THE Move, part three- Dinosaurs and rain

On to the next part of our journey East! We left Utah on Wednesday the 18th Happy Birthday to Cynthia!) and took a bit of a side trip off the interstate. It was a really fun day! We only had to make it to Steamboat Springs, CO from Orem, UT - - so we had some time to stop at Dinosaur National Monument in Eastern Utah. The desert landscape is so rugged and fascinating- - with the waves of multi colored rock, canyons, and the history of the area. How fun to know we walked where dinosaurs roamed, Indians lived, and even a 19th century woman hermit/outlaw who hid in the canyons. The only major disappointing thing was that the main exhibit with the actual dinosaur bones is still closed (has been since 2006 due to structural damage)- so no cool pictures of dino skeletons being excavated right out of the hillside!











I can't remember the woman's name- but she was an outlaw and lived out her days in this cabin- in the cool of the canyon and tiny bit of woods.



There are also Native American petroglyphs all throughout the area- interesting, huh?




We made it safely and easily even with our stop to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. What a beautiful place, after the barren wasteland of Eastern Utah. It was a mountain paradise, with many fun things to do- definitely worth the trip - - EXCEPT the fact that the day we stopped there (Thursday August 19th) was POURING down rain. Not just an annoying drizzle, but shut down everything kind of pouring rain. Since all of the fun things (such as a nice waterfall hike, the alpine slides, and even miniature golf) we were planning on doing were outdoor- we basically spent the day just resting and hanging out at our condo, which was still fine. We did drive around a little. It was an OK day, though I do have to say it was very disappointing since this was supposed to be our little in-the-middle-of-the-move vacation. The indoor pool at the resort was even closed because the chemicals were off! Oh well. Because we didn't really do anything- I don't have any pictures. I am still glad we stopped for those two nights in Steamboat Springs- it was a nice rest day. The trailer being pulled behind the moving truck also had a flat- so it wasn't a hassle to wait for it to get fixed. In fact we just called it in, and later that day we looked out the window and it was fixed! So easy. Penske definitely gets a thumbs up. It would have been a pain if we were just sitting on the side of the interstate I am sure.

So- these few days of sight seeing as we crossed the Rocky Mountains were good- even if it wasn't everything we thought it would be.