Escaping August Heat

31 August and we are still trying to escape the heat.  Certainly the heat will disappear at midnight with the dawning of September?  Last night Ron, Dick and Fran, stayed up until the wee hours of today. After breakfast oatmeal, we ventured forth from Berthoud, CO to Guernsey, Wyoming to avoid the Kansas heat. A fierce wind tried to blow us back to CO.  A stop at the Virginia Dale Rest Area offered interesting history about the famous Overland Trail.  Such a ride we had ... under surreal skies and over a landscape that looked like the lunar surface.   Wild fires were occasionally visible in the distance, and what appeared to be rain off in the distance, but may have been smoke.  Our Guernsey restaurant choices are Mexican, cowboy and pizza. Ron marched to the market for fresh fruit, oatmeal and new red potatoes to cook in the microwave.  The Rollins Trail is right outside our hotel crossing over the North Platte River, under the bridge, and follows the river to the Oregon Trail Wagon Trail Ruts preserved in concrete.  The round trip walk was about 4.5 miles. Good Bye August.

30 Aug: We had a delicious, long, much needed sleep followed by a pleasant, short ride to Berthoud to visit a Mechem Cousin overnight. How fun to see a Prairie Dog out of his burrow along with a vast field dotted with burrow mounds    Dinner at the Mad Green Restaurant was delicious.

29 Aug:  Ron planned the ride east to the Midwest this morning,  and Cynthia booked the hotels after we arrived home from dinner with Brett’s family. The baby is adorable.  Brett and Jen adore the cake plate Cynthia designed and had painted by a rosemaling artist.  The dogs Entertained Ron.

Denver Botanical Gardens

28 Aug:  We are in Denver, Colorado, enjoying our three-week-old great grandson, Hudson.  We toured the Denver Botanical Gardens with the family while Hudson slept peacefully throughout the afternoon and missed our early dinner at Elway's.

Happy Great Grandparents

Delighted Great Grandmother

Winston the Dog with Hudson and Brett

27 Aug:  We began today at Estes Park, Colorado in the Inn on Fall River.  We stayed in Juniper Cabin, wonderfully remodeled with a hot tub on the porch, two fireplaces, a living room with a jacuzzi in the alcove, so shouldn’t we live here?  The girlie is happy, especially because the “hubsand,” who never discards anything, surprised her by producing oatmeal and blueberries that had been hidden in the luggage.  After packing we rode to the Egg and I for breakfast heading off to the Doubletree in Denver.  Today we rode from Estes Park south on Colorado 7 through beautiful scenery of mountain peaks, switched to Colorado 72 through Nederland to Colorado 119 south thorough more beautiful mountains and then re-entered the real world via the magnificent Clear Creek Canyon shared by that lovely stream and US Highway 6 for 13 miles into Golden, but constrained by traffic ahead and penned in by courteous traffic a discrete distance behind.  Then we were on lightly traveled four-laned Colorado 58 for five miles before being dumped unceremoniously into the frantic hordes on I-70 for fifteen miles until we could exit and find our way to the wrong Doubletree hotel on Quebec street.  (The correct Doubletree was two miles earlier on Quebec street.)  Oh, and we were cool in the mountains but pulled over to take off a couple of coats in the canyon as the heat increased.  The final ninety-three degree temperature fried my brain, but air conditioning is helping.  I may yet recover from the traumas of the traffic and the heat.  (Strange to think that we dropped four thousand feet to end up in the mile high city.)

Northwood escapees sighted in Estes Park !

