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vacation 3 We slept in again on Saturday, which I wasn't happy about. Once we got up, we got in the car and drove to Boulder. We had no idea what we were going to do once we got there, but I was hoping to see some mountains. Of course, it was raining, so they were mostly covered by clouds. We stopped at the "visitor center" which was a kiosk with some maps and other things to do in Boulder on it. Picked up some brochues, and after arguing for a bit, we decided to go to the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory for a free tour. The tour was pretty neat. It was a quiet factory day, so we didn't actually get to see it running, but we got to go through it, smell the wonderful smells...stand in the mint room and have our sinuses open up. They gave us free samples of tea, and then dumped us into the gift shop. And I managed to not purchase anything. Artboy, however, was not as lucky. We were hoping to purchase this wooden tea holder that a friend of mine has on her wall in the kitchen to hold all of my packages of tea. He got two smaller ones...they hold 4 each. He also bought some chocolate candy coated sun flower seeds. I think that was it. Probably should have purchased some tea. But seriously, I don't need to buy anymore tea. We drove around some more, and then drove back to Denver. Ate Maggianos leftovers. And that was about it. We went to bed early so we could get up early to drive back. We decided to take a different way back, driving through Utah and then down through the 4 corners, which I'd always wanted to see. We actually got to eat the hotel "free" hot breakfast, which was really pretty good. And then we were off. I was sad to leave Denver, especially since we hadn't seen as much as I'd hoped. It was raining when we left, and Artboy drove for awhile. We switched after we got out of the mountains. I've never seen so many tunnels before! We probably drove through more tunnels that day than I've driven through my entire life. We even saw snow on some of the mountains, which I just couldn't believe. Crazy. The countryside was absolutely beautiful. Before Artboy took a nap just before we left Colorado, he told me the next major city out of Colorad was Cisco, and that was were we were to get on the road to go south. So, he falls asleep, and just before we get out of Colorado, we hit Grand Junction. With a half a tank of gas. I'm thinking, instead of stopping in GJ, we'll just stop in Cisco to get gas...it wasn't that far away, and we had plenty of gas. So, I'm driving along the highway, and the rain is pouring on and off, while the sun is still out. It was wild. Decided that I loved Artboy's Outback--the all-wheel drive is awesome. I'm sure if I were in my car, we would have done some sliding around. I pass by this exit that says Cisco. And there is nothing there. And I just caught it as we passed by it. Oh shit. But there is nothing there. Nada. Not a major city. So I'm looking at the map, and come up with a backup plan. And keep driving. And then there is the Cisco exit, with a lovely blue sign that says No Services. I must not have seen Cisco earlier..it must have said something else. But the No Services sign worries me. We're now at quarter of a tank. And it says that there will be services in 47 miles. At first, I'm thinking we're okay. But this road is in the middle of no where...there is nothing there...and the needle is dropping. Artboy doesn't let it get this low, so we don't know how it is. With my car, it will stay at quarter of a tank forever, and then just suddenly drop. Artboy wakes just as we're heading down into Arches National Park, which is absolutely gorgeous. And we can't enjoy the drive, because now we're both concerned about gas. We've rolled the windows down, turned off the air and radio, and I've got cruise control on and am hitting the brake as little as I possibly can. It was very beautiful though...I thought it was prettier than Sedona..and I don't know if that's just because I've seen Sedona a million times, but I did. I felt like we'd been driving forever, so when we came across one of those green signs, I was very dismayed to find out we still had 20 miles to go. And it was getting hotter and hotter the further down we went into the canyon. We finally came out of the canyon and hit Moab, and we were never so happy to find a gas station. The needle was on the E. Turns out we had 4 gallons left. We were fine. We could have stopped and taken pictures and enjoyed Arches. *laugh* Now we know. I wasn't impressed with most of the parts of Utah that we saw--Arches the exception. We were on our way to the 4 corners area..had just pulled off the main road, and had driven about 2 miles when Artboy was pulled over by a state trooper who was driving the other way and turned around to come nab him. We'd been driving 2 miles, looking for a speed limit sign, and must have missed it. Both of us. I've got to say, that all thru Utah, we were always wondering what the limit was because they rarely have a sign. If you miss the one they did put up, you won't see one again for a long while. So, he's pulled over going 63..and it turns out the limit was supposedly 45. They guy "gives him a break" and writes the ticket for 55. That put a damper on things for a bit. And I felt bad, because I was the one who wants to go to the 4 corners area. We get to the 4 corners, and discover that it costs $3 per person to see the stupid cement with bronze plaque. I couldn't believe it. And if we hadn't gone a little out of our way to see it, I would have just left. But we stopped, got the obligatory picture of standing in all four states at the same time, ate some fry bread, and then left. We saw a little of Monument Valley, and stopped and took some pictures which turned out beautifully. And then most of the rest of the drive home was along a route I've previously taken. We stopped in Flag at 10pm to eat at Denny's and then we were on our way home. We played car games, and that was one of my favorite times of our trip because we were talking and goofing off, and interacting with each other instead of listening to music. About an hour out of Flag, I tried to nap, because I knew I would be tired and I had to go to work the next day. I couldn't sleep though..and didn't sleep until we hit Phx city limits. About 45 minutes later, I was waking up, and Artboy was telling me that he saw the flash of the photo radar on the freeway in Scottsdale. I'm hoping he won't get another ticket...and so far, nothing has come. *sigh* He was feeling pretty bummed. We brought our stuff up and I went to bed immediately. We drove over 1800 miles through 4 states. I had no idea that New Mexico was as beautiful as it was...and I fell in love with Colorado. I could see us living there easily. And the job opportunities would be better than in Flag. I still love Flag, and would love to live there. But if it doesn't work...Denver is a great possibility. |