Diversity

Regardless of your beliefs about how she was created, Mother Earth is indeed a miracle. There is nothing like a cross country trip to illustrate how unique and puzzling the states are in their geological divisions. Nevada is flat and arid and sparsely populated. We saw an enormous sand dune on the lonely highway that was made from sand slowly blowing eastward. The sand reached a mountainous barricade where it was captured and became a huge dune. Peoples drive all types of dune buggy's and other jeeps up the dune. The sole vehicle driving up the dune when we went by looked like a tiny bug. Southern Utah shares the same sparse population, but once the terrain changes from flat to fabulous red rock canyons the similarity changes. Both George and I were caught up in humanizing the humongous structures. The colors range from glorious reds to whites to brown. There are mulilayers of each color on some of the walls. The giant structures bring to mind castles, kings, warlords, Romans, Titans, perhaps some ancient culture that lived in this land and left only the rocks behind as memory. Some of the structures look as though they were gigantic battle ships, abandoned parked in rows, resting until called back to war. You cannot help but let your imagination run wild in Utah.
We rode through the historic Fruita district. It is well known because it is cooler and someone began growing fruit trees at the bottom of the walls. It seemed at times that we rode for miles-and miles and we were the only two people in the world. That is what the vastness of Utah is like. There is so much beauty. And that is why diversity is so important-how would it be if our Earth were all Utah?

On a lighter note: I wanted to finish up on dinner last night. What a wonderful restaurant. What a lovely place to stay. If any of you find your way to Boulder, Utah you must spend at least a night at the Boulder Mountain Lodge. There is really no town to speak of. The owners of the lodge had to build 11 extra rooms to entice employees to come work there. How fun though. To live somewhere so beautiful, with hiking, and skiing, and cycling all readily available. And great food and lodging provided for you. Where do I sign up? I had a vegetable soup and biscuits that were unbelievable. George had trout. Yum.
So, tonight we are in Colorado. Funny story. We have traveled through 2 states and are now into our third. I have not purchased a single souvenir. I came close. We were in a town in Utah with a naughty name and I considered buying Liz a shot glass-for a second. Believe it or not, I actually decided that she would not appreciate a naughty gift from her mother-in-law. Then it occurred to me that we were in UTAH and they did not have shot glasses anyway! Besides which, I had yet to see a real store in two days. I had seen 2 dollar stores, a second hand store you had to call for an appointment to see things, and gas stations that sold random stuff. But no real stores. What do people do here? So kids, it could be a nicely framed photo of dad standing in the canyon of his dreams.

Colorado: I have to admit I am very tired. The last few hours were looooonnnggg. And beautiful. We had a reservation in a place called the Rico Hotel. It is a very funny old building looking thing. I can't quite tell what it looks like from the outside. It is pretty grown over by something. You can get a room with a bathroom, or not. Our room is very cute, clean, no hair dryer. My biggest fear is that it would smell. The chef also appears to run the place which makes asking for help very difficult. It really operates as a ski bum place in the winter. Big fireplace and lots of couches. Anyway, we ate at the on site restaurant. Wow. George had a steak. Loved it. Licked his lips and mooed. I had carrots, spinach, and mashed potatoes-which does not even begin to explain how fabulous my meal was. And we were in this room with plastic walls and it was totally storming outside. We are thinking about Hawaii.

Well my friends, I can't see anymore and there are parts of my body I can no longer feel. I hope all is good with each of you. Em, thanks for joining the ride from Paris. PS George says the vulture was trying to avoid us. I was telling him tonight at dinner that if he had been a cyclist the vulture would have had him for dinner. That's when he broke out his theory. He is wrong. I was watching the whole thing.
Good night from Rico, Colorado Jenson