An Excellent Adventure!

Its that time of year again, too cold and crappy to bike ride and not enough good snow to get me out to xc ski! So, the thought came up, "What are (can) we going to do for Spring Break?"

The biggest mitigating factors to our plans and dreams are the economy and my distinct lack of current employment.

My Hotness came up with several ideas involving cruising around to relatives to "see the USA". The original thought was to go visit her niece in Boston driving through Canada to see the Niagara Falls on the way. Another thought was to go West! My brother and sister-in-law live in Phoenix. It would be the warmer of the choices by far.

So the decision was made, I will leave early and drive our Subaru and Herself and the Speedster will fly out. Aren't flight miles wonderful?

Now let the planning begin. I am truly excited to be driving out West and taking my bikes with me. I have always dreamed of going to Moab, UT and the desert canyon lands near there. The bike riding opportunities are unlimited, mountain riding on the slick-rock and desert trails, and road biking on the wonderful hills and scenic roads of Utah and Colorado.

The tentative schedule is for me to leave March 27th to drive West. I will have several days to get to Arches National Park, where I have three days camping reserved. Then proceed to Phoenix to settle in at my brother's house. Julie and Cat arrive April 3rd at the PHX airport. This will give us time to relax and enjoy the warmth. My brother has a motor home and will accompany us north again to do a loop through the Petrified Forest National Park, Flagstaff and Sedona. Our hope is to be able to climb Humphrey's Peak if the snow level allows. Humphrey's is the highest point in AZ at 12,637 feet (3,852 m).

The final leg of the trip will be to get Herself and the Speedster back to the PHX airport on Sunday, April 12th, for their return to the everyday world. I will then drive back on a more southerly route, perhaps, through New Mexico and Texas.

I am now pouring over the maps of any and all areas I can get my hands on. The table in the basement has begun to accumulate the stuff that will need to go along. I have finagled a Mac Powerbook to enable me to stay in contact with the modern world and record how things go.

This will be fun.