On the Road Again
Something about being back home makes life seem like it has gone back to normal, like it might not be interesting for others to read about. But the other day, when BJ and I were out browsing through a couple Sunday yard sales, we received a call from our friend Spike who wanted to take us on a ride in an Albatross. He would be flying it to Southern California soon for some military training and it needed to be “exercised.” We ended up circling Teton Valley a couple of times in formation with another old-school fighter jet. What a cool view to look over our house and valley, to look out the open back hatch of the plane and see a small jet flying right beside us … oh, and of course, all in front of a background of snow covered Tetons. When we returned home to BJ’s mom, she said “you two just don’t realize how interesting your life is.”
Not long thereafter, we packed up Ron and made plans to head out on the road once again. This time, we would be driving southeast to Denver, Colorado to visit a few friends, across the state to Fruita for a bike race, over the border to Utah to continue biking, and then up to the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington for a three day music festival. From there, we may head south through California and will eventually be home in late June for a wedding and to spend the rest of the summer under the shadow of the Tetons.
At the moment, I am camped at the base of the Book Cliffs in Fruita, Colorado with friends Tim and Mary Lynn, while BJ is riding waves just off of the coast of San Jose del Cabo, Mexico for a week long bachelor party / boys only surf trip. Two weeks ago we drove through a very cold Wyoming to spring in Colorado where we caught up with old friends and met two new families. My college friends Katie and Dave had Iris not 3 weeks ago and Tara and Will had Reed about a year and a half ago. Iris was the littlest baby I had ever held and Reed was all smiles.
It was then off to Fruita. Three months ago, eight ladies from Jackson got together over margaritas to come up with a couple team names that we would enter into a race called “18 Hours of Fruita.” A seven mile loop marks the course and the idea is to complete as many laps as possible within the 18 hours. What a wave of emotions: from utter exhaustion and lack of motivation to total excitement and raging energy. Mary Lynn and Tim’s blog provides a great description and photos of the experience: Click Here to Read It. And we made the local paper: Check it out Here.
After the race and a good night’s sleep, we stopped for a ride along the Kokopelli Trail above the Colorado River and returned to our campsite at the Book Cliffs. Many fun rides surround us and it’s hard to beat the free camping, but I’m sure we’ll be moving along to another radical destination in the southwest soon.