Ron actually stopped riding at a scenic overlook and posed

One of those clouds that might have sprinkled us

26 Aug:  Today we rode east from Craig, Colorado to Estes Park on US Highway 40, switching to US 35 northeast at Granby, crossing the Rocky Mountain Mountain National Park despite cold and gusty winds associated with nearby scattered thunderstorms.  In Cynthia's words "bracing, fierce, chilly winds whooshing us around."  A threatening black cloud hovered over us the last few miles, but it only leaked on us a little after we stopped at the visitor center for a bathroom break.  Immediately after checking in to our cabin, we walked to Nicky’s Restaurant for dinner with Cynthia’s cousin Richard and his wife Becky, who drove from their Fort Collins home for the occasion.  As Cynthia walked to the restaurant, she passed a crowd with cameras gathered to watch and photograph a small black bear just a few hundred yards from our cabin.  As Ron walked by a  few minutes later, one of the spectators pointed to the bear so that Ron enjoyed watching him moving uphill away from the police who had shot into the air to scare the bear away from the residents and the road.  Cynthia likes the notion that we were the only wildlife we saw until we reached Estes Park.  We had a thoroughly enjoyable visit with Richard and Becky,and we thank them for treating us to dinner.

Not the kind of soft fuzzy place for a comfortable nap.

25 Aug:  In Vernal, UT we packed for today's ride to Craig, CO.  The plan in leaving Pagosa Springsa month ago was to escape the smoke from the 416 fire in Colorado.  It didn't work, smoke from the California wildfires have dogged us in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Utah.  Reports suggest the smoke has reached New York.  Because of the smoke, the sun turns blood red/orange at sunset, an interesting and colorful phenomenon.  Today’s ride began after a late breakfast at Denny’s, prepared to perfection without oil or even cooking spray.  The cook from last night cooked our breakfast again this morning and did an even better job the second time.  The views were marvelous as we rode through Dinosaur, turning southeast to Meeker, and then back northeast to Craig, taking advantage of every twisty turn Ron could find.  Clouds of every shape, including threatening rain clouds, hovered above.  A few times the threat of rain was realized, although not of great significance.  We didn’t get wet!  An Italian Restaurant fed us a lovely salmon, baked potato and smashed potato.  (The chef came out to explain that he had not yet added any butter or milk, that these potatoes had only just been mashed).  Sad that John McCain passed away.

24 Aug:  We escaped the ninety-degree heat forecast for today in Salt Lake City by riding on east on I-80 in heavy traffic up the Wasatch towards Denver.  The snow that fell on the mountains on Tuesday is gone, but the mountains are breathtaking.  Noon is not usually the best time to sightsee, but the mountains were quite lovely with patches and striations of straw, pale green, and green as well as several other colors.  We turned south on US 189 for a few miles, then east on Utah 248 for a few more miles into the berg of Kamas, where we switched to Utah 32 south and then left on Utah State Highway 35 east.  We stopped in Woodland at the Biscuit Company and could not decide if we've eaten there before or stopped to find them closed.  This time they were definitely open, and we both enjoyed a veggie sandwich.  Not much else there that fits our diet.   We continued on Utah 35 alongside a couple of nice streams and over Wolf Creek Pass into more bucolic pasturelands and peaceful valleys kept green with irrigation.  It was a very peaceful and pleasant day although we skirted one mass of clouds and received a few raindrops.  Utah 35 terminated at Utah 87, and Ron guessed that south was the correct direction.  Then we found ourselves heading directly towards a dark wedge of clouds expanding from the horizon towards our chosen path.  We soon recognized the scenery and arrived in Duchesne, Utah about the same time as the leading edge of that mass of storm clouds.  But we needed to make a pit stop, and filled the tank with gas, and were dismayed to watch the storm begin to pelt the pavement beside us.  After half a minute it slowed, and we sped off east on US 40 into variable light rain for about ten minutes.  We soon were back into dry air and enjoying the cloudscapes surrounding us.  It was awesome, and we saw a bonus herd of six or ten antelope within 100 yards of the roadway.   We stayed on US 191into Vernal and discovered the Comfort Inn, where we've stayed before, & Denny's, where we've eaten before.  this time the Harvest Bread Company  we enjoyed a four mile sunset walk as the rain clouds hovered over us, but we avoided more than a spit or two. Smoke from the California forest fires have accompanied us from CO to Montana to Idaho, Utah. was open, and Ron indulged for a half a loaf, but was disappointed that it tasted salty and wasn't as good as he had hoped.

