Snow in the Desert

We finally said goodbye to the ocean and turned our second corner to head back east. Amy joined us as we left San Diego and made our way to Joshua Tree National park.

Darkness fell as we entered the desert. Turning north to drive along the Salton Sea the wind picked up and tossed the Dod about the expressway.

Finally we made it to Joshua Tree and entered in through the south. We found a campsite and settled in for the night.

The next morning we awoke to the sound of raindrops falling on the Dod. In the Desert. Raindrops.

Stepping outside we were not impressed with the surroundings. Everyone we had spoken to about going to Joshua tree said it was necessary.

We stopped at the ranger station to pick up a map and headed out to drive through the park.

If you've never been in the desert when it rains, it releases a stale smell into the air. So not only is the air quality compromised, but I guarantee the fire danger was not high.

The rain continued, but a break in the clouds produced a perfect rainbow. We could see both ends and made our way to one.

It's hard to see, but look close and it's there.

I'm gonna rent me a back-ho and uproot that tree. I want the gold. Give me the gold.

The first amazing sight we came across was the cholla gardens. These tiny cactus things look like gasses escaping from fissures in the ocean floor. Puffs of smoke changing color as they expand and cool.

We drove on and eventually found the Joshua trees.

Wild looking things all twisty and gnarly. They start out as little cactus/palm tree looking bushes, and they eventually grow taller and acquire a more tree-like appearance.

We stopped to take some pictures and, believe it or not, it started to snow. In the Desert. Snow. It was then that we decided maybe it would be best if we drove to Scottsdale, just outside of Phoenix, instead of making our way to the Grand Canyon and camping for another night.

Lucky we did to because a nasty storm unleashed itself upon us that night.

But on the way we stopped in dirty Blythe, CA, for some drinks. And as Amy's brother referred to it, it is the butthole of the country. I can't vouch for that, but let's just say Blythe is a one Horse town, and that horse needs to be put down.

Wicked winds howled all night. It was like a haboob (google that) in the desert.

Good thing we didn't go to the canyon that day. Not only would we have had to survive the wicked winds, but Flagstaff got 15 inches of snow that night, and would have blocked our path to Phoenix, and into Scottsdale where Amy lives in an amazing house with all the amenities. Toolshed, backyard, porch, pool table, dart board, roof top, sunset over looking Camelback mtn, wii, rockband, beer as far as the eye can see, hammock, two baths, three bedrooms, bowflex, palm tree. Awesome. Also there's four kitties that live here.

Monday we took it easy.

The next day we went for a bike ride around town and eventually made our way to Zipp's with Amy's roommate Danielle. Zipp's has an awesome happy hour special with cheap wings and zipperitas, boozy margaritas with lots of liquor. So much so that they limit you to three a night.

Wednesday we went out into Phoenix to a charity Drag show. This is Thomas with our new friend Mari.

And this is Thomas in performing in character. He received the only encore of the night.

We've got lots more to do here before coming home. Horse riding and shooting guns in the desert, among other fun stuff. Then we fly home for the holidays. See you soon.

When drinking is outlawed, only outlaws will drink

We bid adieu to Utah today. It's been real. It's been fun. But it ain't been real fun.

Actually, it was pretty darn cool. Much better than we expected. (Nikki - "Moab? Where's Moab")

However, one tiny little fact hindered the experience from being all that it could be: the state controls the liquor. We've all heard the rumors about the booze scarcity in Utah, but I never could have fathomed the iron-fisted grip they keep on their spirits in that state.

After a few days in the canyon, we headed back to town to stock up. A woman at the local grocery store gave us directions to the Moab State-run liquor store. However, Monday was Columbus day and the store was closed. So we headed into the Canyonlands with a tiny little bottle of grappa Nikki had been saving. No big deal.

However, by the time we completed the drive to Salt Lake City we were thirsty. I mean, that's a long drive, you just need to unwind every once in a while.

We were going to be spending the night in the (crazy spooky) SLC Walmart and decided we should just get some beers. Or so we thought. In Utah they can only sell beer that has 3.2 percent alcohol in grocery stores. Oh, cruel, cruel world. What a rip off.

Dismayed but not daunted we roamed the streets of SLC looking for a bar.

After charging or computers at a Subway we stumbled upon Duffy's, and for $1.75 a piece we were each handed a nice, frosty glass of beer.

Little did we know how lucky we were, because every other bar we came across was members only.

Recharged, we headed home for the evening after a little stroll through SLC's south side.

The next day we rode our bikes through downtown SLC. It is nice, neat and clean, and you always have a view of the mountains to the east. Also, we found two of the best bookstores Nikki or I have ever been to.

After several hours roaming shelves we retreated to the Dod and made our way out of town. But first we wanted to see the "Great" Salt Lake.

Did you know that "Salt Lake City" isn't even on the Salt Lake. BS, right?

In my head I had always pictured a bay or something.

So we drove 20 miles out of town in our attempt to find this so called Lake. And after 30 minutes of driving around corn fields and horse pastures, we found it. Almost.

Salt Lake has an island in it. It is a state park. There's a long bridge that goes out to that state park. Five miles before you even get to the lake, they want you to pay $9, just to spend the day there. Not only does this state guard their booze with the totalitarian zeal of a despot king, they keep a lock on the Salt lake too.

We asked the attendant at the gate if there was any public access to the lake near by. She told us No, but if we wanted to drive down I-80, towards Las Vegas, Nevada, we could see it from the expressway.

Well, I've seen enough lakes in my day that i wasn't about to give Utah my nine bones. Heck, I lived smack dab in the middle of the gol-darn Great Lakes. Bodies of water actually deserving of the title.

Forgive me, I'm just a little bitter.

Needless to say we continued down the road. However, within an hour we could see the shimmering waters of the Salt Lake and we took the first exit we found to try and once again breach the state's defenses.

Now they wanted $10 from us to see their lake. Except this time the guard shack was unmanned, so Nikki punched the gas and we busted through.

And then there it was, the Great Salt Lake, rimmed by mountains to the west. I stuck my feet in the cool waters and Nikki did a cartwheel in the sand. Then we hightailed it out of there before we got caught.

All in all, we had a pretty good time in Utah. But we must be moving on. We're making a pit-stop in Burley, ID for the night before continuing on to Boise. Then it'll be another trip through the mountains before Washington. However, now that we're out of the canyons we should be able to post more often.

Until next time.

Mountains, beer, and mountains of beer

It was chilly and windy when we woke up yesterday. I ran inside the Walmart and played Wii for about a half hour while Nikki slept in.

At 9:15 I woke her up because we had important business to attend to. A 10 am tour of the Anheuser Busch factory in Fort Collins, CO.

It's kind of neat to see all the time and care that goes into getting you drunk.

We saw the old carts used to deliver the beer, and the Clydesdales used to pull those carts.

And here's a picture of some of AB's more premium brands.

After the tour we got to sample some of AB's beverages. I must say, there's not much better than a flight of beer at 11am.

Afterwards we drove through the Colorado State University campus. Nikki wasn't impressed, so we didn't stay long. Then we drove to Boulder.

By then the winds had picked up and driving was a little rough for the Dod on the expressway. Luckily it wasn't far.

In Boulder we located a Borders and were able to swap out our incomplete atlas for a new one. After copying our information over to our new atlas/scrapbook a couple sitting next to us asked us if we were traveling. We relayed our story to them and they told us that they were also travelers. In fact, they had been splitting their time between their RV and a sail boat for the last 12 years.

It was great chatting with them and trading information so we can keep in touch and possibly meet up in SoCal later on. They imparted some of their road wisdom to us and for that we are very grateful.

By now it was getting close to evening, so we decided to find a place to bed down for the night. Dark clouds were rolling in over the mountains, and the wind was not letting up. So we drove right into those darn mountains.

After a quick tour we located a quaint little lodge set next to a stream. It was perfect. The fresh mountain air was like heaven with a little bit of pine.

It was leftover fajitas and a much needed shower before settling in.

In the morning we ate a free continental breakfast and set out for the Colorado University Campus in Boulder.

The campus was beautiful and I found an excellent record store while Nikki found the Meow Meow, a boutique which had hand bags made out of Archie comics. If you didn't already know, Nikki is nuts for Archie comics. And the bags were half off, so of course she bought one.

After lunch in the Dod we hit the road again, setting our course for Denver.

After locating the cheapest all-day parking lot we could find, we set off on foot to explore the city.

Then we found this giant blue bear trying to break into a bulding.

We mostly toured the 16th street walking mall, which runs the length of the downtown commercial district.

Then we looked for the bar that had the cheapest happy hour specials. We found 1.50 drafts and half off appetizers at a mexican restaurant just off 16th street. We gorged ourselves on nachos and then stumbled back to the Dod.

After a little mix up leaving Denver, we finally made it to our home for the evening, yet another Walmart.

However, after tonight we'll be sleeping underneath a real roof as we shack up with our friends Laura and Wes in Colorado Springs. And according to Laura, we have a heck of a weekend ahead of us. But for now, good bye from Colorado.

p.s.

We were finally able to get our pictures developed from Devil's Lake. So, as promised here they are.