Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado

FOR SHAME! Shame on us. We've been unemployed and homeless for 59 days and haven't written anything new! My original goal was to blog soon after most of our great experiences, adventures, blunders, etc. It turns out that we've been having SO much fun, that we haven't had the time or energy to keep up with this. I'll try to be better, I promise. 

This post will serve as a recap of our first few states on the road. So far, we've driven just over 7,800 miles and have visited so many great people and places. I'll try to get in the highlights here! 

Leah's last day of school was June 8th. We left our home, empty and for sale that same night. We drove north to Flagstaff and stayed the night at La Casa de Pedro and Cisca. Of course we got in super late and Pete had steak waiting for us. He graciously hosted us and stayed up late even though he was getting up at 4am to go for a nice long trail run. I'm not one bit surprised. 

The next morning, we were off to Sin City to celebrate the 30th birthday of Leah's best friend, Adelina. We met a handful of friends at the Luxor pool for some swimming and cabana fun. Here's a tip for future Luxor Cabana users, "unlimited" Gatorade and snacks really means "6" Gatorades and a few snacks. Make sure you bring a few large flasks that look like sunscreen bottles. That night, we fancied ourselves up for a nice sushi dinner and then walked around Cesar's palace. Another tip, don't try asking, Cesar didn't actually live there. We took a Hummer Limo to NY NY for the rides, unfortunately it was too windy and we were forced to play craps and blackjack all night. I left the craps table at 2am with an extra $130. Leah, Diesel and I stayed at the Red Roof Inn just a few miles from the Luxor because it was cheap and dog-friendly. We had to Uber back and forth a few times that day, but our last, and late-night trip back from the strip to our hotel, we walked, and it was wonderful, but damn, I ALWAYS forget that one Vegas block is longer than it looks on a map. We met our friends in a hot parking garage the next morning to say our goodbyes. Once again, we hit the road. 

Our next stop was Arches National Park in Utah. After a lot of searching in the dark, we found somewhere to camp just outside of the national park. The next morning geared up in our running clothes, and strapped on our water supply and snacks and headed to run some trail inside the park. We somehow never thought about dogs being allowed on the trails. They're not allowed. We settled for a driving tour of the park. Don't you worry, we still got in a 4 mile run just outside the city of Moab. We found a nice trail that followed a stream. It was shady and cool and covered in poison ivy. Hooray! We tried our best to wash off in the stream afterwards, but we still came away with some itchy ankles. 

Full speed ahead to Colorado! Our first stop was at Orvis Hot Springs. Our friend Bill, who came from Crested Butte, quickly showed us the ways of the hot springs. Basically, you pay your money at the front desk, walk out the back door, get naked, and enjoy. I absolutely recommend visiting this place if you're in or around western CO. You really don't have to get naked, but why not! Clothed or nude, you can relax in four hot pools of varying temps (the Lobster Pot is no joke), hop into the Ice Plunge, or read a book on the grass. Make sure you make jokes about the name of the place. It's more fun to say Orifice Hot Springs than the correct Orvis. 

We followed Bill to Crested Butte to stay for a few days. Bill is a master of all things snowboarding so he decided to move there to take advantage of all the great slopes and shred all the fresh powder. I hope that lingo is correct.  Bill and his girlfriend, Hali, made sure we had the best time possible. We went for a 9-mile run on the most scenic trail I've ever experienced, we took strange shots of brandy with a lemon wedge covered in coffee grounds, relaxed at a coffee shop, had amazing burritos, chowed down on some pies at a very quirky pizzeria, and had exploitative talks about the cosmos while soaking in a hot tub. I also left the windows to my truck down about 6 inches. Did it rain and soak my seats? No. Did a crow or a murder of crows get into our food bin and steal all of our groceries and make a mess of it all? Yes. Damn you, crows! 

Although I tried, we couldn't stay in Crested Butte forever. We headed east to Denver. We were hosted by the amazing Megan (Sis), Lars and their lively pup, Otto. Sis greeted  us with fancy drinks and world-famous guacamole. She invited her friends over to the house and cooked for us. We feasted on tacos and good conversation. The guests stuck around for a while and we all played "Things," one of our favorite party games similar to Cards Against Humanity but played with only custom categories and answers. The next morning, our good friend Wendy joined Leah, Sis, and I for a journey to Rocky Mountain National Park. We hiked and ran the Sandbeach Lake Trail. It was about 9 miles of great scenery with a gorgeous lake and sandy beach. I still wonder how they landed on a name for that trail. My old buddy, Goldsmith, joined us at the house that night for drinks and rehashing old war stories of when we ran track together. At some point there was also a trip to the neighbors hot tub for soaking and more drinks. 

Four states down, many more to go. Our next post should include a journey from Colorado to New Jersey or so. Got any questions about places we've been or should go? Leave a comment here or email us at contact@weranthere.com  

Thanks for reading!

Tyler

Leah and I at the lake during our hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. 9 miles of fresh Colorado air. 

Here we are in Crested Butte, CO. This is the most beautiful trail I've ever run on.