CO and part of UT

On our way through Colorado we stopped at the Continental Divide.  Pretty high and dry air. 
humidity about 12%,  temp about 95.

Steamboat Springs for a coffee and the scenery.  Like most of these towns, the car comes out between two huge mountains or cliffs and there the town lies about 1,000' below, laid out like a grid, toy size.  We had some of the best coffee at Mountain Brew.  To our surprise there was a rodeo, string concert, and massive Ford Mustang show closing 6 blocks of the main street with cars in mint condition.  Drew knew all of these cars especially the Shelby Cobra. He said, "The original ones were the AC Cobras that Shelby did as a racing buff.  He took little British racing cars and beefed them up with Ford suspensions, and then Shelby did Shelby Mustangs for Ford and made them super fast."

The rest of the day we followed the winding, surging Colorado River through the western side of the state into Utah.  I will say repeatedly that these pictures are a very poor representation of the actual.  Pictures just cannot get the enormity of the countryside.  Nothing in New England is big compared to the west.  This Colorado, surging to the tippy top of its banks here is the source of all water with its tributaries, Green, Virgin, etc.  And somewhere along the way at some of the dams, Hoover or Powell the engineers control the flow further west.

Colorado tributary

 Best western store  Light

Must quit as we are heading out.  Trying to catch up with some of what we did.  But we're going at the same time so it's hard to fit everything in.  Having a ball.  So much to see.

Wyoming my favorite state

After a morning in Banner County on the farm we headed to Cheyenne, WY for an oil change.  Karin suggested we stop at the Vedauwoo recreation area between Cheyenne and Laramie.  "It's kind of neat."  A comment she makes when it usually turns out to be spectacular scenery and fun.
    This was one of the best campsites I've seen in the west with large round climbable boulders chunked together between forest and sand.  The arid, high air at about 7300' is clear and allergy free.  It wasn't crowded because it's a rec/camp site that isn't in all the books.  I climbed up.

Here are Teddy Roosevelt who used the national lands more than any other president and valued the outdoors and John Muir who brought interest to Yosemite.   The US started the first national parks in the world around 1919.  This was a rest area with an exhibit.  Why don't we do that in the east?

I could have stayed and explored for a lot longer, but we went on to our Quality Lodge in Laramie where we were greeted by several antelope in the pasture next to the motel.  We were able to do the wash.  The in-room hot tub with TV was a cushy plus we used.
To get a needed paper Atlas for a good overview that Google maps can't provide in detail we stopped at

 This guy comes into work each day, sits in the middle of the store at his table, and makes flies for fisherman.  "Best kept secret," he said, "is the fishing in Laramie, Wyoming."  This was one of those great stores that sold everything!
I love Wyoming.  Didn't get enough great pictures.  On to Colorado.

IA, NE, WY, CO, UT new dinghy

  June 20:  We are making our way across this amazing country.  Everyone should be required to drive on some of these roads. Namely one: south on Route 128 from Colorado Route 70 to Moab, UT.  "OMG" must have come out of mouths uncountable times, the camera shutter clicking incessantly, but never really capturing the intensity or size of the late setting sun on the huge, tall, glowing red cliffs and unique rock formations.   It was 8 pm, another hour until sunset here, but we decided to take the scenic byway.  Always take roads designated "scenic byways."  This may be crazy to some but spectacular views fill me up.

   We checked into the bug free registered bare bones Motel 6 in Moab, UT for $150 and realized the regional differences when we compared it to the Lied Center in remote Nebraska City where we paid the same amount for a beautifully decorated room; a hotel with a  spa, work out room, Olympic size pool, hot tub, sauna, restaurant and manicured grounds (home of Arbor Day).  We highly recommend this place on your way across the country.
     June 17th we stopped at Nebraska City after Iowa City to visit a family farm, put my hands in the 4th generation owned farm dirt, and got an amazing tour of state of the art farm equipment from the tenant farmers.  We all grew up with the phrase, "Never sell the land," drummed into our heads.  I hope I can hand it down and follow the Native American good-for-7-generations philosophy.  This was all after a 13 hour drive from beautiful Niagara on the Lake through progressive wind mill filled Michigan, IN, IL and also progressive Iowa.
  But back to chronologically following the trip to Iowa City June 14-17 to see Amy and Stephen, Drew's two children.  It was a fun time to bowl, eat at a favorite restaurant, Mondo's and Longhorn Steak House, and do the requisite shopping trip at the mega sports store, Sheels at Coral Ridge Mall.

 Mike, Drew and Amy with Iowa football Herky hats at Sheels.

Jill and Amy at the bowling alley.