23 Aug:  Thanks to Raquel and Stan L for cherry tomatoes and zucchini from their garden. Ron will have the Jones package completed by bedtime. Cynthia has the Lea DNA Subgroup combined with the Lay Project.  Our big surprise is that we are almost packed for an early morning departure towards Denver to see new grandson Hudson.  Cynthia is doing laundry again: the clothes were just washed last year!  Good night.

22 Aug: The cleaning crew arrived to clean the rooms, and we took off for the Library to photograph records. Cynthia walked back to the hotel to shower at two, Ron returned by 4:38 in light rain. At 4:44 we picked up a hotel umberella because of severe weather alerts; and for once the alerts were right on as hail pelted us for two or three minutes before turning to a heavy rain for another couple of minutes.  By the time we reached the restaurant at five, the rain stopped.  Dinner with Raquel and Stan L, out favorite genealogists, was delightful.  Raquel has done research for Cynthia since 2004 breaking through many brick walls.

21 Aug: Yesterday! The favorite wefee had a Girl day accompanied by her favorite hubsand.  Her hair is even shorter.  Ron walked her home and rode to spend the rest of the day with cousin Roy while Cynthia dived into DNA.

20 Aug: It is a windy Monday in Salt Lake City. We are amazed at the changes in downtown SLC from two years ago. The major construction projects are completed, with new construction creating chaos north of the Temple. The Temple Assn. purchased two city blocks of Main Street to add to the Temple’s landscaped grounds. The flowers are amazing.  Thursday night we may attend choir rehearsal  

The homeless are no longer so visible downtown, most of them have moved south six blocks to our Homewood Suites area. Many sleep in Pioneer Park across the street from the hotel. The city is building a soccer and recreation complex for them in the park, construction in progress. We met the whole community of 2,200 on our walk two nights ago as they relaxed on the grounds in front of Catholic Charities, having received the second meal of the day. Many have bicycles, some are in wheelchairs, and some use shopping carts piled with their possessions. One lucky fellow had a trailer pulled behind his bicycle. The Opioid use and schizophrenia are most apparent. A large medical complex is available for treatment. Sunday, we were walking to the Market Street Grill for brunch when one of the fellows started crossing the street with us; he asked if we  knew of another place for feeding, because he had missed breakfast at Catholic Charities. Ron’s patched shirt was sending a message!!.  Cousins we met for brunch said that homeless come from all over the country (US ) to SLC because of the food, shelters and medical care, etc..

Downtown SLC has motorized bikes and scooters with charging stations. Drop your money in, get on and go to other drop offs. The scooters and bikes have their own traffic lanes and travel very fast. We don’t plan to try them. 

The Family History Library has changed significantly. Now, with digitization the library is a media complex. Sign up and you are given an IPad.  We already have a lot of access to records on the Mac.  Maybe this will work. We are finding items of interest. 

The 24th we travel to Denver to meet Hudson  what fun. Brett said he is a very contented little man. Roxanne returned to Houston yesterday complaining Brett wants to hold him ALL of the time. She did hold him through a two hour nap; he woke up with hiccups and poopy pants so he turned him over for repairs.

The 30th we begin the trek towards Iowa. We travel back, scenic roads, and avoid heat and rain. I think this means we reach Iowa sometime the end of the first week in Sept.  We do not know if we are going through Elk Horn to DSM and see Carol C. en route or if we go directly to Northwood and travel south to EH and DSM. I will post here when the mystery is revealed.

