Duane spent several months, early in 2020, planning a spring break trip to the Utah National Parks. He purchased plane tickets, reserved hotel and AirBnb houses, booked a big Jeep Trip in Moab, and calculated driving times between the parks. Alas, on March 10, 2020, he called to tell me Anne was sick and with news of the Coronavirus escalating every day, decided to cancel our trip. My job, for the remainder of the year, would be to manage my disappointments! Gratefully, the airlines, AirBnb, and the hotels refunded almost all deposits and charges. Except, the Outlaw Jeep Adventures...they issued a credit. So, with that money sort of hanging out there, Duane was determined to get this Jeep ride in sometime in 2021. He made a different plan so Colin could experience a college tour at the University of Colorado in Boulder before we began the 6 hour drive to Moab. I enjoyed, sitting in the rental car, the stories Anne and Duane told Colin about their lives in Boulder, where Duane got his Master's Degree in Telecommunications. It was over 100 degrees when we began our walk through the campus and finally made our way to the Sink for lunch. Anne, Duane, and their friends spent a lot of time here and actually had a pre-wedding gathering here prior to their wedding in October, 2003. Duane was so happy to have the same pizza he loved to order in 1999, although it's been renamed to POTUS in honor of Barack Obama.
Duane and Colin were surprised to learn they could have a guided tour around the campus so Anne and I wandered around Pearl Street and sat on the grass near Boulder Creek until their tour was over. College friends, the Pepples and Keelans agreed to plan a meal for us and I loved listening to their stories too. Scott and family live in a lovely old neighborhood in Denver and continue to remodel their home and recently added an outdoor kitchen. The Keelans are remodeling a 1950's home with a kitchen island the "size of a queen sized-bed" according to Mary. Bronwyn Pebble is a partner in an all-female law firm and focuses on human rights cases. I learned a lot about transgender folks and their rights and how important pronouns are to them. Duane mentioned that the tour guide on the UC Boulder tour introduced himself by name and then added, "and my pronouns are he/him." We spent the night in a hotel and began the drive to Moab early on Tuesday morning. Being able to travel felt like an amazing gift after being isolated and stuck at home for over a year. Hundreds of cars on Highway 70 were heading to the mountains and ski areas close to Denver. We heard Agnes, the GPS voice, encourage us to get off the highway because of a vehicle fire. Duane turned to Colin and said, "should be take our chances or listen to Agnes?" We did not listen and therefore spent an hour in traffic waiting to exit the freeway. By noon we were hungry and had a nice lunch in Idaho Springs, even a lobster roll because the owners were from Maine. The rest of the drive seemed really long even though we enjoyed the scenery around Vail, Keystone, Winterpark, and Breckenridge. Duane said, "it was supposed to take 5 1/2 hours, but with traffic and lunch, it turned out to be more like 9 hours." We found our rental on DocAllen Drive and quickly unpacked and relaxed in the lovely space, finally cool and comfortable after the long, hot drive.
I loved the mornings! Our rental was across the street from the Pipe Dream Trailhead and I got my walk in before anyone else even stirred. I loved seeing the sun come up and the LaSal Mountains in the background.
Duane and Colin took the big Jeep Ride on Wednesday....Colin took most of the photos!
Lunch in a Cave!
Anne and I explored the town, found some thrift stores, the liquor store (Utah) and toured a museum to learn more about the history of the area. The town became well known when Charles Steen discovered uranium in 1952. Now the DOE still works on a massive clean-up of the site.
