Better check the tires
Before the trip I had a good feeling to look at the tires since we hadn’t changed them since we bought the car. While inspecting the tires I found that at least one of the tires had worn down past the tread and to the metal wires. So we took the car to get some new tires. Being as frugal as possible we decided to get the tires from Walmart. So far they have been great and no problems except the fact they aren’t the eco tires that the Prius needs to get 45mpg. After this trip we found we were able to get around 43mpg so we did lose a little bit but not too much.
We left Sunday morning for Moab Utah, what a long drive it was to get there. It was reasonably warm until we made it to the Utah border, then it cooled down. We arrived in Moab around 8:30pm and got to stay with Ray and Annalee and their family. It was really great to stay and visit with them after not seeing them in so long.
A Day in Moab
Monday we decided to go explore Arches National Park. We found out that at the same time we were in Moab that it was Jeep Safari week which made the area packed with Jeeps everywhere. After a long line to get into the national park we headed for the long hike around to see several of the arches. We did an7 mile hike and saw many arches, some of the trails were a little challenging with some great heights and steep cliffs around. I thought I was going to get vertigo with some of the heights. After the long hike we went to go see the famous Delicate arch that can be found on the Utah license plate. We then drove to some of the other arches around the park and had to be out by 6pm. I think we lasted until around 4:30-5. We then went back to Ray and Annalee’s to wash up and go to out to dinner where my cousin, Ray and Annalee’s son, Jacob works at The Broken Oar. The food was really good and it was great to see Cousin Jacob working and enjoying it with his good looks and great smile, way to represent the family.
Fun Time in Denver Colorado
Tuesday we drove up to Denver from Moab to go to a Rockies baseball game. The drive was a little nerve racking. We drove several miles through the desert which wasn’t bad but it started to get hair raising as we snaked our way up through the mountains. I think we got up to 11,000 feet going over the pass to get to the valley of Denver. Why made it hair raising is our Prius was struggling to breathe at that altitude. I remember the roads being so steep and so long that the battery would drain and the Prius would be left to just the gas motor which would make us not stay up with the surrounding traffic and the gas mileage become very poor. Thankfully everything worked great and other than the little struggle the Prius had we made it to the baseball game with just enough time to grab some hotdogs from Costco and get in our seats. Diane and Delyn and some of the cousins joined us at the game. Thankfully the Rockies beat the Padres which was good to see them actually win. After the game we drove to Larkspur where Diane and Delyn live. They live in what seems to be the woods but it is a very cool location. Now I know why they all ride motorcycles around where they live.
Running Around Colorado
Wednesday we headed out with Diane and Delyn down towards Colorado Springs. On the way down they showed us some really cool places; a mid evil setup where they do reenactments, a popular biker bar, many mountains, the Air Force base and Garden of the Gods. It was all really cool. After hiking on the rocks at the garden of the gods we headed back to Denver to meet up Alyssa’s friend Gabby for lunch. We ate at Biker Jims, which was home to some exotic meet hot dogs and other goodies like fried mac n cheese. Alyssa had the wild bore and I had the Alaskan Reindeer. They were very delicious and not too gamy. It was fun to catch up with Gabby and talk about the hiking and exploring her and her husband do around Colorado. Soon after lunch we went back to Diane and Delyn’s. Delyn strapped helmets on our heads and we were off on a fun little motorcycle ride around the countryside. It was a lot of fun to be back on a motorcycle with the wind in our faces, we only wished we had a little warmer clothes on. We got pretty chilled from the wind so we didn’t stay out too long, it was probably a good thing too. We then had a barbecue with hamburgers and it the hot tub.
Driving to Provo
Thursday we headed off back to Utah. It was another 8 hour drive and this time it was very windy. We did get amazing gas mileage once we made it to the top of the pass on the I70 highway. We seemed to go about 200 miles on just about 3 gallons of gas because of all the downhill we had going back to the desert lands from the mountains. I didn’t think it was going to be possible but it was. We made to Grandma and Grandpa’s place around 5 and caught them working in the garden. We ate dinner and played games and then Diane and Delyn showed up as they made the same trip we did the same day.
P-Town Classics
Friday, it was an early start to head down to Payson Utah to visit Larry and see his new office. It was a good visit and learned lots. Alyssa had some tests taken and seemed to check out fine. Around noon time we met grandma and grandpa at the airport so we could go flying. It was a little windy but not too bad like the night before. It would have been impossible to fly in with the winds from the night before. Their was a lot of air traffic that day as it seemed all of the UVU students were practicing their trainings that day. It was still a lot of fun. After a little bit of flying we headed to our favorite lunch restaurant, Zuppas. It was just as yummy as before. Cameron Turnbow came and visited us for a little while we ate. Then we visited Isaac for about an hour and got to see him play the new Nintendo Switch and it was really cool. We then watched an episode or two of Modern Family and then he had to take off for a date. We then drove around to get some prescriptions and have dinner and back to Grandma’s place.
Temple Saturday with Hot Springs?!
Saturday we started off the day with going to the Provo City Center Temple as we weren’t able to make it to the open house before it was dedicated. It was beautiful with so much wood. Alyssa and I got to be the witness couple for the endowment session and I am glad we were. It was a pact session. We then took pictures outside and grabbed a bite to eat at Sensuous Sandwiches in downtown Provo. We were still craving a dessert so we stopped by the creamery and bought some ice cream. We also explored campus a little bit and saw the many changes they made. No more road going through campus and they now have shuttles for many of the students. We then met up with Isaac and his friends/roommates and got ready to head to the hot springs up Spanish Fork Canyon. We hiked about 2.5 miles to the springs and they were packed, not only packed but the water was way too high and practically cooled the hot springs to the point that it wasn’t very worth getting in. Alyssa and I did get in anyways and enjoyed the little warmth we got. The walk back to the car was a little chilly but glad we had fun. After the hike we were pretty tired and went back to grandma’s.
Blazing Sunday
Sunday was sad because we were just getting comfortable being away from work and it was time to head back home to go to work. The drive was nice through Utah but once we hit the Arizona border and Las Vegas it got really warm. The traffic wasn’t any better and we tried to take another way home rather than the packed I15 on the state line. We still hit a lot of traffic once we made it back to the I15 from our detour but because we weren’t going very fast and it was hot outside our little Prius was getting baked and the a/c wasn’t working well so we rolled down the windows to get some breeze in. It wasn’t terrible but we will for sure get the a/c looked at before our next out-of-town trip.