Golden, CO

We stayed in a hotel lot in Glenwood Springs, and I got some Coors Extra Gold in the morning. We drove a few hours to Gunnison, and met up with Lauren's friend Larry, and his girlfriend, Heidi, in a coffee shop. We picked up some things for dinner, and they made steak, mashed potatoes, and glazed carrots. We watched Ratatoullie, and National Lampoon Xmas Vacation (a tradition in my family). We slept on an inflatable mattress and woke up for eggs, bacon, and potatoes before getting ready to go skiing. We drove about a half hour up to Crested Butte, and I rode the bus up to the resort to see them off (and pay for Lauren). I went back down into town and did some drinking and some Christmas shopping. I bought a pint and headed back up to the resort to wait for them. Lauren had a great time and I was glad she had the opportunity to go. We went back to Larry and Heidi's and ordered some pizza. Then we watched some Christmas movies like Die Hard and Batman Returns.
After another fantastic breakfast, we checked the road conditions and headed out. We peaked Monarch Pass (11,000') and continued to Vail. The interstate was backed up and iced over, so we sat in traffic, eating salsa, and trying to inch up without slipping. We finally got moving again, but there was another wreck and we had to take a detour. I got some gas and tried to buy snow-chains, but I couldn't find any. We took a detour over Loveland Pass in a driving snow, at night, with 2 wheel drive, and without chains. We finally made it to a Walmart and to a Mcdonalds to eat a McGangbang, blog,  and have some beers. The Coors tour is in the morning and then we check out Boulder and move east.

Glenwood Springs, CO

We made the rounds through the northern section of the Canyonlands, and called BS on the meteorite theory about upheaval dome. If anyone is actually interested in this, I'll rant at great length on a 1-on-1 basis. I talked to a woman about living in the truck and about some of the things we've learned while Riley ate some snow. After about 4 hours, we got kind of canyoned out, so we drove back to Moab for a resupply. I got 2 bags of chips, 2 tubs of salsa, 1 bag of bagels, and 1 tup of cream cheese. I had about 6 High Life long-necks left (you gotta' drink it to live it), and I filled up for $2.65/g. We drove up the river to I-70, and headed east to Grand Junction, CO. We used the Mcwifi, and ate some Taco John's. We went to Walmart, and tried to watch Cannonball, but it was a bad rip, so we settled for The Getaway with Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw. It was very good. I ended up staying up till 5 playing games, and George called at 6:45. I called him back in the morning (daylight), and hes having a party for Christmas. It sounds like a blast.

We cleaned out the truck, and drove about an hour and a half to Glenwood Springs, and checked out the town. Paddler Magazine rated it as one of the coolest town in America, so we looked at the possibility of moving here for a season. The Walmart's floorplan is screwy, and has doors on both ends of the store, the beer selection sucks, and its not 24 hour. The Mcdonalds Filet'O'Fish is $3.29, and their McChicken is the Hot'n'Spicy one. I don't know if they have bagels. The liquor store is a tad pricey, but the selection and the service is wonderful. There is a Taco Bell, a KFC, a Pizza Hut, and a Subway. There is a naturally hot pool, caves, rivers, horseback riding, biking, Mexican and Chinese restaurants, lots of parks, and a few grocery stores. The gas price is a tad high, but not extreme. I like this place. There is a Toyota dealership and a plethora of nice restaurant, and rafting job opportunities. The summers are 80 to 90 degrees and the winters are mild. I will be back. We have a 3.5 hour burn tomorrow, and maybe we'll see Lauren's friend.

Moab, UT

Lauren and I woke up in the Howard Johnson parking lot, and while she went to the bathroom in Mcdonalds, I went to the Basha's for some booze. I only had one tallboy left, and I drank it that morning on the way to the store for more. Unfortunately, we were in the sovereign nation of the Navajo people, and they don't sell booze...at all. We hastened the pace and drove north through Monument Valley. It happens to be owned by the Navajo, not the US, so we had to pay $5 each to get in. We continued to Mexican Hat, UT and I bought a 12 pack of Milwaukee's Best, but it turned out to be out of date and skunky. I drank it anyway. We kept going to 4 corners and we had to pay $3 each to get in there. We took some pictures, and Riley played with some stray dogs. We made it into Farmington, NM, had some ramen and Kool Aid Bursts, and to sleep at Walmart.

In the morning, we drove to Mesa Verde, and drove a loop to kill time until a guided tour into some 700 year-old cliff dwellings. Lauren took pictures tilll my finger hurt from watching her press the shutter. We took the tour and it reminded me of when I was living in the barn in Sheperdstown, WV. They even had a stuffed turkey vulture. For those of you who don't know, I lived next to a couple of them for a few months before it got too cold and they flew away. Anyway, we drove on towards Telluride, CO, but that place has zoned parking permits like Boston, and less free parking than Atlantic City. Even the hotels had parking permits. We headed into some little town I can't remember, and watched some movies. The Reanimator was a little too much for Lauren, so we finished with The Wanderers. I had a hot pocket because I'm craving pizza, and Lauren had a microwave chimichanga from a gas station.