In the early 1940s, Charles Steen studied geology at the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy (today the University of Texas at El Paso). After working in South America as a petroleum geologist and then in Texas for Standard Oil Company, Steen was fired for insubordination and blacklisted by the industry. In the December 1949 issue of the The Engineering and Mining Journal, he learned that the Atomic Energy Commission, desperate to supply uranium for the government’s nuclear weapons program, “established minimum prices, guaranteed the rates for ten years, and added a $10,000 bonus for each separate discovery . . . of high-grade uranium from new deposits.” Steen headed west. He, his wife, and four sons moved around in trailers and backcountry, tarpaper shacks for almost two years. Finally, on 6 July 1952, Steen struck big at Mi Visa Mine near Moab, which shipped a million dollars’ worth of ore in its first six months. Before then, he had been sustaining his family on a “diet of potato chips and bananas.” His son recalls that they had been “living in a $15 a month shack, unencumbered with running water or electricity.” But Steen’s willpower paid off. Moab, a sleepy town, became home to a millionaire.He quickly built a $250,000 hilltop mansion in Moab, replete with a swimming pool, greenhouse, and even servants’ quarters. Steen also lived lavishly by purchasing a private plane, which he flew to Salt Lake City for weekly dancing lessons. Although he spent much of his money lavishly, Steen was known as a friendly man who gave to the community. Every year, he invited the entire population of Moab to annual parties and donated $50,000 toward a local hospital. His discovery put Moab on the map as the “Uranium Capital of the World” and created hundreds of jobs. He was elected to the Utah State Senate in 1958, but when the country had obtained enough ore and stopped supporting his prices, he suffered heavy financial losses. After he declared bankruptcy in 1968, the IRS seized his assets. Although he went from rags to riches, then lost his riches, Steen’s mansion, now a restaurant, is still open for business, overlooking the town like he once did.
Wednesday evening we learned that the park sometimes closes because there is no room to park, so we got up at 4:30 on Thursday morning and made it to the entrance to the park by 5:30...it was still dark. We found a parking spot at the Wolfe Ranch lot but the long line of cars behind us were mostly out of luck to find a place to park at this lot.
Honestly, it was like Disneyland - lines of people on the trail! But finally arriving at the Delicate Arch made it all worthwhile!
There was a long, long line to people waiting their turn to get a photo under the arch...we thought it might take over an hour so we had someone take our photo! Good enough for our memories!
Anne really wanted to drive to the Devils Garden parking lot and after two trips around the circle we found a place to park and enjoyed another hike and this amazing view of Landscape Arch.
Later in the day we drove out to a spot along the Colorado River called Potash - actually a factory where they made this ingredient for fertilizers. We drove along "Wall Street" and felt like bugs next to these huge rock formations.
We enjoyed a relaxing evening in the rental and Duane figured out how to sign-in to Netflix so we could watch a documentary called "The Pursuit of Happiness." A tender story of a European couple searching for happiness by purchasing a school bus, turning it into a home of sorts and travelling through the US, Canada, and Mexico with their dog. It's a romantic wanderlust story that, in the end, happiness means settling down and being close to family.
Colin and Anne took a plane sight-seeing tour of the CanyonLands
Colin took these great photos - he said the plane tour was his favorite part of the trip!
We met Anne's friends, Scott, Dave, and their son, Cameron at a local hot spot in Golden. I love Duane's shirt with the image of an old jeep...it reads, "Original Side by Side."
The long car rides gave me time to pause and reflect on the gift of travel, the Pandemic, isolation vs crowds, small town vs big city, traffic and lots of people. It seemed almost surreal to me to be in a crowd, no social distancing, no masks. What happened to COVID-19?? Some stores posted signs requiring masks unless "you are fully vaccinated." It's still mandatory to wear a mask in the airport and on the plane, but otherwise not so much. I thought about the traffic jams, the long lines, the poor restaurant service, the disappointing food. It will all take some "getting used to" again. I like the words from Richard Rohr, "Everything Belongs." It was good for me to stay home, stop rushing around, spend time watching birds and reflecting on my blessings. It was hard to give up my volunteer work and not go to Mass every Sunday. I found ways to manage my disappointments. Now, my world seems almost back to normal and I expect my calendar to fill up, to volunteer again, to be with people and enjoy Sunday night wine with friends. I'll have to find ways to become more patient and to say "yes" to opportunities to be with people. And to always be grateful when spending time with family.
