Best Western Wayside Motor Inn Monticello

Up until Silas came home for lunch on Friday we had been planning on floating another part of the Colorado near Moab on Saturday and hiking in the La Sal Mts on Sunday. But then Silas was asked if he wanted to help haul some stuff out to one of the BLM cabins in Beef Basin over the weekend and I'm signed up as a volunteer, so I got to go too! <br> The plan was to meet the other two people who were going (I'll call them T and R) at the BLM at 8am ...

Finally! We're all caught up! Oh yeah, and I've been meaning to mention...please ignore our map. We're sick of messing with it- this is a travel site, so it's set up to go from place to place, it just isn't working for us since we're going somewhere then coming home. Then going somewhere else, then coming home. So please just ignore the map.<br> This last weekend we bought a truck!! Silas has been wanting one since ...

... a stone bridge above the river. Quite spectacular scenery, but of course, what we were interested in was the archaeological sites which were associated with these bridges. The park warden took the Sequoia people (who tend to be the more adventurous of the group) down on a hike to the bottom of the canyon - just 5 miles, but most of it up and down the steep canyon walls. Given the rugged terrain and the hot sun and high altitude (thin air), it was a fairly strenuous treck ...

      Today, Allison and I went on an eight-mile hike up a canyon about forty miles from town. I have to be sort of vague about our whereabouts for this entry, because of my job. I am not supposed to reveal the locations of cultural sites, except for a handful of the more well-known and documented ones.     It was a beautiful day for a hike. Yesterday, the temperature was below freezing and it snowed all day, so ...

... to live. And the reason we drove both our cars is because when we are actually moving here at the end of the month Silas will be driving a U-haul, so we thought it would be easiest to leave one of our vehicles here. Okay, back to our trip down here. Our plan had been to leave Missoula at 9:00am at the latest. We didn't end up getting out of there until almost 11:00. First the walkie-talkies weren't working and so I wanted to stop at Target and see if we ...

... it would be great to ride with them. The trucker apparently does not know the North from the South. Needless to say I did not catch the family, only to find out that they invited me to go on a ride. What a bummer! Started a little late in the morning. This was the first time on my trip that I did not have to wear a wind breaker. It was quite warm. My thermometer said 85 which I dont believe but I still think it ...

... or he has very poor time estimation skills. We never made it to Moab. We stopped in Blanding Utah some 90 miles from Moab after riding well over two hours just to get this far. But it was worth the extra time. US 95 is hands down, the most scenic 120+ miles of highway you will ever experience. The trick is to not drive off the road into some canyon as you view one jaw-dropping tableau after another. My head was on a swivel and I could not get enough. Go now. If it was not ...

Jackie and Josh convinced us to extend our roadtrip and discover Moab Utah for a day. This was well worth the detour. Moab is amazing and beautiful desert and canyonland. Edward Abbey wrote about this part of the U.S. in a book I read years ago named 'Desert Solitaire.' We camped a little bit outside town in a beautiful campsite in the canyon. The canyon floor was ...

... are spectacular. Redwood Forrest, CA: HUGE FLIPPIN TREES!!! oh yeah and tiny people. Shulay Rating: 4 of 5 high fives Now at this point I must let you know of a little passion of mine to take a nap in any place so wonderful along our travels. Kim, however, urges against this and we press on. Next stop (aside from peeing and fueling) was Napa, CA. A former Co-worker of mine, Jon was kind enough to give Kim and I a going away present that would ...

... artwork on the walls that remains. The second half of the day was spent touring Monument Valley itself. The site is difficult to describe other than it takes your breath away. The rocks rise from the flat floor with power and a sense of authority. The Left and Right mittens being famously used as a back drop in so many Western movies. The tour passed deep into the valley past the three sisters and to the Sun's Eye. The sheer scale cannot be shown in a photograph but ...