Final Leg of September Roadtrip - York, NE to Waukon, IA to home

Friday Sept 23rd- York NE to Waukon, IA to visit Christina. Woke early to hit the road for a long drive. During our trip, Chris moved to Waukon for a 4 week rotation in a rural community in NÉ Iowa. So we headed northeast as opposed to due east. I-80 was as predicted, but as we headed north from Des Moines, the county became more rolling and as we approached the Mississippi and Waukon, the colors and hills were beautiful. Quite the pastoral scene. Arrived at the Stony Creek Inn where Brian and Brian had spent the night 10 plus years ago when they were evacuated from a camp site in the Yellow River Forest State Park after a Tornado warning. They had dubbed it the Stony Gulch Inn so it took us a bit to connect the dots. Met up with Chris after she was done with work. All three of us had a wonderful dinner in Decorah (a mere 19 miles from Waukon) at La Rana. Decorah is a neat little town and home to Luther College which we drove around. We had a great time catching up on Chris' adventures and sharing our multitude of pictures and stories. Retired to the hotel and Chris headed back to her apartment.

Saturday September 24th- Waukon, Effigy Mounds, Pikes Peak ( of Iowa), and Yellow River State Park. Got to spend the day with Chris! After Chris went for a run, we went to breakfast at the West End Cafe which was also recommended by Andrea, the doctor in the clinic where Chris is doing her rotation. The people we have met in this area of Iowa have been incredibly friendly and accommodating. We hiked to see one of the Indian Mounds and saw some great vistas at the Effigy mounds. We depended in Ester (gps'er) to get us to Yellow River State Park and ended up in a cornfield...... As a result of a detour we got to visit a bonus state park (Pikes Peak.......not sure why the name) and finally got to Yellow River State Park and a several mile hike on some of the same trails Brian and Brian had hiked years before. We had a chance to see Christina's apartment and had a sad farewell. And on the road again ....this time destination HOME!

Second Half of Brian & Deb's Sep 2011 Road Trip West

Friday Sept 16th - Hike out of Holy Cross Wilderness Area to Leadville & Aspen - Woke up early again, had omelets from a freeze dried kit. Cleaned the hut and Brian split and replaced firewood we burned. Loaded our (somewhat lighter) backpacks and hiked down (which is a misnomer since there was still a lot of up going down...) An overcast day where we needed to don raingear occasionally. Again, encountered no other hikers. Got to the car and the rain started pouring. Timing was very good. Went into Leadville, caught up with the Kuhns and toured downtown Leadville and a couple of "antique" stores. Headed from Leadville, across Independence Pass (12,000+ feet) and north to Aspen. Found a nice hotel in downtown Aspen and Brian got to see some Ruggerfest - and we both got to see a shower after two days......The hotel had a happy hour where we were able to meet people including a nice couple from Fort Collins - a retiree from ExxonMobil. Dinner at a good Mexican restaurant recommended by Scott (the hotel host) and a very comfy bed.

Saturday Sept 17th - Aspen to Grand Junction - Can you say "hip flexors"? Recovery day! We were both a bit sore from the recent day hikes but all in all felt very good. Great breakfast at the hotel - ran into the same set of people. Spent quite a bit of time chatting with Jack and Eileen Crystal - the Exxon folks from Fort Collins. They had spent the previous day in Grand Junction and gave us a lot of information and we shared "Hut" info with them. Pretty drive down the valley past Carbondale, Basalt and thru Glenwood Springs. Quite a bit of rain off and on - although as Lauren Kuhn pointed out, if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes or drive 5 miles. Stopped at Plum Creek winery (recommended by Jack & Eileen) on our way into Grand Junction. Had made a reservation before we left Aspen (there was a wine fest in Grand Junction) and were moved to a new hotel from the Hampton Inn (both downtown) to a brand new suite hotel with a much needed washer and dryer. Great place to catch up on email, pictures, acquiring replacement boots for Brian's blown out pair, a solar charger to experiment with in Utah, and regrouping for the next week. Outstanding dinner at Food 707(??) and great entertainment at Le Rouge, a bar on the way back to the hotel. And a good night’s sleep!

