Home again, home again...

After touring Paducah (National Quilt Museum), Bardstown, KY (Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home"), and driving through the very scenic and colorful hills of western Maryland, we arrived home yesterday, safe and sound.

One of the Ohio River flood wall murals in Paducah (by Robert Dafford)

At the National Quilt Museum in Paducah



My neighbor, Dorothy, welcoming Elli home (and me too!)



My Baby....

I departed Boulder on Monday afternoon, and took the next couple of days to get across Kansas (where it seems there is always a tornado watch!) and into St. Louis, where I hoped to have some work done on VanGo at the place she was originally purchased.  They have a great reputation, and lived up to it COMPLETELY!  

Here's my baby, up on the lift (it didn't hurt, at all).

VanGo, way up high.

  



   

On to Boulder

Two glorious days were spent in Glenwood Springs.  Bruce arrived and we took a side trip up to Marble (where the Lincoln Memorial marble came from) and to Redstone, where there is a wonderful inn and the coke ovens of the early 1900's are still evident.  The Apsens have started to turn at the upper evelvations and their golden color looked gorgeous against the mountain backdrop.  Then after a yummy dinner at his favorite restaurant, we had a long soak in Glenwood Hot Springs.   Yesterday I drove on up to Boulder and we went to my favorite restaurant there (and almost anywhere!), The Med.  ;-))

The fire is still quite evident here, and over 160 homes have been lost.

The Boulder fire, still burning 

Gail and Elli at the Marble Mill - each marble slab has its weight and a serial number on it

Gail at one of the historic markers between Marble and Redstone

The Aspens, just starting to turn

The garden courtyard of the Hotel Colorado, where Teddy Roosevelt often stayed

The (former) coke ovens near Redstone

Bruce, Elli and Annie on a trail at the old Marble Mill Site

Grand Junction & Fly Fishing, Glenwood Springs and Aspen, Colorado

In memory of...

Colorado Rocky Mountain High!!!   (I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky....)  Listening (and singing along) to John Denver all the way from Aspen to Glenwood Springs.

But I digress, as I went to Grand Junction first and had a delightful time visiting another Roadtrekker.  Grand Junction is the first major town as you enter Colorado from Utah, and is the beginning of what is called the Western Slope (of the Rocky Mountains).  It has a fun downtown, and we were treated to an extensive music-filled Farmers Market (and some of the best nectarines I've ever had) after a yummy dinner at the Ale House.  The ultimate treat though may have been my first Fly Fishing/Casting lesson.  It was so much fun (Thank you, Quen!).  See below for pics; I can't get them to post in the order I would like.

This morning I continued east, over to Glenwood Springs... and on up the hill to Aspen, which feels a bit like the 'Carmel of the Rockies'.

VanGo, Elli and Gail go to Aspen

It's a sweet (and tony) town surrounded by beautiful mountains, and has some of the same mountain charm as Banff.  I would have stayed over, but the temperature is predicted to drop to 27 degrees! So it's back down the hill for the weekend, where the Glenwood Hot Springs will be a treat, and a friend from Boulder is expected to arrive soon.

My fly fishing instructor, Quen, tying on a fly

Trying my hand at casting!

Bryce... and the Canyonlands of Utah

After the three hour drive from Zion, we were greeted in Bryce Canyon by an aftenoon shower. And then it broke for just a couple of hours, so we ran off to see what we could see. All I can say is that the natural beauty on this trip has been staggering.  And hopefully the pics will speak for themselves, as I can't even begin to describe it.  The different colors of rock in the formations, the hoodoos, it was all spectacular.  And the drive across the Utah canyonlands today on scenic Route 12 may be the most spectacular drive I've ever been on. If it's not rated one of the top three in the country, I hope it soon will be!

I've pretty much decided to take VanGo back to Annapolis instead of storing her out west til winter.  (Then I'll be able to take her to the October "Sisters on the Fly" event in the Blue Ridge mountains, as well as any other fall trips that might be fun).   So I kept on driving east today, and hope to meet up with another Roadtrekker in Grand Junction, CO, tomorrow.    

