Took it a little bit easy yestarday. Went to Natural Bridges and again saw what mother nature can create. Then went to Newspaper Rock, which is a really cool panel of petroglyphs. Nobody really knows what the images mean, but I kind of think that it was like email. You could leave messages about what you had seen and done, and what's good to do in the area. I'm leaving Bluff today and heading to Monument Valley. Happy Father's Day to everyone. [View Full Entry]

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Boy am I tired. Arches was really cool and really tiring. I started off by walking the trail to Delicate Arch, which was a tough trip with a good deal of climbing, but very worth it. After that I went to the Devil's Garden area and took the trail to Double O Arch. That was a very tough trip. Lots of climbing, scrambling on rock surfaces, and not a lot to keep you on the trail. I got off the trail (lost) for about twenty minutes on the way back. My legs and lungs, as well as the sea (Seinfeld reference) [View Full Entry]

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Packed up the tent and headed west to Hovenweep National Monument. More dwellings here. After that I decided to head to a motel in Bluff, UT. The air is nice and cold, and it will be nice to have a bed after sleeping in a tent for the last couple days. Arches National Park tomorrow. [View Full Entry]

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Arrived at Mesa Verde in the early morning on the 9th. Proceeded to the Far View Visitors Center to purchase tickets to go on the three ranger guided tours. I decided to do one of the tours on the first day and two on the second. I took a ton of pictures, and it will be easier to explain things there, but I will give some insights here. First, if you have never been to Mesa Verde, try to get there sometime. It is really incredible. Second, the rangers here really love their jobs. The rangers who guided the tours all [View Full Entry]

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Said goodbye to Longmont and Theresa and Keith in the morning and headed into the mountains. It was a long day of driving, but some very nice scenery along the way. I stopped for lunch in Leadville and dinner in Silverton. Silverton looked like a cool place, but things were mostly closed down for the night when I got there around 7:00. I decided to drive about another 50 miles to Durango after eating so the I would be closer to Mesa Verde. During the ride from Silverton to Durango I saw several groups of deer along and in the road, [View Full Entry]

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Spent another day in Longmont with Theresa and Keith. I was able to see David and John. Later at night we got out the Wi and played some games. [View Full Entry]

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Headed out from Kearney around 9:30 and headed west. Not a bad drive at all. I've never seen Colorado this green before. The grass, trees, and everything else is green. I arrived in Longmont around 12:30 Mountain time. It was great seeing Theresa and Keith. Found out that Big Head Todd and the Monsters was playing a show at Redrocks, and Theresa and I decided to go. I really regret not bringing my camera to the show. Redrocks has to be the coolest place to see a concert. Surrounded by mountains with the big city lights behind the stage and the [View Full Entry]

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What a day. My last day of work and the first day of my trip. After saying my goodbyes at work I headed home to pack everything up. I left Waterloo around 6:30 and stopped to sleep in Kearney at 1:00. As I drove through Omaha I saw fireworks around Rosenblat stadium. I thought it was a nice way for the city to welcome me back. After Lincoln I started to see some awesome lightning strikes and ran into some rain around York. I stopped to sleep in Kearney. [View Full Entry]

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