Sunday Sept 18th- let the Utah adventure begin! - On our way out of Grand Junction, we drove through Colorado Monument National Park (the Colorado Grand Canyon). It is spectacular - not on our "agenda" so we didn't stop much, but an amazing park. Then Grand Junction to Moab to Monticello. Sunny sunny day. Ate breakfast in Grand Junction, packed the Subaru with clean stuff and headed west. The scenery changed from green Rockies quickly to spectacular high desert with lots of rock & canyons. Stopped briefly in Moab to reconnoiter and decided to head to Monticello. This would put us a little closer (still 46 miles) to the entrance to the park. There is a lot of distance between stuff in Utah.... Went to the Monticello Visitors center (manned by one of the few self-proclaimed Gentiles in Utah) and got info and a fresh plum. Not a lot of choice in the hotel and restaurant department in Monticello. Our first choice of hotel, our second choice of B&B were booked. Ended up in a "Truckers Welcome", " New Carpet" Rodeway Inn. Parked in the back among stacks of 140 old mattresses. The proprietor (who was apparently the entire staff) proudly proclaimed his new replacement mattresses arrived the prior week, but the bed frames did not. The good news is that we had new mattresses, the bad news is there was no bed frame. (Another hotel later in our trip boasted about new mattresses...prompting Brian to conclude we must be travelling along the 'new mattress fault'. errrgh). Next was the adventure to find dinner. R&F Diner was recommended by our friend at the Visitor Center. Also one of about two restaurants in town that were open on Sunday. So in we went. No alcohol.... Dinner was...white. One waitress. Good news is that we arrived before the "crowds" and we had stashed a bottle of wine from Grand Junction in the car, so we had our own little after dinner happy hour, and prepped for an early departure the next morning for Canyonlands.

Monday Sept 19th - First Day in Canyonlands National Park - Took a back road from Monticello into the park, after a questionable breakfast at the hotel. Stopped at Peace Tree for wraps for our lunch (very good stop....) The road from Monticello was not recognized by our car's GPS. There were a lot of deer in the road, many wild turkeys and free range cows. A beautiful road, no traffic, but a lot of animals. Arrived at the park about 9am and talked to the back country ranger. After some discussion, regrouped on our original plans and decided to camp at the Squaw Flats campground in our tent and take two long day hikes. This would allow us to cover more ground and go easier on our bodies (maybe!). Turned out to be a good decision! The camping sites are first come first serve and there wasn't much available. We found a great site (Loop A, site 12), Brian pitched the tent while Deb went back to the visitor’s center to get more water (the water line was broken in the campground). Based on a ranger's suggestion, we hiked Big Spring Canyon, over the pass and down into Squaw Canyon and back to the trailhead at our campground. 7.8 miles. A deceiving 7.8 miles. There are some sandy trails, but mostly slick rock and lots of up & down. Getting over the pass required a bit of Brian coaching Deb. There was quite a bit of scrambling (4 or even 5 points of contact required at times....fifth point being Deb's backside). Again at the Canyonlands, most of the routes was several miles from anyone, and encountered very few people on the trail. Gorgeous weather - warm and sunny....Feeling pretty accomplished, we returned to camp, made dinner and enjoyed our last hidden bottle of wine. Decided to see what the ranger was presenting in the campground when a lost young man asked if we would take him to meet up with a group he had gotten separated from. Having been in a similar situation years past, Brian sympathized and drove him to Elephant Hill Trailhead (3 miles of winding dirt roads in the dark) where they connected. Deb hung out by the ranger presentation just in case.... A beautiful nite for sleeping. Cool and crisp and we were exhausted and sleeping on the ground didn't bother either of us.

Tuesday Sept 20th - Canyonlands Chesler Park Hike - BTW - after leaving Monticello we have had no cell phone coverage.... Got a good night’s sleep, made oatmeal and coffee for breakfast, broke camp and headed to Elephant Hill Trailhead. The 3 mile dirt road that Brian had driven in the dark the night before had many steep drop-offs...... The hike we planned was a "Lolly-pop" route. 3 miles in, a 5 mile loop and 3 miles back out. Part of the 5 mile loop includes the "Joint Trail" a .5 mile, 70 foot high, crack in a canyon. It is about 2 feet wide with various crevices along the route that branch off the main trail and can be explored. Like our hike the day before, the topography was challenging and the afternoon was rather hot. The hike is spectacular - the stuff postcards are made from - and quite challenging to access and except near the trailhead, encountered very few hikers. We completed the hike in an hour less than planned, and headed to ....... Durango. Did we make a hotel reservation?? No. Guess we hadn't learned our lesson from our prior experiences. Still not sure why Cheyenne, WY was booked. Found a room at the Durango Inn and had a late super at Applebee’s.....! And then a very long shower.