The HooDoos, Bryce Canyon NP

The HooDoos

Bryce Canyon, after the storm

Zion National Park

Elli and I drove from St. George, UT, into Zion National Park at sunrise this morning.  What a sight to see.   It was cloudy with rain forecast, but that didn't make the scenery any less spectacular.  And the hike into the Emerald Pools was worth the price of admission in itself (senior pass for moi!)

Looking up from the Emerald Pools

Entering Zion at sunrise

Philipsburg, Anaconda, Idaho Falls and Salt Lake City

We departed Missoula on Friday morning, heading for Philipsburg and Anaconda, two smallish Montana towns that have preserved the wonderful architecture of the buildings erected during their heydays as copper mining towns in the late 1800's.  We stayed over in Philiipsburg and were treated to some delightful live theatre at the historic Philipsburg Opera House, erected in the 1880's. They have a professional repertory group and were perforning the last weekend of this summer's three plays - The Girl in the Freudian Slip.   It was a delightful laugh-out-loud farce, written by a Connecticut playwrite in the 80's.  Off to Anaconda we went the next morning, and saw the beautiful historic library donated to the town by Phoebe Hearst, mother of William Randolpf.  The library contained more art work than I have seen in some museums!

Linda in the Anaconda Library

And then came the incredibly windy (and windy) drive through the rest of Montana and into Idaho Falls, Idaho.  We  stopped at Clark's Lookout near Dillon, MT, and stood where William Clark was able to scan a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains on the famed Lewis and Clark expedition west.

Elli and Gail at Clark's Lookout 

After arriving in Idaho Falls in the late afternoon, we took a look around town and decided to camp right along the roaring falls, feeling like a bit like passengers in the "Maid of the Mist" all night long.   The nighttime pic you see is of the Mormon Temple, which is a dominant feature of the town, and overlooks both the Snake River and the Falls.

The Mormon Temple in Idaho Falls (new moon in the upper right)

We set off for Salt Lake City early this morning, and Linda and I had our farewell dinner tonight at a super Mexican restaurant called the Red Iguana.  We'll part ways in the morning, Linda to tour for one more day here, and I to depart for Provo where I'll make a decision as to whether to travel eastward and bring VanGo home to Annapolis or head southward to Bryce and Zion, and then to store VanGo in Las Vegas in anticipation of another winter in the Southwest.

Last night in Missoula

VanGo seems to be healthy and happy again.  She's been outfitted with a new blower motor and resistor, and all seems to be running smoothly.  (Knock on wood!).   What a delightful last day in Missoula, gorgeous weather and still lots ot explore.   The pics are Elli on the River Trail along the Clark Fork River (Missoula has a wonderful system of walking trails on both sides of the river, and bike paths everywhere. In fact, the last time I saw this many bicycles was in Amsterdam!), and two young adults who are students at the "U", one pre-pharmacy and the other fine arts.  The young man actually came to Annapolis and considered St. John's.  Our loss!   (NB, they fixed me the best tacos I've ever had!).

Last night we were treated to a concert here at our flower and tree-filled RV park.  We got to hear some delightful western music, as well as some Native American music.  It's been a music filled trip!

Elli on the River Trail

Taco Sano employees/students at the "U"

John Mellencamp and Bob Dylan, live in Missoula

This must be the VanGo 2010 concert tour.  First Billy Idol in Everest, WA, and last night John Mellencamp and Bob Dylan right here in Missoula!  I did not have a ticket, but could hear it all from the entry gate, where I hung out and chatted with the security folks.

We're now awaiting parts for VanGo, and hope to be "on the road again" (guess that's another singer - wonder if he'll be on the VanGo 2010 concert tour!) within the next couple of days.  Rainy and cool now, hope to be able to see that BIG MONTANA SKY again soon.

Will try to post a couple of videos... the first of Mellencamp singing, and the second of Dylan (best to put it in full screen mode, though you won't see anything except the entry gate, and you'll need to crank up your sound to hear the nusic).  John Mellencamp sounded great.  Dylan sounded, well, Dylan-ish, but older.  Fun time!  I think you just may regain a bit of your youth in a college town!