19 Aug: Sunday brunch with Roy and Barbara was a delight. Barbara is such fun!  She recounted hilarious tales of ghosts at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. We walked to the Market Street Grill and home for. Computer afternoon. Of interest, a homeless guy with a bike asked Ron if he knew of any other feeding spots since he missed breakfast (presumably at Catholic Charities behind the hotel).   By evening it was time to hit the pavement again for a sunset walk that included touring the magnificently landscaped temple grounds.  Since our last tour, the temple purchased two city blocks at the end of Main Street, that are now incorporated into the landscaped grounds connecting the Joseph Smith building and Brigham Young’s home.  Thurs. night we plan to attend the choir practice.  We totaled six miles walking today.  Never seen before, downtown has motorized bikes and scooters that one hops on, drops money in to turn them on, and takes off racing down special lanes in the wide city streets. Evidently they have GPS systems built in so they can be picked up and returned to charging stations.

18 Aug: Ron spent the day with cousin Roy W. and his wife Barbara while Cynthia worked on DNA projects.  We enjoyed getting lost for forty hours/days/minutes while trying to walk to our favorite restaurant in Salt Lake City, the Market Grill. The split salmon and halibut on cedar plank was delicious!

17 Aug: Salt Lake City, Utah, downtown. Much has changed since our 2016 trip to SLC, heavy construction has shifted north of the temple now that downtown projects are completed.  Homeless have shifted away from downtown proper to Pioneer Park and the Rio Grande area, a block behind the south side of our hotel. Even the family history Library has had significant changes, with records and books digitized on computers.  The FHL is now a mega media complex, which is not intriguing to us. Even so, we found information to add to our records.  Our evening walk was, inadvertently, right through the middle of four or five blocks of tough looking homeless. It was surprising to see so many black homeless considering the whiteness of Salt Lake City. The opioid use and mental health issues were obvious. Such tragedy!

16 Aug: Flying Saddle Resort, Alpine Junction, Wyoming is nestled along the banks of the Snake River.  On this coolest morning we are getting the earliest start. By the end of the day when we arrived in  Salt Lake City, UT it was hot! The ride was pleasant and especially scenic; just as we crossed into Utah we rode past the the Bluebird Inn, a great B and B situated across from Bear Lake, its lovely blue color is due to minerals.  Several spectacular homes clustered the lakseshore for over a mile.  Logan Canyon was mesmerizing. So was a mile long cattle drive on the opposite side of highway 89! Thankfully, the cattle were not on our side of the highway; this was a first time ever sighting for us.  Lunch at the Old Grist Mill Bread Factory was a turkey sandwich and greens for Cynthia,   Ron won’t eat bread; they had little Ron would eat; by the time we left Logan we were shedding layers of clothing. The Homewood Suites had a vegetarian dinner,  except the vegetables were canned, loaded with sodium. After dinner we walked to the family history Library.  A large city park across from the hotel had many homeless and is unsafe at night.  We met a group of young adults dressed in fancy evening clothes,  evidently returning from an event. Upon meeting a trio of scantily clad young girls Cynthia said, “Its  hard to tell the nice girls from prostitutes today.”  Ron said, “They are prostitutes.”

15 Aug: Leaving Cody, Wyoming and riding onto Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons was an all day trip.  While haze from wildfires was a disappointment, the scenery was splendid, takes your breath away glorious.  The only wildlife we saw were water fowl,  a deer and fawn planning to cross the highway in front of us, but we startled them and they jumped back.  Beautiful blue lakes looked like glass.  Gravel, highway construction, plus areas of beetle infestation leaving devastation were downsides to a mostly perfect 75 degree day.  Lunch at the Jackson Lodge was a treaty We arrived at Alpine Junction Resort at 4:30 PM and ate wild, fresh caught Alaskan salmon for dinner, waddling along the Snake River for a brief walk. Now it is bedtime.

My handsome Smooch!

