Hello from Cortez, CO

Hello from Cortez, CO

Sunday evening January 17, 2010 (First travelogue of this trip)

Well, we are on the road and this blog will go back to being what is was intended to be – a travelogue! We are headed to Quartzsite, AZ for a very large bus rally and a bit of business. I will be making a presentation to a large Blue Bird RV organization.

Before I get into the details, I would like to thank all of the folks who have expressed concerns and support related to some of our recent “trials and tribulations”. When you are involved in situations that really test your resolve, it seems unbearable at times. There were days when it was 16 degrees below zero and I had a hacking cough that I really questioned my sanity as I headed out to the shop. Then, when the results were not positive, it really seemed grim. The health issues our daughters (and their families) have experienced are very troubling to us and tend to make us quite emotional.

HOWEVER, in the grand scheme of things, we are really quite fortunate. None of the health issues are in the category of cancer (or similar). Pat and I enjoy pretty good health. All of the things we have endured in the past few months will seem like a small speed bump in the future. We have been so fortunate in our lives, that a period of setbacks is probably magnified far beyond realism.

Apparently I have raised some concern with a few folks. We got a call yesterday from Irina, our German exchange student ('81/'82) that we have kept in close contact with over the many years including several visits on both sides of the ocean. She read the blog and wanted to call and make sure everyone was doing OK. We sure enjoyed that call!

Now to our travels. Because of the bus problems, we made the decision to make the trip in the service truck. It travels well, but is a bit hungry when it comes to fuel. Part of our decision to make this trip can loosely be called “avoiding the issues”. I am not sure that is all bad. Sometimes people just need to “get away” and clear their minds a bit. I spent today being able to think quite a bit more clearly about several issues that I have been wrestling with (obviously the bus was the focal point).

In the bus, we would normally take the “conservative” winter route of I 25 south to either I 40 or perhaps down to I 10 if the weather dictated. However, since the service truck is 4WD, we decided to take the scenic route. We traveled US285 (which is close to our house) down to US 160. That route took us over Wolf Creek Pass, through Durango and on to Cortez in south western Coloarado. That is about 350 miles. This is the most direct route, but also the most scenic. We have driven this route several times when I used to attend business meetings in Phoenix each year. We are really looking forward to tomorrows drive. The scenery is very unique and beautiful. I will fill in the details in our next blog.

The weather today was not all that bad for this time of year. A bit overcast, but no snow. The roads were dry. We were amazed at the amount of snow on the ground in various locations. Tomorrow will be a different story. If you follow the weather much, the majority of the south western part of the US is going to experience several days of rain and snow. The area we are traveling through will have snow. Before we leave tomorrow, I will check the road conditions. However, the predictions are for about 1-3 inches and that will be later in the day.

That is all for now.