Denver Day #2

Day #2 in Denver was great! We met up with our friends Kevin and Eric and headed out to Coors field to watch the Rockies play the Cubs. We had great seats. 12th row, right down the first base line. And right under the beating sun. It was so hot! Then right around the 4th or 5th inning the clouds rolled in to give us some reprieve from the heat. We thought we'd be in good foul ball territory, and there were a couple that came close, but no luck. It was a great game though, and the Rockies held fast and ended up winning 8-7.

Afterwards we went to the beer bust at The Wrangler. Ooh, that was people-watching at its finest lol. Finally, we were starving so we found this fun little dive restaurant/bar after driving around Denver getting lost for 45 minutes with our "local" friends here hahaha.

Out in Denver Day#1

Here we are in the fresh and cool morning air in Denver trying to decide what to do. We each got to choose one thing to do so who chose what? Well Rhett thought what better way to start your day than driving a few miles to Golden, CO-yes thats right the home of Coors Brewing!!! (Surprise Rhett chose this)

We toured the brewery and sampled a few beers while learning about the brewing process. We also discovered that we should steal a rail car of beer- it would be worth a 6 pack a day for 90 years!!!! ummm wow :) We toured the town of Golden which was also awesome and quaint, complete with para-gliders jumping off the mountain and a rafting creek through the center of town.

Then it was on to Water World!! Sunny and 85 degrees was the perfect weather for a day in the sun and water. After seeing many Lycra Infractions and laughing out loud that wearing a bikini is a privilege not a right we had a GREAT TIME at the park. Joe especially liked the slide that was a straight drop to the bottom(about an 80' drop) and we wish we had pictures of his face the first time he went down. Although we got a little burnt (Mom no comments about sunscreen...we got it) we needed the sun. Ya know we were Pac Northwesterners so it was in style to be pasty white-however no more :)

We went out on the town last night with our great friends here in Denver, fun times indeed. Thats another day in the life so until tomorrow......

Salt Lake City to Denver

Hey all! Sorry we're a couple days behind getting this blog up, but we'll get you all up to speed. Well just as we figured out Utah's complicated-to-figure-out-but-easy-to-understand-once-you-do street numbering system, we left. We had a loooonnnnng drive to Denver on Friday. Left Salt Lake a little later than planned 'cause we stopped in Provo and took in the sites of the BYU campus. Once on the road we enjoyed the mostly sunny drive and the beautiful scenery. We stopped a few times in such beautiful places as Grand Junction and Vail to stretch our legs and eat. Rhett's real excited now that we're back in Chick-Fil-A country! :) Once up into the Rockies we passed through a couple major thunderstorms, but there was a double rainbow!! (LOL for those of you who have seen the video on YouTube).

We went over two mountain passes in the Rockies, the tallest of which was at about 11,600 feet. Sasha (the car) was not impressed. Once we got up over about 8,500 feet she was struggling. Joe just had to drop her down a couple gears and give her some extra gas but she made it. She did real good :)

We finally rolled into Denver about 10:30 Friday night, very tired and ready to be out of the car and very thankful that our friends Eric & Trey had a hot tub :)

After the hot tub and chocolate cake it was off to bed in the cool Rocky Mtn night air ahhhh....

Sightseeing in SLC

We had a great day of sightseeing in SLC yesterday. Started the day off with a nice run around the city and then headed out to see the Great Salt Lake. Stinky!! Rhett said the smell reminded him of the salt marshes back home. We drove out to the south end of the lake to this place called Saltair. It's this huge historic mosque-inspired building that was a gathering place where people used to come in the early 1900's. Back then, the shoreline of the lake was much closer than it is now. The building used to actually sit on the water. Now it's probably a couple hundred yards from it. The building has gone through many renovations over the years. It was a theme park at one time with roller coasters and such, and then a dance hall...now it houses a small gift shop. It's still very cool to see.

About a mile west of there is the Saltair boat ramp. We got out of the car and then quickly got back in the car after noticing the hundred, yes, HUNDREDS of orb-weaving spiders. Apparently the spiders come out in hordes like that from time to time when the salinity in the lake is high and/or the gnats are in great numbers, and they were. We still got great shots of the lake, but we did it quick and hit it.