Grand Tetons visible through smoky haze

14 Aug:  Oh, no!  Oh, yes!  Cynthia's scheduling errors compounded.  She must have been looking at a different month on the calendar.  We missed our scheduled check-in at two hotels.  When we arrived in Cody Wyoming, Cynthia was shocked to discover that we were scheduled to have arrived at the Comfort Inn on Sunday night, two nights earlier ... and the hotel was sold out for tonight. Thankfully, the Holiday Inn next door had one room left.  The ride to Cody from Billings was breathtaking, crossing the peaceful, wide Yellowstone River twice and several forks of the placid Clark Fork River many times. Leaving a Rest Area, vast golden fields of newly baled hay presented against lavender hues of the Pryor Mountains.  An antelope played alongside the road.  A couple of black clouds hovered above us, spitting a few rain drops until we out rode them.  A most surreal sight was mist rising up from the hot concrete after the rain; shafts of sunlight were streaming through breaks in the clouds,  like spotlights dancing on the mountains. We arrived in Cody dry!  And hungry.  Ron described todays ride like this: The skies were awesome as we rode south for about 100 miles to Cody.  The forecast was for afternoon thundershowers, and we skirted slightly east of a massive plume of ominous and opaque sky.  We even ducked underneath a ribbon of cloud with tendrils dropping to earth but only got a few scattered raindrops.  With 40 miles yet to ride, we saw distant valleys seemingly full of cloud or fog.  The closer we got, the more it looked like rain until we rode over some wet pavement, and Ron realized that the heat from the pavement was evaporating the moisture creating the foggy appearance.  The rain wetted us ever so lightly one more time, but we rode into Cody warm and dry.  And it has remained dry since.

The Big Horn River canyon must be south of Cody on highway 72 because it wasn't north.  Actually it is south of Thermopolis.

13 Aug: Its a Mir-A-cle, A high today of 80 degrees means a trip to a hiking trail or at least to enjoy the view from the rim.  Cooler weather tomorrow means we leave early morning to begin the journey to Salt Lake City.

12 Aug: Sunday Offering:
Dear Lord, Its one of those Sundays! Our hearts overflow with thanksgiving for your presence that comes in surprising ways: it is a Facebook post about gratitude for friends; it is fat, furry, bunnies bouncing on the patio; it is a beaming smile from the chef; it is a swaddled newborn; it is love from a spouse. Transform our hearts to radiate your presence to a hurting world; open our eyes to recognize your presence in others. Amen. P.S. Thank you for our blog friends.

11 Aug arrived on schedule. We woke up glad to be alive, continuing to enjoy a great life. Venturing forth to walk a couple of miles, at 80 plus degrees, we were surprised we weren’t fried.  Ron’s Jones family group sheet package ran into a glitch; after an entire afternoon it s seems like not a lot was accomplished.  Cynthia is upbeat after a DNA discovery confirmed Linda B’s 11th great grandfather was the Puritan Robert Coe who emigrated to the Colonies in1634.  We must be the most well known couple in the hotel as we walk the halls and stairs at after dinner unti it cools off enough to walk outside.  This is Saturday night,  bath and laundry time,  Cynthia boogied the laundry down a flight on the back stairs in her robe praying no one would see her. Yuk! Spotted! And the guy had the nerve to chuckle. Good night!

10 Aug: Our satirical blog title should be obvious: there is no escape from August heat. A 9:30 AM ride to the hair salon was pleasant, not yet hot.  Cynthia had a haircut, a new wife? What happened to my favorite wife?  By noontime, the heat had escalated, yet, it was quite pleasant having lunch on the shaded outdoor patio by the ponds.  Ron is keeping out of trouble working on Sudokus OKIE mailed to him! Hi Okie! The fitness center worked for afternoon exercise, and a long walk after dinner at the Rib Chop rounded out the day’s exercise except for hand feeding a couple of the fat, furry bunnies. Amazing these bunnies are so tame and seem safe from predators, except for the four wheeled ones.