Wednesday Sept 21st - Durango to Colorado Springs - Brian had an 11am conference call with Valdes scheduled which was cancelled and let us leave Durango earlier than planned. Ate breakfast in town after doing some work in the motel room and repacking bags. Beautiful trip from Durango to Colorado Springs - surprisingly so. The trip took most of the afternoon. Called ahead to a B&B that we had visited a year before - The St. Mary's Inn - and got a room. Had a fabulous dinner at Le Creperie and had a very comfortable room at the B&B.

Thursday Sept 22nd - Colorado Springs, eMi visit, and started heading back east. Woke up early and had a wonderful breakfast at the Inn. Waffles with strawberries, whipped cream, sausage, eggs.... we remembered the good breakfasts from the prior year. We have had more waffles on this trip than in the past 5 years..... We worked in the B&B suite most of the morning (yup actually billable work....) and then Brian headed to eMi to meet Andy for lunch and catch up with several other eMi staff. Deb packed and fueled the car and the cooler for the road trip. We met up about 2:00 and took an eastern heading out of Colorado Springs to avoid Denver traffic. Crossed back into central time zone. Stopped in a small town (York, Nebraska) for the night. Light dinner at 'the' restaurant in town (Applebee's again) and in bed before midnight.

First Half of Brian & Deb's September 2011 Road Trip West

Friday Sep 9, 2011 Naperville IL to Des Moines, IA
Finished packing and loaded car.
Departed Naperville (in the rain) at 12:00 noon as planned!
Naperville to Des Moines approx 320 miles.
Drove out of the rain and into clear skies and beautiful scenery in Iowa, including farms on rolling bluffs to the north, and river to the south. Corn & bean fields very green with a few touches of yellow. Temps in the 70's.
Met daughter Christina at her apartment in the city at 5pm (still right on plan). Delivered TV and DVD player, and did some minor apt repairs. All went for some exercise around Grey's Lake near downtown. Chris is still a fast runner!

Chris squeezed in a basketball game with friends before walking to dinner with us...she picked a great Italian place Cafe De Something a short walk from her apt. Ate in moonlight on front porch of this old Victorian home. Ahhhh...Bella Sera. That's all the Italian I know.

Stayed at 800 Locust, nice hotel an easy walk through city from Chris' place. Band in the lunge was pretty bad, but reminded us of some good music (BS&T) so we sat in the lobby and downloaded their album for later listening...

Saturday Sep 10, 2011 - Des Moines, IA to Cheyenne, WY
Chris met us at hotel and we walked to the farmers' market. It was huge! Ate a Mexican breakfast (fruit cup with chili powder & lime juice...awesome!) and bought food for later. Dropped Chris off at her apt : ( where she launched to attend a med-school friend's wedding in Iowa City. We hit the road west at 10am for...Cheyenne. Why Cheyenne you may ask? Well because...it's there. And we never have been.

Nebraska is a very long state! Listening to an audio book together helped...we were both well-rested so neither napped and we both enjoyed the changing scenery. People are so friendly and easy-goin'. One fella at a gas station struck up a conversation with Deb, just to tell her how proud he was of his son here, who was a boy scout. Decided to drive last 30 miles on US Rt 30...a 2-lane back country road that was a real slice of rural America. Refueled in Dix population ~ 46(?). Good thing we could pay at the pump because office was locked and no one in attendance.

Dinner at a great local Mexican place in downtown Cheyenne. Most hotels are full! On a Sunday night. No one could explain why??

Sunday Sep 11, 2011 - Cheyenne, WY to Fort Collins, CO.
Ten year anniversary of 9/11. Stumbled into big memorial service near Capital building in Cheyenne, but just after it ended.

Drove thru Fort Collins and up around Horsetooth Reservoir, before arriving at Nic & Lori's house. Enjoyed as warm welcome then we all piled into Nic's car and headed downtown for: Jax! (our favorite outfitter store), coffee on the ped mall, then stopped by Shelly & Scott Paul's house Mountain Ave (cool blvd with a functioning street trolley running down the median).

Celebrated Nic & Lori's dual graduation with their new Education degrees, by taking them to dinner and drinks outside at Vincent's then a movie.

Monday Sep 12, 2011 - Fort Collins to Rocky Mountain National Park, with Nic & Lori.
While Nic was teaching class and Lori visiting the dentist and taking care of her elderly aunt, Deb & Brian each worked a little and each took work conference calls. Goin' mobile! Laptops cell phones and headsets worked great.

Deb, Brian & Lori drove their pop-up camper to Rocky Mountain NP (beautiful drive thru Big Thompson Canyon) and set up camp at Glacier Basin. After his classes, Nic drove our car and met us there. Cocktail, lamb burgers, peach cobbler and a full moon hike. Great sleeping weather.

