California or Bust

So Monday morning we were on the road once again. We said goodbye to Dave & Bee & hit the road Jack! First stop: The Wyoming border.

Ops I missed it. Well that just wouldn’t do so we turned around so we could have some proper border pics.

Wyoming was REALLY beautiful believe it or not. Not very populated but definitely beautiful. We made some stops along the way like for lunch here

Where these little critters kept us entertained while we ate

We stopped at a point of interest which was a tree that grows out of a rock

I even PASSED another vehicle

Some beautiful country along the way

And wide open blue skies

I have some weird fascination with these wind turbines. We passed a truck with  the part that turns the arms on it and the thing is massively HUGE!

After MANY miles of this:

We finally passed into Utah

We were some seriously tired girls (and cats) when we pulled into our hotel by the airport in Salt Lake City and were quickly in the pj’s and sleeping. The next morning I got up early so I could go do some sight seeing with this lovely girl Jocelynn

She took me to see the big Mormon temple

There were lots of Brides & Grooms around

 

And the sun was blazing HOT!

Everyone can go in the 2 visitor centers and the place where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs. This is the amazing organ they sing with and the acoustics in this building are incredible.

I loved this statue of Jesus in one of the visitor centers

And this awesome chandelier puts Nana’s to shame

A quick drive by the state capital

On our way to this FANTASTIC scenic overlook.

Look Mom, no heads! lol

And I was late to check out so we had to hurry back to the hotel and get on the road for another 12 hours of driving. But not without a stop at the great Salt Lake

It’s a little stinky out there

Drove by the salt mines

The Nevada sign was on a highway with no place to stop so we stopped at the visitors center for our pic.

And drove by this nice cowboy

As you can see it’s a bit stormy out so we didn’t stop for a pic. Nevada is a boooooooooring drive but we got some pretty skies

And Kary & I found our summer home!

The California border sign is even more ridiculous than the Nevada border sign so there are no signs of us at the border, plus it was dark dark dark when we finally crossed the state line. BUT, nothing says California like the beach and I’m going there soon so I can REALLY feel like a Cali girl and those pics will follow soon along with some of where I’m living and such. Stay tuned for more stories of my great adventure.

4 Wheelin’ Babes

Extreme sports is not a word usually associated with me. Extreme crafting maybe, but Susan & sports aren’t words you usually hear in the same sentence. Until now. Who knew you could be sporty while also just riding along! I’ve found a new fun adventure. Now I just have to find a cute guy to take me to the Rubicon, but that’s a different story.

When Dave mentioned leaving at 4:30 AM I wasn’t sure I was up for this day. We all know how I like my slumber. But what else was I going to do all day? Certainly not lay around the house whilst they were out having fun. And I figured if we were leaving so EARLY we’d be home early to right? Ummm…, NO!

So I dragged my chipper butt out of bed at 4:30am, slapped on some jeans and makeup, put the hair in a ponytail and grabbed the color Kary had packed and we were off. We stopped at Kary’s 2nd cuz’s house and she jumped in his truck. He was towing his Jeep because of his fancy new tires. 2.5 hrs later we pull up to this mountain  base campsite in the middle of NOWHERE, Co and the rest of the gang is WAITING for us to arrive. I got a glimpse of the sand dunes in the distance and Kary said to take a picture of that mountain. I was still clueless that we were going all the way to the TOP and what that would entail.

See it’s still VERY dark out when we left.

  Mt. Blanca

Matt’s ride

Randy (L) and Bob (R) letting a bit of air out of the tires.

 

Early morning Brother/Sister hijinks starting.

 

My ride for the day

 

So there are about 10 vehicles of the Jeep/Bronco version and we head up the mountain after a group prayer. Randy & Dave belong to this group of Colorado Christian 4 Wheelers.

Kary & Randy

 

You start climbing pretty fast & the views are amazing.

It’s a pretty rocky road and gives a whole new meaning to Rocky Mountain High! I had barely asked the question of “what do you do if someone is coming down the mountain?” when we encountered a group doing just that.

Randy & this first guy actually knocked jeep heads passing each other and had to have a little push. The guy in the 2nd jeep was pretty cute & I almost got out and asked for a ride down :)

And we were on our way again

Finally some obstacles, in the form of giant boulders. At first I was like there is no way in hell I’m riding while they drive over those but by the 3rd one I was in the Jeep. We got towed over on that boulder. It’s a little scary when you are leaning a bit on the side and looking down the side which goes straight down but then the front tire falls and all is well.

I’m not sure what happened here but we almost lost this guy down the side somehow.

The guy in the cowboy hat is Bob. And that is Bob’s wife driving the Green Machine. Bob likes to direct traffic & work on the vehicle & his wife likes to do the extreme stuff. Seems like a perfect match!

While each person drives over the obstacle there is a lot of standing around and watching and waiting by the rest of us. Gave me some time to take in the beautiful scenery.

We finally reached Lake Como and stopped for lunch. It was really beautiful up there. I forgot to mention the ton of hikers along the way that we passed, both going up and down the mountain.  Some camp at this lake, some go up to the very top or camp along the way. It was a VERY busy mountain.

Most of us went on up to the very top where there where 2 lakes called the Blue Lakes. It was time for a group photo too.

Being at the top of this mountain had me channeling my best Maria Von Trapp and singing the Sound of Music

The hills are alive

with the sound of muuuusicccccccccc

Coming down is a LOT faster than going up. We stopped for dinner and it was LATE when we got home and got to bed. I think around midnight because I remember thinking I’d been up for 20 hours. But it was a day filled with total pure fun and I can’t wait to do it AGAIN! Now where is that boy with a tricked out jeep cuz’ I need a ride…