Amy, Jill and Mike
  
We stayed at a chain hotel with a pool and hot tub that a couple of times we had all to ourselves.  My music sounded like I was in the shower, echoing around the room while I sang with my iTune playlists.
View out our motel window of the forever rain clouds and hayfields and huge sky. 

  On to the next farm as we crossed Nebraska's table land, after the hills of Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

As we head west the land gets drier with fewer and fewer trees next to the very high Platte River.  It's at the top of its banks after raining all but 3 days of May.  Upon Karin Jones recommendation we stopped in Kearney at the 2 story Archway to America museum that was built over the Route 80 highway!

A movie is on the wall with an escalator going right into the covered wagon

 It was one of the best interactive museums I've experienced.  We learned that several Disney creative artists worked on this exhibit that traces the history of transportation across the US from the settlers with Conestoga wagons,

 through stagecoaches, the building of the transcontinental railroad racing from east and west, to the first cars bumping over rutted roads and people camping or staying in little rented cabins en route.  Then the laying of the Lincoln Highway later numbered Route 30 near route 80.  There are life size people, all the forms of transportation and an audio earphone system that changes with where you stand and catches up if you move before the narrator is finished.
  After 7 hours of driving we arrived at Karin and John Jones's home in western Nebraska, Harrisburg, and their protective German Shepherd, Ranger.  We headed to Scottsbluff National Monument to see the sunset and drive up to the top to experience the many views.

After driving up we walked toward the top, and I spotted a rattle snake.  It simply was sunning itself in the last rays of the day and then slowly slithered into the grass.
  John farms the western family farm.  He planted peas, corn and wheat this year in three strips to be rotated rather than wheat and millet.  I also walked the farm,

talked government farm programs, and visited their playful yearling horses.

Karin's dad was in the park service so she was able to recommend other ways to cross Wyoming and Colorado that proved breathtaking to see.

 The dinghy is in the US from South America! Now to get Tweety back with Shawnee.  We also need to make sure they have the middle seat for this baby.

NH, MA, NY, Niagara on the Lake Canada, new dinghy, MI, IN, IL, IA

We've covered quite a bit of ground.  The idea was to take pictures of each sign that welcomes us to the state,

 but that didn't work out when Drew wasn't quite ready with the camera for the next 6 states.  Then I wanted a memento from each place and thought of magnets, but no one is selling those at Niagara Falls.  So it's pictures and this blog.
  We stayed the first night at my sister, Vicky's and husband Donal's in Loudonville (near Albany NY) where it was great to see my nieces Meghan and Lee and her husband Doug and grand nieces: Fiona and Kiara.  It was my sister's birthday so we sang and gave gifts.  As we arrived there was a 405 lightening strike storm in the area - rather dramatic.  Drew kept going outside to watch the weather.

We awoke to a spectacular beautiful morning. After a leisurely breakfast we left for Niagara Falls - a wonder of the world.  Driving along Route 90 NY Thruway, the scenic highway along the Mohawk River and Erie Canal from about 1820 we stopped for a picnic.

Whenever Drew is driving we get great mileage 33.3 MPG with cruise control in my Subaru Crosstrek, the highest car off the ground (not SUV) available.

We crossed the Niagara River and Canadian border with no problem.  They ask 3 questions.  You show your ID/passports and drive through.  Immediately we parked near the falls and took pictures.
and videos:

Double rainbow - Canadian Falls, Everyone on the boat has blue rain gear.

Mom, always trying to go where we aren't supposed to.  "We can go here.  We'll be okay."

Mazu for her fans, boat update and we're off to see the USA

[Looks like one video wouldn't download - computers.] 
Boat information update after pix.

Tomorrow we leave for our cross country drive to visit parks and friends and relatives. 
Since Mazu is staying with a family while we are gone I took her for a free, off-leash, mud loving walk/run. 
  Just a quick note of Mazu being happy in the woods and off the boat after some of her less exciting pictures on the boat.  Here is her real personality.

Wheaten terriers are not water dogs.  So when she put her head under I was surprised.
And another one:

And playing with a stick
Mazu is 4.  She had the best time this morning off leash in Exeter Academy woods!

When we got home she rested in her favorite spot.

 Regarding Shawnee:  We haven't heard if the dinghy is in the country yet.  It's made in South America.  The vendor hasn't written us.   It was due in April.
  With Shawnee in Virginia we received the estimate on repairs from the boat yard, and it's a lot so we'll decide which things we'll do now.  It took 2 weeks and bit of prodding to get the estimate and listing of work they could do.  I hope this isn't an indication of their work ethic.  We were so happy with Zimmerman in Southport, NC with Steve Wallace.  He accomplished 3 things that rarely happen for boats - on time, in budget, everything worked.