Day 42: Sat, 7/22: Drive home

Day 42:  Sat, 7/22:  Drive home from Las Vegas, CA to La Crescenta, CA

The alarm went off about 6 am so we could get an early start to beat the heat.  At 630 am, it was already 92 degrees outside in Vegas!  We drove about 5 hours home.  As we arrived in the LA area, it was hot and smokey from the Sand Fire.  It was nasty—particularly because we had been in such clean and pristine areas the last 6 weeks.  Even so, it was good to be home.  We loved this trip—especially mountain biking, fishing, stand up paddleboarding, seeing indigenous ruins, playing poker and spades.  Most importantly, we are being adventurous and exploring our world!   We drove 2,958 miles, had 3 flat tires.  We each had about 1 hour of grumpy time total on the trip!  Aside from those tiny blips, wow we had fun and our family grew even tighter and stronger!  J J  J.

Day 41: Fri, 7/21: Las Vegas, NV

Day 41:  Fri, 7/21:  Drive from Salina, UT to Las Vegas, NV

The alarm went off early so we could try to beat the mid-day heat we knew was coming.  We drove from Salina straight to Vegas—about a 5 hour drive.  After checking in at the KOA RV Park at Sam’s Town Casino, we immediately hooked up the electricity and turned the AC on to 88 degrees!  That was to try to get the 105 degree inside temperature down by the time we would be back later in the evening.  We then quickly walked to Sam’s town to seek shelter from the sweltering heat.  After a fine lunch of Subway in the air conditioning inside the casino, we saw the movie The Secret Lives of Pets at the theater in Sam’s Town.  After that, we went downstairs and bowled 2 games inside the casino—still beating the heat.  Sam took the kids to the arcade next and Andrea played some craps.  We then ate dinner at the buffet and afterwards, Sam played some blackjack/craps while Andrea took the kids back to the arcade.  Andrea won $100, Sam lost about $20 and the kids felt like winners with all the tickets they got and prizes they bought.  Around 9:30 pm, we headed back to the RV and slept poorly in the heat of the night with the AC running all night.

Day 40:  Thurs, 7/20:  Breckenridge, CO;  drive to Salina, UT.

After getting up early and packing everything, we drove the RV and CRV to the BMX pump track in Frisco for our last mountain bike ride of the trip.  We had fun on the jumps and berms and flowing singletrack trails.   We bought fast food for the road, hooked up the CRV to the RV and started our LONG drive towards home.  We drove through the gorgeous Vail Valley enjoying the views and greenery and cool weather.  We continued driving West again taking in the beauty around Glenwood Springs and the Colorado River in the narrow canyon.  We saw about 5 big horn sheep right next to the road.  They had big curled horns and were majestic.  We then drove out of the perfect 72 degree weather that we’d gotten used to in the Colorado Rockies and descended into the over 90 degree heat of central Utah.  We drove for at least 8 hours and ended up near the 15 freeway in the Butch Cassidy RV Park in Salina, UT.  This is the 2^nd time we’ve stayed here on our way home from Colorado, not just because it is inexpensive and has nice showers, but also because they have turkeys, chickens, bunnies, goats, and exotic birds all over the place.  The kids love seeing these animals.  We had carrots that we fed the goats.  They were so fun to watch—especially this very young wild male who would jump off his small shelter and contort and twist.  He and the other goat would rear-up and hit each others’ horns.  We had fun watching them and playing Horse at the basketball court. 

Day 39: Wed, 7/19: Breckenridge, CO

Day 39:  Wed, 7/19:  Breckenridge, CO

We drove 10 minutes to the Frisco Marina on beautiful Dillon Reservoir.  We inflated our stand up paddleboard and kayak and took turns having fun on the lake.  The views of the Rocky Mountains and the lake were inspiring.  An ominous storm rolled in and lightening started striking somewhat nearby.  So we packed up everything and headed back to the RV Park as the rain intensified in the early afternoon.  Andrea and Ryan played ping pong again.  We also did laundry and Sarah and Dad watched our DVD of the musical Les Miserables.  Sarah is really excited that this is the upcoming musical she will be in at La Canada Junior Theater.  It was another fun but very relaxing day.  We played poker in the evening after a nice grilled dinner under our awning.  

Day 38: Tues, 7/18: Breckenridge, CO

Day 38:  Tues, 7/18:  Breckenridge, CO

We woke up today to a beautiful sky that was both sunny and blue, but also threatening rain.  Sam took an early morning bike ride along the paved bike trail and then the single track dirt trail next to the Blue River to Breckenridge.   It was peaceful and serene feeling light sprinkles, watching many fly fishermen, and admiring the gorgeous green mountains still with some snow capped peaks.  Andrea drove the kids and herself to Breckenridge to meet  her longtime friend Julie for brunch.  Sam met us right on time, locking up his bike nearby, and we all enjoyed our meal.  After lunch, we walked downstairs to a retro-arcade and all had fun playing Donkey Kong, Ms. Pacman, and Galaga.  We then all walked over and took the free gondola up to the middle of the Breckenridge ski area.  Andrea and Julie were having such a great time gabbing, catching up, and laughing.  Sam did his best keeping the kids occupied and just far enough away from them so they could enjoy each others’ company.   After Julie had to go around 2pm, we headed back to the RV park as the rainstorm came in.  We showered and then played ping pong and air hocky in the rec. room.  We then played spades again in the evening—Sarah and mom won—this time J.