Then it was on to the 2002 Olympic Site up at the University of Utah. It was cool to see the Olympic cauldron, and of course Rhett had to get pics of another football stadium :) Afterwards we drove a little further up on the hill and visited the "This Is The Place" monument. This site commemorates the Mormon's entrance into the Salt Lake valley. It was a really neat place to visit. Lots of historical monuments and statues, as well as some great views of the valley.

Next it was off to Temple Square. We noticed on our drive there that the crosswalks in Utah all have these bright orange flags in buckets on each side of the street. Apparently, you're supposed to grab a couple flags a walk with them when you cross the street. Only in Utah lol. Rhett was really amused by this (see video). Rhett really wanted to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing, but the weren't practicing yesterday :( However, we were able to listen to an organ recital in the Conference Center which was very impressive. The organ is amazing.

About 4:00 we met up with Joe's friend Elizabeth and her two sons at this large outdoor mall. The thunderstorm had passed at this point so the sun was shining again and it was hot! We had some frozen yogurt and caught up on the past 11 years since we'd last seen each other.

After that we had had enough sightseeing for awhile and headed back to the hotel for a nap. Then it was off to check out the hoppin' nightlife of SLC. Went to this club called Jam and met a few locals. Had some good conversation and laughs and then drove up on this bluff for some incredible nighttime views of the valley.

Today we got up, hit the gym, and now it's off for the 9ish hour drive to Denver!

Here we are Salt Lake!

Well we're almost 1,000 miles from Portland. The drive from Boise was great. Saw some cool things. Left Boise during a crazy thunderstorm so the first few miles were through pouring rain. Stopped at the Malad Gorge State Park and then took a little detour and had lunch in Twin Falls. Entering Twin Falls, you cross over the Snake River that's meandering through this amazingly wide, deep gorge that's right on the edge of the city. Pretty cool sight!

Cruised into Salt Lake about 5:30 and had dinner at the Red Rock Brewing Company with an old friend of Rhett's from high school who he hadn't seen in like 18 years. It was great fun for them to catch up. Afterwards we found the local 24 Hour Fitness and had a great workout. Felt sooooo good to do some lifting after all that time in the car.

Tomorrow it's a day of sight-seeing. Probably head out to see the Great Salt Lake and then tour around Temple Square and afterwards we're meeting up with my friend Liz! Excited to see her!

Leaving Boise-Day 3

Well here we go again leaving Boise. So Rhett being the sports nut decided this morning we were gonna get on the blue field of the Boise St Broncos so he talked his way out and got some pics. It was like a kid in the candy store. We got our postcards and mailed them to the parents and got free potato pins to wear....fun times.


The bagels we had at the Blue Sky bagel place were soooo good that we got one additional one for the road and then came the morning adventure! WHEATGRASS shots!! Yeah too early for alcoholic shots so this was our answer. It's like 2.5 lbs of veggies in 1oz and yes it tastes like smashed pea pods right Joe??(can't insert movie til later)

So with all that we are on the road in some crazy weather.



Next destination mormon nation or as Rhett refers to it the land of the khaki pants(really it's gotta be highest per capita) :) Salt Lake City.

Stay tuned

-J&R
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Location:Mountain Home,United States

Boise, ID

We're in Boise! State #2. And I tell ya that drive from Bend to Boise is lonnnnnnng and barren! Who knew Oregon had so much of nothing?? I mean it's beautiful in its own way but, man, that was the one place I didn't want anything to go wrong. We were praying extra hard for Sasha to hold it together. And she did beautifully :) Rolled into Boise around 6:00, and then went for a nice run in the 93 degree heat. And can I say, for a body that's accustomed to exercising at basically sea level, even at 3000 feet there's a lot less oxygen. We were like "Why can't we run farther?!" Anyway, the we worked out a bit in the hotel gym. Felt good after two days in the car. Then ate dinner at the Brick Oven Bistro in downtown Boise and afterwards met up with Joe's friend Loree Young who he hasn't seen in like 10 years. Was so much fun to catch up! Tomorrow: SLC!