Big Truck Across America - day 11

Day 11 started fairly early, as we packed up in Moab (love this town) and got ready for Arches National Park. After coming from Sedona yesterday, it was apparent that Moab residents were more about activity and adventure than pretense. The town itself is pretty nondescript, but the setting is beautiful and the people seem like they're all on some sort of mission - Jeeping, biking, hiking, etc.

Just outside of all of the adventure-rental shops littered with dirt bikes, Razors, Rubicons, and mountain bikes lies Arches National Park. The visitor's center there is nice, fairly modern, and had some cool interactive displays for Jordan.

However, I found the coolest thing about the visitors center to be in the parking lot. The Jeep that I have been formulating in my head for about 7 years was sitting right in front of me. I won't go into the list of modifications it had (probably north of $15k), but it had me drooling long enough to snap a few shots & ask Kim to go check it out as well.

As we were leaving, I had a brilliant idea to back the Big Truck up to the Jeep so I could get a shot of what it will look like when we build our Jeep and tow it around the country. As I was articulating this can't miss plan to Kim, I looked over to see the owner getting in the Jeep. This is where I saw several holes in my plan. The owner looked like a cross between the Simpsons comic book guy and Mickey Jones, perhaps the most famous "Isn't that the guy from..." actor around. If you don't believe me, check his IMDB credits. I also once met him in a Cincinnati airport, where he was having a beer with Principal Belding. But I digress...



With the future towing setup photoshoot derailed, we headed into the park for some hiking and sightseeing. We probably took 200 pictures, so I'll pare it down to a few from Delicate Arch and a couple from Double Arch. Jordan liked the rocks, and she has invented a game where all forms of shrubbery are apparently out to get us and cannot be trusted. It's more fun than it sounds.

With the hikes and pictures complete, we piled back in and set out for Loveland, CO - just outside Ft. Collins and about 500 miles away. We then proceeded to drive for nearly 7.5hrs without a stop. When you're on the road that long, conversations tend to cover some interesting topics, such as "Is it wrong to serve your daughter ham on a little piggy plate?"

What helped to break up the day shift of driving was the sight of actual green vegetation, and the kind that doesn't smell like dried urine. The past few parks we've driven through have had groves of hemlocks & other pines whose needles have an odor resembling urine. Go ahead, Google it. Nothing makes an RV owner more paranoid than tooling through a ritzy resort town and catching a whiff of sewage. Kimberly finally put us at ease today by doing some research - and hopefully cutting down on Jordan's random outbursts of "STEEEENKS!!" Anyway, here's a shot of the fresh-smelling fauna.

Our lodging destination for the day was Boyd Lake State Park, and it was a welcome sight. Even more welcome to a certain 3 year old was a - you guessed it - playground. She dragged her mom through the slides, tunnel thingy, and had me up there as well until she met a few new friends who came over to play. Since my playground picture didn't turn out, I'll substitute one that shows just how much of an innocence veneer she is able to project while plotting to take over the world.

Finally, after all of that we treated ourselves to the one taste of home that we could find out here. Jordan knows it as 'the balloon place', although this one was lacking in both balloons and other children. There was a Broncos-Cardinals preseason game on, and Brady Quinn looked sooo bad it prompted Kim to say - "this reminds me of what it used to feel like watching the Lions."  That's right, USED TO!! Anyway, here's our home away from home.

Tomorrow will bring some combination of a visit to REI, possibly Estes Park, New Belgium Brewery (home of Fat Tire Ale), and there just so happens to be a set of outlet stores right down the street from the State Park she chose. Weird.