Thursday, June 17

...see...now I'm doing pretty good at getting these up daily!

So Thursday of our Colorado vacation saw the Lee family with a Doctor's appointment for Caleb's toe. Duane and I were again treated to a magnificent breakfast and then took off on a ride in the mountains. Wednesday night, Paul had helped Duane come up with a scenic route that would still be bike friendly (meaning no gravel roads!) so we had a plan and took off. We headed back toward Steamboat Springs but instead of heading directly in we took a detour on "20 Mile Road". This was a beautiful stretch of road, and I only have a couple of pictures of it because the camera battery died. I REALLY wish I'd been able to catch a picture of the sheep stampede we witnessed. Yup. A full out stampede. Of sheep. It was cute. 20 Mile comes out near Steamboat and we used a pit stop opportunity to buy new batteries and then continued our trip. These 3 pics are coming into Steamboat after "20 Mile Road".




From Steamboat, we re-traced our path from Wednesday and went back over Rabbit Ears pass...we wanted to see it from the bike...and it was WAY worth it. This time, we went entirely over the mountain top and stopped to pose for some pictures on the other side. After a while, we just turned around as it was the only way we KNEW to get back where we needed to go. It was a 250 mile ride overall and it was AWESOME!






When we got home, it was play time with the Lee family! Duane got to help organize the toys from the Issiah and Aaron's room. Wish I'd gotten a picture while he was still seated in the middle of it all! After that, more Rock Band, movies, dinner, reading, etc...another perfect day!






...if you want more of our pics, cut and paste this into your browser (let me know if doesn't work!)...

http://www.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2293315021/a=154363634_154363634/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Wednesday, June 16

Wednesday morning we woke up in the Rocky Mountain air and were treated to a bacon and eggs breakfast. The plan for the day was to be taken on a tour of the area. We were going to go through Hayden (where Jon graduated HS) on the way to Steamboat Springs. Our first stop in Steamboat was Fish Creek Falls. This is an absolutely, stunningly beautiful area in the mountains. We did some light hiking here and took lots of pictures of the falls and surrounding area. We later found out that this waterfall is the one pictured on Coors can...neat trivia. Next time, I'd like to try the 5 mile hike back to the lake that is the source of this waterfall. Pictures from Fish Creek are included here.







After Fish Creek we were taken up the mountain over Rabbit Ears Pass through Routt National Forest. The mountain scenery was again beautiful. Colleen stopped at one of their family camping spots so we could get out and hike some more. (Apparently, you can camp anywhere in this area, it doesn't have to be in a campground). High river water in the creek here prevented us from strolling too far but we did enjoy the scenery, found some moose tracks, and dodged snowballs thrown by the boys. Much laughter and merriment! On the way back down the pass, we stopped briefly for another photo. The following photos are from this hike and photo stop.





After descending the mountain, we stopped in Steamboat Springs for lunch at Qdoba and dessert at ColdStone. Yum. Bad for the diet, but on vacation...who cares? The rest of the evening was spent chilling "at home". We got Duane into playing Drums on the game "Rock Band", did some reading, sleeping, etc... Stop back tomorrow for Thursday's tale!

...and if you want more of our pics, cut and paste this into your browser (let me know if doesn't work!)...

http://www.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2293315021/a=154363634_154363634/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Tuesday, June 15

Sorry it took so long to get to it, but I had to get the pictures onto my computer and sorted for easy access first! So here is day 2 of our Colorado vacation...

After staying in North Platte on Monday night, we packed up early and headed out so that we could reach our destination in Craig by mid-afternoon (we hoped). After crossing out of Nebraska we hit Wyoming...and I should have had the camera out sooner. I missed photographing some of the most beautiful territory between Cheyenne and Laramie. This part of the drive was through Medicine Bow National Forest and I would LOVE to see it again sometime. The pictures that follow are from Laramie, Wyoming into Colorado. Once we hit Craig and found our "home away from home" we chilled out with the Lee's the rest of the evening. Colleen was graciously cooking and it was delicious (and a MUCH welcome break from fast food on the road!). We also did a little hiking in the sandrock dunes behind their home. It was fun, beautiful, and a great way to stretch the legs after the two-day journey to Craig.










