Sunday, November 13, 2011

Colorado

It was hard to leave Moab, because there were so many things to do and see around there, but we’re anxious to get to Denver because we have something special to look forward to when we get there.

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We spent a few days in Fruita, Colorado on our way to Denver and took a hike on the Trail Through Time, a trail with dinosaur fossils and a dinosaur dig area.

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Bob is looking in the area that is a “dig” sight in the summer months.  When the people that dig here leave they cover the place with dirt so people like Bob don’t disturb their hard work.

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Bob thinks this lizard is really cool.  I think it’s rather creepy.

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The dark part in this photo is part of a dinosaur's rib cage.

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After our day on the hot, dusty dinosaur trail we decided to do something a little refreshing, so we took our bikes and rode the wine trail!  Yes, free samples are given at EVERY WINERY!!

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We bought a few bottles, and by the end of our day my basket was hanging way down.  It was really hard to ride in a straight line with all that wine in my basket! The vineyards were so pretty.

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In this vineyard you had to walk through their barrels of wine to get to the tasting room.  It smelled so good!!

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All the barrels were labeled, but no samples in this room.

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We had our fill of wine and are now driving over the Rockies to get to Denver.  They had snow a few days before we drove here, but thankfully the roads were bare. 

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This is very high, but not the highest Pass we crossed.  We forgot to take pictures of the other summit elevations.

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We camped at the Cherry Creek Campground in Denver, and this is a photo of some of our neighbors.
 
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Denver is not too far from Colorado Springs so we decided to check out the Olympic Training Center.

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It was really nice, and they had a path with representations of all the sports in the Olympics.

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The field hockey exhibit was especially nice.

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Team USA practices here.  The gym was huge, and it was divided into basketball courts, volleyball courts, etc.

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While our guide was explaining the different features of the gym I noticed inspirational messages from sports people on the walls of the gym.  They had a very nice quote from Joe Paterno, but I didn’t get a picture of it. 
  
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The swimming pool was fantastic! 

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This is the athlete’s dorm.

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This is our big surprise!!!  Beth had to come to Denver for business and she came a few days early so she could spend time with us. 

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No medals, but we tried the medal stand out anyway.

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We went past the field hockey exhibit again and checked it out more carefully.

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Do you see what we saw?  That’s Angie Loy, front and center!  She played for West Perry, Old Dominion, and the USA, and she’s great! 

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They had a large display thanking donors.  I’m sure these donors gave a lot of money and look who’s here…HIGHMARK!!  Thanks Highmark!

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Olympic torches were on display, behind glass.  I would have loved to be able to hold one of these.

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This sculpture is right outside the training center.  It represents the athletes of the world and I thought it was really nice.

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After leaving Colorado Springs we took Beth for a ride up Pike’s Peak on the cog railway.  

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Those cogs will take this train up that mountain, and, hopefully, down again.

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It takes over an hour to get up there so Beth had her coffee and map ready.

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Look another Balance Rock!  They’re everywhere!!

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You can see Colorado Springs on the way up.

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We’re getting above the tree line, and the trees look smaller and we can see further and further away.

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We’re here, and Beth still has that coffee.  Everyone says you can feel the effects of altitude here and they sell donuts that make that feeling go away.  I told Beth that she’ll need one of those donuts.  She claims she won’t.  We’ll see.

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Let’s go get some donuts!

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OK, OK, so Beth didn’t need a donut.  I didn’t either, I just wanted one.  Honest! 

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There was snow up here too!

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It looks like we’re on top of the world from up here.

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That’s our train.  You can also drive up, or hike, but remember, it’s STEEP!

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I like this one a lot!!

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We had a great time with Beth during her visit to us in Denver.  We hope she can do it again in another city.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Moab, Utah–Part 2

Before we left Moab there were two more places we had to visit.  The first place we heard about was the “World Famous” Sand Flats Bike Trail.  This trail was made for motorcycle use at first, but bicycle riders said they can do that too.  Read the warnings below, and you’ll agree that these bikers are not normal, everyday bikers like Bob and I.  Yikes! 

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They had this warning clearly posted, but I think we’re the only people that read it.  There was also a huge sign giving directions to the hospital.

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This is not my kind of biking.  We only saw one person without a helmet, and some had knee, wrist, and elbow protection.
There were two parts to the trail:  practice and the real thing.  We hiked the real thing, a 10 1/2 mile loop.
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The start of the trail doesn’t look too bad.

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No, Bob did not drive our truck up that rock!!  He knew better than to even ask if I wanted to go up there.

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You can see the bike path.  The white dashes painted on the rock is where the bikers are supposed to ride.  This little dog went along for a run.

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It’s getting g a little trickier.  We saw a man and his nine year old son on a tandem mountain bike, and that kid was strong!

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They came down that rock hill like it was nothing.  It was hard to watch.

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These bikers are taking a break to watch the Hummer tour go down a steep rock.  The left rear wheel of the Hummer is off the ground!  There was a lot of scraping, and grinding, but he made it.

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Many, many people on bikes took breaks on the tricky parts, and also had to stop to find the trail.

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If you bike this trail you’re advised to carry spare parts.  This guy got a flat, but I kicked many screws and other bike pieces off the trail. 

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The other place we heard about was Corona Arch.  There’s a photo in a restaurant in town showing an airplane flying through Corona Arch.

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We had to cross the railroad tracks to get there. 

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Next came a climb up high, scary rock with steps carved into it.  There’s a cable along the trail for people afraid of heights.

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This was not easy.  It was really steep!

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Just follow the rock cairns and you’ll find Corona Arch.  Someone got creative with this cairn.

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There it is.  Look for the little people under the arch on the left.

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Bob’s checking it out too.  Someone rappelled off it this morning.

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Another arch close by was called Bowtie Arch.  I can’t see the bowtie.  Oh well, it was still a fun day. 
So that’s it for Moab.  On to Denver and a fun surprise!!