Tuesday Sept 13 - RMNP - Leadville: Took a hike up to Dream Lake and Nymph Lake (not necessarily in that order) after a crab cakes benedict breakfast (it is tough camping :) ). We closed the campground at noon (literally - it was being closed for the season and we were the last to leave). Nic & Lori headed back to Fort Collins and we headed to Leadville. We took Old Falls River Road. This winding, dirt road parallels the more popular Trail Ridge Road...about 8 miles of beautiful, yet stressful road. Arrived in Leadville about 5pm. We are staying at 211 4th Street - a VRBO - Clay Stewart is the landlord. Lauren, Tom & Marianne Kuhn arrived shortly thereafter while we were repacking our packs for our backpacking trip tomorrow. Lauren took us up to a high point with brucshetta and ample cocktails to watch a Leadville sunset. Afterwards we had dinner at the restaurant where Lauren waits once a week and makes their pastries. And then we visited one of her favorite taverns... A shower & bed felt great after a nite of camping.

Wednesday Sept 14 - Backpack up to Uncle Bud's hut. Got up in Leadville and finished provisioning & packing. Brought our laptops to Laurens, got fresh bread and quiche for breakfast (ate on the streets of Leadville). Got some fresh food at Safeway.

Drove from Leadville about 10 miles to Timberline Lake Trailhead where we left the car, put on backpacks (Deb's est 30 lb Brian's est 45 lbs) and headed up. About 1000 total vertical feet from trailhead (10,500) to the hut (11,350'). Covered the 4.5 mile leg in about 3 1/2 hours (including a brief stop for lunch). Weather enroute was mostly sunny and cool 50's which was pleasant. Encountered some rain. Saw a few micro-bears (squirrels) but no other humans the entire climb. Our route was mostly on the Continental Divide Trail, which was mostly in dense evergreen & aspen forest. Trail was rocky (ok this is the Rocky Mtns) but generally well-marked by tree blazes so we never got officially lost. Breezy above the tree line, but that was only for a while. Uncle Bud's hut was a sight for tired bodies. (Oh, yeah - and by the way, we could have driven to the hut :)) Brian experienced hiking boot blowout on both left & right, but no injuries atop both were still smiling at the top. Deb's longest back packing trek ever- with ever-changing elevation at 11,000 feet. Pant Pant.

The hut is one of several backcountry cabins, built and maintained primarily for winter use by the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association, a not-for profit organization that caters mainly to hut-to-hut cross-country skiing groups, based on the European tradition.

1.5 hrs after arrival at the hut, outside air temp dropped to low 30's, dense fog (clouds) engulfed us, visibility dropped to < 100 ft, and it began sleeting & snowing. By then we had a fire going and we were warm & dry inside. Good timing!!

Life in the Hut...
-Wonderfully quiet. No elec power so no fans, pumps, phones, TV, radio etc. Just fire crackling, some wind thru the trees outside, bacon sizzlin'...ah. Cabin can easily accommodate 16 but we had the entire place to ourselves. Probably no one else for at least 10 miles around.
-Quality time together. Much needed and much appreciated.
-Focused on the basics. Tending the fire in the wood burning 'heater/stove', cooking meals on the propane stove, filtering water for drinking/cooking/cleaning. Repaired and tested Brian's 'boot blow outs' with athletic tape. Managed cell phone and iPad batteries.
-Cozy. Watched weather outside, which changed hourly from sleeting, snowing, foggy (above cloud ceiling), and breezy) to sunny & planned various 'escape' scenarios, in case the weather doesn't improve...
-Lots of reading and writing time.

Thursday Sep 15 - Day hikes around Uncle Bud's Hut Woke up relatively early (could have something to do with going to bed at 8:30). Made bacon, eggs (with broccoli & cheese....we are now out of fresh ingredients!), did all the dishes and took off for a hike in the sleet/snow/drizzle. It cleared up some during the hike. Headed to Bears Lake and also hiked north on the Colorado Trail/ Continental Divide Trail. Met two hunters as we were headed back to the hut. Lunch of 'instant' chicken salad. Called the Kuhn's and they arrived with chips, salsa, bruschetta, beer, wine and bourbon... Had a very nice afternoon sharing the hut, hitting 28 levels of Jendra and planning a possible Green Acres rendezvous..... Dinner was leftovers and Lauren's bruschetta. The temperature is warmer than last nite (~40 degrees). Plan to clean up and pack out early tomorrow, weather permitting.