Tomorrow, I will post Wednesday's adventures as I now have the pictures ready. Obviously, the photos that are shown here are only a few of those that were taken (keep in mind that MANY of them were taken from the back of a Harley at 70+ mph). I have just completed uploading the rest of our photos to our snapfish account and will include the link here (copy and paste it) if you would like to see more. If for any reason the link doesn't work for you, post a comment or shoot me an email and I'll find another way to get you access!

http://www.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2293315021/a=154363634_154363634/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Monday, June 14

Yes, I know that's not the date, but that IS the date I'm talking about. I figured that I would talk about our trip one day at a time in order to create more posts, and hopefully more thorough posts about our vacation for you. So, here it is...

Day 1 of our Vacation:

We left Monday morning around 7am. By this time, I'd already gone to Curves for the final booty-camp weigh-in and was welcomed home with chocolate muffins that Duane had picked up for breakfast. Needless to say, we were NOT planning on sticking to the diet this week!

At 7am it was overcast, but dry outside. By 7:20 we'd found drizzle. It stayed like that on/off all the way to Mason City, IA. We stopped there to tank up, return a bad cord for a com. system, and to adjust my ear pieces in my helmet. We were wet, and chilled...and wondering if the whole trip would be that way.

Fortunately for us, after Mason City, things cleared up. The drizzle went away and the sun started peaking out. It was a lovely day for a ride. A long ride. A VERY long ride. We stopped at an Arby's for lunch, and later a McDonald's for supper. The (just over) half-way point to our destination was Kearney, NE at 580 miles. We blew past it. We did another entire jump...all the way to North Platte, NE. 712 miles on Day 1. For those that don't know it, it's not the butt that hurts so much on the back of a Harley...it's the top of the inner thigh.

We stayed at a motel that was a bit of a dive and in a slightly scary part of town, but it was a good location to the interstate and was easy access. The rooms were also clean and there was another rider there that night so the bikes were together in the lot (and right outside our window!). From this point, I stretched out and went for a walk to the gas station to pick up a snack. It was a fairly early crash that night because we wanted to be on the road again early Tuesday.

I don't have any good pictures from this day because...well...because it was spent mostly in Iowa, and Nebraska...there wasn't much to see. Pictures will come with future posts, I promise. Day 2 coming soon, stop back for more!

Just sayin'...

I LOVE BOOTY CAMP!

The 6 week booty camp at Curves is now over. Final weigh-in/measure was today.

In 6 weeks I've lost 14 pounds, 10 inches, and had a 1.9% decrease on the BMI.

Woo Hoo.

Now, CO HERE WE COME!

Spoiled

As many of our few readers already know, Duane and I are taking a vacation. We leave approximately 7 a.m. on Monday morning for a Harley ride to Colorado where we will be visiting the Lee family for a few days. We will taking 2 days to get out there (so we'll get there on Tuesday sometime) and leaving to head home on Saturday...with no plans as to how long it will take us to get actually get home. Duane doesn't have to be back to work until Wednesday so we can lolly gag around as much as 4 days to actually make the return trek.

Tonight, I'm sitting here planning my packing list and editing it down as much as possible (hey, we're riding a motorcycle 1100+ miles...no room for extra "stuff"). I spent Friday spoiling myself by starting my pre-vacation pampering.


It started with a workout at Curves which was followed up with my first Mani/Pedi. (Wendy and I did pedicures together once, so I thought I'd try it again).

Then I had my brows done...they needed it.


After that, I stopped by Body and Sol and spent 30 minutes on a hydro-massage bed. I love this machine because I can adjust the pressure of the water...so it's really quite good.

Now that I'm sufficiently relaxed, I'll put in a few hours at work on Saturday and Sunday, and then take off on Monday with my hubby!

I'm SURE pictures of our vacation will follow once we get home.

Celebrate!

For those who haven't seen or heard: