Colorado Cruiser: 2013 Summer Ride - Days 9 and 10 - Apline Loop

Sunday was a relaxing day. I got up early and worked on a ride report, then started to cook some dinner. Mike doesn't eat breakfast, but he had bought allot food just for us. Eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, milk, and orange juice.

Mike has church leadership meetings starting at 7:00, so he left before I even got up.

I ate some breakfast then went out to unstrap the motorcycle. Nan wants to use the car today so we needed to take the motorcycle off.

By 10:00 both Kyle and Nan were up. They ate breakfast and we all laid around enjoying a quiet day. Mike came home about 11:00 and we talked some more. Both Kyle and I borrowed white shirts from Mike and Nan put on a blouse and skirt, then we went to church with Mike. We only stayed for the first 90 minutes then left.

Nan really wanted to get a pedicure so she called a Walmart to see if their nail salon was open. They said it was so we drove over there. It wasn't open. She called a 2nd Walmart and asked them to verify if the salon was open. We drove 10 miles to get to it, but again, it wasn't open. I guess they don't really check, just tell us what will get us there. So after all of that we wound up wasting 2 hours and got back to the house about the same time as Mike.

The temperature was up into the 90s and neither Kyle nor I felt like riding so we just sat around and took naps.

For dinner, Mike cooked some pork loin, roast potatoes, carrots, and bread. It was a great meal.

Monday July 15, 2013

I got up at 7:00 and went for a short ride around some of the back streets.

Mike works out of his house when he's not travelling, so by the time I got back he was in his office with the door closed. I could hear a conference call going on. Nan and Kyle got up and we decided to go out for breakfast. Kyle and I rode while Nan followed in the car. We drove East on the Lehi highway and stopped at a burger king. After breakfast Nan left on her continuing quest for a pedicure while Kyle and I continued East into the mountains. This road leads to a national forest highway known as "The Alpine Loop".

I flashed my national parks pass at the entry booth and we started the climb up the road.

I love this piece of road. It winds around behind the mountains through pine forests and aspens. We took our time winding up the road with almost no traffic around us. When we reached the far end, we just flipped around and rode right back the way we'd come.

Except that we took a detour out to see a bit natural spring. We got off the bike and Kyle realized that he hadn't put on any sunscreen and had been riding in a t-shirt. He quickly slathered some on but he was looking pretty red.

There is a trail system through the springs. We thought we might do a short loop through the first pools but we wound up walking all the way around because it was so nice. By the time we got back it had warmed up quite a bit. We spent some time talking with a few people who rode quads in from the East. They said it was fun but they were wanting to rest in the shade before starting back.

We on the other hand, wanted to get on the bikes and grab some altitude to cool off. We rode back up to the alpine loop and finished riding back to Mike's house. Nan was back but Mike was still in meetings, so we hopped in the car and headed for Cafe Rio for lunch.

While we ate we talked about what our plan was for the rest of the trip. Nan kept talking about leaving tomorrow (Tuesday) and getting to Grand junction for the night but I really didn't want to ride across the desert in the heat of the day. Finally we decided to load up, then visit friends in Springfield and continue on to Price Utah to stay the night with my cousins there.

Back at Mike's house we loaded the bike back on the trailer (Kyle rode it on this time), then packed our gear in the car. I texted Mike that we were ready to leave and he came down to say goodbye.

I rode behind them for the 20 miles to Springfield in 96 degree heat. By the time we got there I was drenched in sweat and downed a whole gatorade. We visited with Steve, Lisa and their son Jared for an hour. Jared is about 28, but he had viral meningitis as a child and continues to think and act like a young boy. He is a hoot talk with and Nan has always loved visiting him. We all enjoyed the visit.

We gassed up in town then headed South East towards Price. To my delight, the temperature dropped just as soon as we started up the canyon and I had an enjoyable hour long ride to Price.

We reached the home of my cousin Lisa and her husband Jay by 7:30. They had waited for us before having dinner. We had fresh baked bread, chicken, salad, and vegetables. It was delicious. Half way through the meal another cousin Lanelle and my aunt Nellene came by to visit. We enjoyed an hour chatting while eating all the fresh bread and fruit. We shared stories of kids and grand kids and all of the other cousins. Even though it was my family, Nan's the one who remembers everyone's name, what they're doing, where they are, and how old they all are. I'm dreadful at that sort of remembering but I do love hearing the stories.

After Lanelle and Nellene left we went down stairs and chatted until we were all nodding off. Lisa pointed us to our rooms then went to their own room.

My plan is to get up very early and ride across the desert from Price to Green River, then I-70 East to Grand Junction before it gets hot.

The start of the Alpine Loop