False Start

By mid-May 2021 we were ready to get out and travel again. COVID seemed to be under better control in many parts of the country, we were both fully vaccinated, and us humans at least were eager for a change of pace. Even Abby, who was super content with short daily hikes and laying on the front lawn for most of the day, didn’t put up much of a fight when we loaded up the RV.

We were bound for Idaho – with overnight stops scheduled in Colorado and northern Utah – but the travel gods had other ideas. As anyone who has an RV knows, something always goes wrong on trips, usually in the most inconvenient place possible and on a holiday weekend. Such is life. We did manage to get a couple days in before things started going wrong however, beginning with a stop in Cortez, Colorado solely for the purpose of re-visiting Wildedge Brewing, an incredible brewery with delectable porters and IPAs as well as the absolute BEST sours I’ve had. Yes, I was the one who planned this route. To be fair Abbs and I also had a very nice sunset walk there in a place we had made daily rounds of while on our Habitat build in 2019.

We then continued north through Utah en route to visit Tom’s niece Katie and her husband Will. This however was where we had some fairly serious problems as we crossed the San Rafael Swell and we got kinda stranded for a bit. Other than the repair bill it was no big deal however, since we got to do spend some extra time staying with them and had the opportunity to do some unplanned stuff while we waited to get back on the road.

Despite us living in Utah for years neither one of us has spent much time in the northern parts of the state but with Katie and Will’s suggestions we got to see some pretty great stuff. Abbs wasn’t up to hiking more than a couple miles so we didn’t do any epic hikes but we had some very lovely walks in Provo Canyon, Timpaganos Cave National Monument, and Wasatch National Forest as well as a few really nice scenic drives with our tow vehicle. Spring had arrived except at the highest of elevations and the newly budded trees, rushing rivers, and warm temperatures were welcomed. Our relaxed strolls – thanks to Abby’s slower pace — meant I was able to find some inspiration to take some interesting photos too which I later edited in my quest to create some artsy things. All in all it worked out and we got to see some really beautiful country.