Sorry we haven’t posted in a while – hopefully anyone interested is following us on Twitter or Instagram at this point – lots of silly pics and short updates there. We’re in the western NC mountains now (Asheville) and it’s a rainy night so a good time to post a short update. Surprisingly, the last 10 days have been jam-packed and we’ve been having a great time (ruined camper and vehicle notwithstanding of course).
Here’s what we’ve been up to since the last post:
On Saturday the 13th we had a great early morning bike ride along the Colorado river and then we sadly left Moab behind and headed on to Colorado.
Donna worked her magic and found an amazing airbnb house in Carbondale, CO. To say it was amazing wouldn’t do it justice – not only did we want to move there, we wanted to meet and be adopted by the couple that owned it. It was truly gorgeous and we had a much needed lazy day with some good cycling and a trip into Glenwood Springs to enjoy the natural hot springs.
Next we headed up to Vail where we met up with our friends Kurt and Christa and their kids Avery & Ryan. They are from NJ but were in CO for a family wedding. What a great time we had hanging out with them!
We spent a day at the Copper Mountain Ski resort where they had a ton of summer activities we took advantage of – a mountain coaster, bungee jumping, go-karts, bumper boats, etc. A really great day!
After that we made the short drive on to Boulder where we met up with our friend Leslie Mohr and her family. Donna and Leslie are old Chicago friends and we love to visit the Mohrs when we are in Southern Cal. Leslie and her kids, Jack and Ava were visiting her parents in Boulder. Leslie’s sister Jen put us up in her house and her parents fed us amazing meals – we felt so welcomed and grateful to have friends along the road. We did some great hiking in the Flatirons and had a great time catching up.
After that we knew the fun would be slowing down and we hit the road for the long slog across Kansas and into Missouri – after a long day of driving we stopped in Clinton, MO where the Katy Trail starts. This is a famous rails-to-trails bike trail that normally crosses the entire state of Missouri. Unfortunately, a lot of it is still under water this year but Jeff rode the first 40 miles in the morning and then we all met for a fun lunch in Sedalia, MO in a converted railroad car that is now a BBQ restaurant.
We then headed on to St. Louis for a short visit with Jeff’s sister Cally and then from there on to Paducah Kentucky where we visited with Donna’s cousins Nancy and Kevin Courtney and their family. We had a great time and Katie got to learn about life on a real farm (and even got to ride in the huge farm machinery!)
From Kentucky it was then on back through Tennessee and back to Carolina on our minds! We stopped for a fun day in Asheville and did some hiking and swimming at Sliding Rock (super fun!).
Depending on the weather tomorrow we may goof around for one last day or else head for home at last. Stay tuned for a final update!
Donna, Jeff, Katie,
We are just catching up with your wonderfully worded blog, Jeff. You have a gift with words.
What a surprise to hear that Scoob is no more! You have recovered beautifully with grace. All is well when you recovered with no personal injuries. Thank the Lord for that.
What an adventure to see some of the most beautiful parts of our USA. We must keep them that way for future generations.
I’m so glad you could visit the Rudy’s. Hope to get more detail on that.
Let us know when you get home. Love to each of you, A. Beverly & U. Tom