9 Aug: A severe heat warning was issued for Billings so we walked early,  but we waited too long in the afternoon for the walk to lunch; it was beastly hot, but it helped to jig and jag from the shade of one small tree to the next.  Ron walked again in the evening. It was fun to talk to Mark, the owner of the Moto Guzzi motorcycle parked outside. And it was interesting to see a couple more Hells Angels at breakfast again.  Perhaps they are part of the Sturgis Rally that is just about over.   Ron is nearly finished with another Family Group package.

8 Aug: Brett and Jen had a beautiful baby boy last night. They are over the moon in love with this guy.

Hudson, newest addition to the family

7 Aug:  The heat is creeping up!  Ron completed his GEDcom and uploaded it to Gedmatch.com.  He is delighted to find DNA matches to known ancestors.  Sistah Carol will be so pleased to find more chromosome matching to do when she returns from her trip to a reunion in Iowa.  We are interested in learning if she found takers for the four DNA test kits available to be passed out to cousins.  We walked early.  Cynthia is engrossed in texting family about her new great grandson expected to make an appearance today.

6 Aug: Billings, MT on a cooler than usual day: we forgot to blog. Imagine that.

5 Aug:  Sunday Offering: Find someone you disagree with, someone you think is wrong, and decide to love that person the way you want Jesus to love you. We might be thought well of for our opinions, but we will be remembered for our love.  Become love. 
(from Bob Goff, Everybody Always Becoming) —-

We walked, we ate and we slept the rainy afternoon away.  Now  it is time for Ron to go grocery shopping before the thousand year flood arrives.  The rain ceased and we walked for nearly six total miles today. 


4Aug: Yesterday’s rain cooled Billings a bit. The morning was quite pleasant for walking. A big surprise was seeing 4 Hell’s Angels in colors staying at a Hilton hotel. The two women looked pretty tough, covered in tattoos. Ron cleaned the bike’s Fareng. Email consumed our afternoon followed by a walk to an early dinner at the Rib Chop Restaurant and a later, and longer, walk. The sunset was glorious.

3 Aug: Happy Birthday Jon!  The smooches are in a Billings, Montana hotel, all cozy, during a deluge. After months traveling a very dry SW crying for rain, it is deeply pleasing to be inside watching a down pour outside.  The cleaning crew arrived earlier this morning, leaving the room fresh and enjoyable.  Our chores done for the day, we are relaxing after a noon walk to the Windmill Restaurant; the salad was yummy.    Last night we stayed awake almost to the rooster crowed, looking at weather options and routes for going to Salt Lake City.  The coming two weeks are forecast to be roaring hot no matter which route we take; we would burn up riding in the heat, so we opted to stay here until the 12th of August - departing very early AM to ride to Cody,WY.  From there we ride through Yellowstone on the 13th - repeating a very early AM  departure, arriving in Alpine, WY by evening.  The 14th, we have a  Grandaddy of a ride to Salt Lake City.  God willing, we arrive by evening after a long, hot day.

2 Aug: Bunny rabbits and prairie dogs are the story for Aug 2. Ron fed them carrots.  We walked to the Windmill for super sized salad in 88 degree weather.  Tonight we will walk in Walmart!

Terry the Prairie Dog

Bunny Eats From Hand

1 Aug, Billlings, Montana, Homewood Suites - we tried escaping the heat by riding to Montana, it didn’t work the first time we tried it either. The temperature was 92 degrees today.  Fat, furry bunnies on the hotel grounds are capturing our attention. Very cute.  Cynthia was pleased to find a tailor to alter too loose blue jeans in short order.  Nearby was a five story Hilton hotel that begged us to walk the carpeted floors; we amuse ourselves by walking the floors of hotels to we can stay cool.  Lunch at the Windmill Restaurant was very pleasant with nice grounds and lakes for walking. Our noses were buried in computers for the afternoon.  The hotel has free suppers besides free good breakfasts. And that was our day.