Days 25-33
Day 25 During our morning run through the town of Montrose, we spotted a place to eat lunch at. The restaurant was called 2 Sister’s Gastropub, which was converted from a Presbyterian Church built in the 1800’s. After a delicous meal, we took Lyle swimming at Chipeta State Park, where he tested out his new Cabelas dog life vest. Working on map orders took up the rest of the afternoon, until we ended our quick stay under the dusty lights at the county rodeo. Three of the top bull riders in the state competed that Saturday night, along with some barrel racers, and it was an awesome time being part of that lively, local crowd!
Day 26 Rigged up an heading for Lake Powell, AZ, we noticed Telluride was on the way and only about ten miles out of the way, so we took a quick detour. After a stroll through town for an hour, and a gondola ride to Mountain Village, it was inevitable to to stay the night. This town was just too cool to not spend some time at. After a few short calls, we booked a spot in the Uncompahgre National Forest for the night. Yes, this would be our first ‘dry’ camping (staying without water or electric hookups), which was fine. For dinner, the Brown Dog Pizza treated us really well, and their famous “Detroit style” pizza was phenomenal! We met some great people and for sure will be back to visit sometime in the winter! The town was beautiful, and is either a hiker’s or mountain biker’s paradise in the summer and a snowboarder’s paradise in the winter.
Day 27 As we mentioned before, Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park is incredible, but the San Juan Skyway was immaculate as well. This ride took us from mountain peaks, through winding canyons, across huge meadows, and through God’s country.
And then once we approached the Four Corners Monument, the landscape and temperature changed drastically. Visiting the slightly cheesy geographic phenomenon of four states touching each other brought our count up to 14. Continuing down the road, we settled into Page, AZ, which is home to Lake Powell, Glen Canyon, and Wahweap Bay.
Day 28 Page, AZ is not the place to be when your iMac decides not to turn on. After hours on the phone with Apple support, Ben finally made the 3 hour trip to drop off the computer at an Apple repair store in St. George, UT. I figured it would be a good time while he was gone to take a seven mile ‘loop’, which was a mistake as the temperature climbed to 100 degrees in no time. You just can’t escape the heat in this part of the country. That day we worked (at half speed with Ben’s iMac in another state), met a few "neighbors", and planned our next day since there wouldn’t be too many maps being made.
Day 30 Was anything but uneventful. We decided to rent a boat for the day, hoping to stay cool, go fishing, and take Lyle swimming. Right off the bat the place we rented from seemed shady, and the boat definitely was not taken care of. After we made it to the lake, we drove to the nearest cove, ate lunch and dropped a line. When it was time to move to another spot, our boat WOULDN’T START! After three hours of trying to call the rental shop unsuccessfully, Ben flagged down a family of good samaritans who towed us back to the marina. After an argument with the rental shop owner about the boat malfunction NOT being our fault, they determined that the starter broke. Then it took two weeks after this to get our refund back. Worn out from a long and frustrating couple days, Ben and I soaked the evening out with some authentic Mexican food and a few cold cervezas.
Day 31 The sun shined early on the Airstream, and we were determined to regroup. Rigged up again, our first stop was St. George, UT to pick up the repaired iMac. First mission accomplished. Second stop was Kaibab RV and Campground, 40 minutes from the Grand Canyon North Rim. Mission number two accomplished, and team HUNTERRA is at full-speed, back in action.
Day 32 I was like a 6 year old trying to sleep on Christmas Eve, with pent-up excitement to see the Grand Canyon! I packed a picnic for us, and we drove onward to the park entrance. On our way we saw 150+ wild Bison, grazing near the road, which was one of the coolest things we've ever seen.
Once we made it in we checked out the maps to decide which trails we were going to hike that day. We walked to some beautiful scenic points to look out and take pictures and decided to walk Kaibab trail into the Canyon. After speaking with some hikers who backpacked from the South Rim to North Rim, we decided to hike to Supai Tunnel. This was a 4 mile hike, with a 1,440 feet elevation change, and endless switchbacks. We walked through the tunnel and saw one of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever laid eyes on. It was as if someone painted the canyon with the most vivid colors you could imagine! The hike up was intense, but well worth the sweat and lack of oxygen. Best. Day. Ever.
Day 33 Took the Super Duty, Mobile Map Cave, and Team HUNTERRA into Las Vegas. What happens in Vegas.... will be discussed in the next post!
— Kate & Ben Harshyne