a joy to be in a campground where everyone was outside enjoying nature as opposed to so many campgrounds we visit where everyone is inside their RV's.

 

Our morning was spent driving over the Rockies. So interesting to get a different perspective along the varied elevations. When we hit 12,000 ft. I was definitely feeling the altitude.

The highlights were the Ute trail, going over the Continental Divide at the top of the Rockies, and being at the headwaters of the Colorado River.

We so appreciated the great weather and being able to see forever...well at least to Wyoming.

p.s. Things we do not take for granted on road trips: good weather, hot showers, cell service and being such great traveling companions. So much fun to travel with someone who enjoys the unknown and adventures as much as me.

 

On the western side of the Rockies we stopped by Grand Lake Lodge. The best part of the lodge is its location looking down on Grand and Granby Lakes. The inside is pretty and has a gigantic circular fireplace in the middle of the room, but the majestic lodges of the Northwest are more dramatic and grandiose.

 

 

We were going to do a side trip to Vail, but a crash closed the pass. Rather than sit in traffic we decided to head for Leadville. I was really looking forward to exploring this town. Several years ago I read the book, Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. Among other places the book takes place in Grass Valley and Leadville.

Loved, loved Leadville. A hippie, outdoors kinda town. Reminded me a lot of Nevada City. My favorite place was the Beer and Oxygen Bar. At 10,200 feet this is the only place that an Oxygen bar actually makes sense!

We opted for a late lunch/early dinner at a food truck. OMG - delish! I had a melted pepper jack/pulled pork/Ortega chilies on sourdough and Ned had a pulled pork sandwich. Yes, I have food porn pics.

 

Every town I fall in love with while on the road, I imagine what it would be like to live there. Sometimes I even glance at the real estate listings...causing poor Ned a bit of distress. As I was talking about how cool this place was and how fun it would be to live here, Ned reminded me of the high elevation and that they probably only get 6 weeks of summer a year.

There were several town murals. I saw us in the top mural, Ned saw us in the bottom mural. He also pointed out that no one was smiling in the bottom mural. Haha...point taken. Nevada City we'll stay.

 

 

The western side of the rockies is much different than the eastern side, but still beautiful.

Crossing over the Colorado River, while it still has water in it. Hard to believe this modest river will be supplying 40 million people with water downstream.

This is copper mining territory. The picture in the bottom right looked like something on mars.

 

 

We're camped in a USFS campground tonight right on Turquoise Lake. We are still at a really high elevation, over 10,000 feet. Good news is we have great weather (albeit a bit windy and knowing it's going to drop into the 40's tonight) and cell service! Bad news, no showers or flush toilets. Day two of no showers available. If I was a really good traveling companion I'd take a dip in the lake. I think for tonight I'll settle for being a mediocre one.

 

 

One more thing...Ned measured the water temperature with his infrared thermometer. It read 53 degrees.

Ned said he's onboard with also being a mediocre traveling companion. Great minds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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