Bad news bears - August 14, 2015

Well, our good luck streak came to an abrupt halt. Tony got a call around lunch that one of the items for the truck was defective. They were going to search the area and try to find another one, but it would not be until Monday at the earliest before they could get it. We were all deflated pretty much immediately. All of us were wracking our brains to come up with a solution. We all need to get back to reality ASAP. We were so much in denial that everything was going to work out perfectly for us to leave tomorrow morning. It was rather depressing news.

Once it sank it, we realized the only way to remedy the situation was for me and the girls to rent a car and drive back. Tony would have to wait for the truck and drive back alone. It’s not the solution any of us had hoped for, but it is going to work out fairly well considering. All we can hope for is that they’ll get the part quickly and he can get home safely since he’ll have to drive the 22+ hour trip alone.

Once we decided that, we put our minds to enjoying the day. We had already been to Red Rocks Amphitheater and checked out Boulder. We were nearly to Rocky Mountain National Park when he called. There was no sense in letting the bad news ruin our day. We couldn’t do anything to change it anyway.

Just before we got into the park, we saw a group of people crowded alongside the road. We stopped and about 150 feet off the road in a cropping of rocks, a bear was rolling around. He didn’t have a care in the world about all of us gawking at him. A park ranger was there to do crowd control thankfully. We didn’t have any situations like yesterday where someone tried to walk up to it. He threatened some folks with tickets if they didn’t do what he asked. We decided seeing the bear was God’s way of making amends for all the bad luck.

The park is absolutely gorgeous. Of course I took more and more pictures of beautiful mountain tops, trees, and critters. We saw tons of elk, chubby chipmunks, and deer. We were dying to see a moose, but that didn’t happen. When we got to the pinnacle of the park, a rain storm blew it. It then turned to hail. When we left Denver, it was 92 degrees. It got down to 47 on the mountain. Brrr…

The drive down the other side was just as beautiful. We were amazed at all the twists and turns of the road. The little towns we drove through are all quaint and very western-ish. There were also a couple of ski resorts. The roads are very steep and curvy. We had more than a few “hold on to your ass, Fred” moments. Only fans of the movie Smokey and the Bandit will understand that quote, and of course this family is a BIG fan!!

The reality of our situation sunk in when we got back. We emptied out the van that has been our saving grace for the past eleven days. We had to unpack and repack all our suitcases to make sure we had everything we need, but make sure it would fit into the new car. We’re not sure what size it’s going to be, so who knows if some of that repacking will have to happen again.

Tony and I enjoyed the hot tub and pool again for the evening. The girls decided to stay in. Deputy McCann thought she was going to have to serve as back up as there was some altercation across the street. Not entirely sure what was going on there, but the police were looking for someone in an apartment across the road. I shewed them inside to avoid being caught in any gunfire. I guess that’s just some of what I’m going to have to get used to with this career she’s pursuing. UGH!!

We’ve had an amazing vacation, but it’s all about to come to an end. Tomorrow will turn into a job of trying to get home. Cass isn’t allowed to drive, so it will just be me and Jen. I somehow lucked out in the last eleven days and haven’t had to drive much. I’m not looking forward to this drive whatsoever. But home will feel amazing. I’ll keep that in the back of my mind as we hopefully make quick work out of ticking the miles off this 1500+ journey.