Day 14 -- UT, CO

Day 14 -- Two weeks on the road. I like it.

I went online to see what the top ten rated National Parks were. Zion, Bryce Canyon and Yellowstone did not make the list, but guess what. Arches National Park in Moab, Utah did (along with Grand Canyon, Arcadia, Yosemite and others that I can't recall) and it was on my way. It was a nice fast drive to the park and since I had already paid $25 times three, I got an annual pass for $5 more. Who'd a thunk. Me a National Parks guy. Within ten seconds you can see how spectacular this place is. Before I even finished driving up the Great Wall (of the Moab Gorge) I realized this was better than the three other parks by a long shot. It was a gorgeous day with sunshine blazing down and temps between 77 and 81F. Again my hiking was mostly curtailed because I couldn't tolerate exertion in the sunshine, but there was a strong wind in most places that made it feel wonderful. My picture taking and knowledge of my own camera are wanting but I got some decent shots. I guess you'll be the judge of that.

My stranger encounter of the day was an exchange of two sentences. Boy am I an outgoing guy or what? And the Hats were back! and the walking sticks. But that's not all. I found out there are yuppie huggers with a child carrier so elaborate that it folds out into a car seat so little Sue can ride on mommy or daddy's back. I'm not talking about a little papoose carrier. No, this was a full fledged car seat for the back. Amazing. And I couldn't quite figure if it was dad or granddad that was preparing to scale the steps with little Sue in tow. Little Sue was about 3 and dad? was gray -- what the hell, he was lean and ready for the challenge.

I saw a couple signs you don't see everyday. One was "Eagles on Hwy" on I-70. Of course, they get your hopes up but there are no eagles to be found. And in the park I saw "Do Not Enter Area When Flooded." I guess huggers are not deterred by a flood. They keep going unless a daunting warning sign stands in their way.

On to Grand Junction, Colorado. The drive was almost as spectacular as the park. But given the speed at which you can drive, it's best not to be looking off to the side of the road much. Being Best Western's new best customer, I checked in and plugged in. I ate dinner in town at a brew pub that was crowed, noisy and had the ballgame on t.v. My idea of heaven. Then why did I have chicken fried steak? Because it looked really filling? It was.

Next stop Berthoud, Colorado. Home of Jerry and Chery Barcelona.