On The Road Again …….. And another one for the Bucket List

August 29-Sept 1st, 2014

I know that I just finished posting my blogs from our last trip - though we had been home for the past 10 weeks or so. Time flies, and we are off on another trip! This time our trip is focused around a rafting trip down the Colorado River through the length of the Grand Canyon…….. another ‘Bucket List’ kind of trip.

We had talked about doing this trip for the past couple of years. The Grand Canyon is one of our favorite places, and, after having hiked from the South Rim to the river (twice), and to Plateau Point (mid-way down) several times, we felt that a raft trip would be the ultimate way to experience the canyon. Our friend, Becky, has always wanted to raft the Grand Canyon, also, and, with her encouragement, we all signed up for the ‘trip of a life time’. We invited which ever of our kids could take off and join us, and Sarah and Jason (who live in the Phoenix area) will be joining us for the lower half of the canyon trip.

We started making our plans with a reservation about a year ago. We will be rafting with Outdoors Unlimited, an outfitter that had been recommended by one of our guides on a previous trip.

The time has finally gotten here!  And we are now on the road, again………

I guess that I have a way of turning a short trip into a road trip……..so we packed up the camper and decided to escape the heat and head to Colorado for a little hiking and cooler weather before our rafting trip, with plans to visit Laura and Dave in California, afterwards. But first, we decided to pass through Midland, TX - I know, not really ‘on the way’ -  to visit some good friends, Jim and Juanice.

Jim had been Fred’s college roommate, and we have known Juanice almost as long. We have tried to visit each time we have driven out west in the last years. It is really great to keep in touch with such long term friends.

We enjoyed their hospitality for the weekend, and today (Labor Day) are driving north to Colorado. Our stop for tonight is Hyde Memorial State Park, just north of Santa Fe.

Our campsite at Hyde SP – nothing fancy, and no hook-ups (we were supposed to have electric, but their service was down) – but quite comfortable. Our camper is set up to ‘dry dock’…..it is completely self contained, and we carry a generator to keep the batteries charged.

We got out for a short walk. It really is lovely…….and the temp is mid 70’s. Elevation is 8700 feet. The elevation always is a concern, as it takes a couple of days for us ‘lowlanders’ to acclimate. Staying at this elevation before we get to Colorado, tomorrow, will be perfect.