The next day we drove to Moab, and reevaluated our daily scheduling system. Lauren went into Mcdonalds for a while, and I had some beer and took a nap on the front seat. When she came out, we drove to a Comfort Suites and slept in their lot. I went to bed around 7:30. Today, we got up by 10:45, and drove all through Arches NP. We walked a few trails, and Lauren took so many pictures, the camera got hot the touch. We just got finished, and did some shopping at a City Market, which, apparently, is associated with Kroger's and Fred Meyer. We got some Thai noodles, went to Mcdonalds' parking lot, and cooked them up. They were awful. We are currently inside blogging, and Lauren tells me I just sold a coffee mug online for a few dollars commission. Canyon Lands tomorrow, drive halfway to Gunnison, CO the next day, and Gunnison, by the 13th. Snowboarding on the 14th and onward...

Navajo Nation (south of Monument Valley)

We headed up to the Grand Canyon, and checked out the visitor center. We looked over a few overlooks, and found a spot in the parking lot of a lodge to sleep. We got run off by a ranger after a few hourse, so we actually paid to camp in a campground. It was $16, but we got a half-price deal with the annual park pass. We spent the whole next day checking out all we could before drifting eastward towards Lake Powell. We spent a little time in a Mcdonalds there, then went to sleep in Walmart. In the morning we checked out horseshoe bend, and decided to stay until sunset. I used this as an opportunity to test my handheld GPS. It seems pretty nice, I'll do a gear review later. We went back to Walmart, and I made some fettuccine alfredo. In the morning,  I made breakfast while Lauren went to the bathroom. After a long time, I went in to see if she was OK, she wasn't feeling well at all, and we spent most of this morning sitting in the truck, while I played Picross. She didn't feel like hiking to the wave, so we headed towards Monument Valley.
On the way we saw the Glen Canyon Dam, and a street with  11 churches in a row. I was really enjoying the drive, but we came to the last sizable town to sleep in, so we went to Sonic, and to a Basha's for groceries. We are internetting in Mcdonalds at the moment, but in the morning, we are going to Monument Valley, the Four Corners and either Chaco, NM or Mesa Verde, CO, depending on how we feel. I think we are beginning to reach the limit of time 2 people can spend in a truck, even if they love each other. I plan to research the techniques NASA is trying out for extended space travel. After Mesa Verde, we are going to Arches, Canyonlands, and Dead Horse Point, before starting the Colorado experience. Lauren wants me to see the countryside, but I'm not looking forward to the snow. She is meeting up with a friend and going snowboarding, while I sit in the lodge and not worry about dying. The upside is that we are going to Coors in Golden, CO, on the way east. I'll try to keep blogging often..

Flagstaff, AZ

We went to see Lauren's Cousin in Tucson, and she stays in a huge house with a full basketball court, hot tub with a water slide, miniature golf, pool table, guest house, and many ammenities. We stayed in the gueshouse and took showers. It was a pueblo style house, and I liked the statue of Saint Francis out front. The next day, we followed Christina to her father's (Lauren' uncle (Lauren's mother's brother's (Billy's))) house. It was cool. He sells Amsoil, and he offered me a free bypass filter kit. It was an older kit, but I spent a day or two putting it on. He has a great yard with plenty of vehicles to check out. It was nice to be able to hang around outside and piddle around with the truck. Billy was very hospitable.
Billy has a son named Billy Jr. and he is a pistol. We played Lego Starwars, and he stomped me at it. Lauren caught up on some of her blogging, and I did a little cooking. We met little Billy's mother, Joselyn (*sp?), and she is very nice also.
We have to be at this ski resort in Colorado by the 17th, so we had to leave. It'll be fun to come back some time. We headed up to some small town on the way to the Petrified Forest, and slept at Walmart.
In the morning we did some shopping, and I was able to find a 30 pack of Ice. I forgot to get gas though, so I had to drive past the forest to a Farr's. When I finally filled up, the truck took 12.6 gallons. My manual states my capacity as 12. We took some deep breaths and went into the park. I really enjoyed kicking around, and Lauren took pictures of every single rock. The visitor center was empty so we got a live presentation all to ourselves. The ranger gave us the canned "don't take the rocks" speach, and I tried to reassure her by reminding her that we'll still have fiber glass dinosaurs after all the rocks are stolen. We went out of the park and headed to a Sonic for tots. Lauren then thought that when that ranger was explaining how the trees were petrified, she could have said they just needed tp scare them. Clever. We went west toward Flagstaff, and we're using some internet before crashing for the evening. The Grand Canyon is only about 80 miles north, and we have 15 days to make it to Colorado.