Day Two - Wendover, UT to Crooked Creek Ranch, CO

We got an early start Thursday morning, leaving Wendover around 7am after a quick breakfast at the hotel. The western half of Utah is much like northern Nevada - though we did see more small wildlife in Utah than in Nevada... complete with a couple of prairie dogs attempting to re-create that GEICO commercial where the squirrels are playing "dead" in the road. Fortunately, prairie dogs seem to have a slightly higher IQ than squirrels, since both the prairie dogs and the car are in one piece. Having Dad along has proven to be quite useful - I got a good nap in and still had plenty of time to try and take pictures of suicidal wildlife standing in the middle of the road, DJ using my iPod and FM transmitter while in the mountains (why worry about finding a good radio station when you're carrying your own? No commercials required!) and generally enjoy God's taste in scenery.

We drove past Dinosaur National Monument at the Utah / Colorado border, but we didn't stop due to time constraints. Dad and I have both visited the monument before - on our last major family cross country trip. I'm glad we visited then, because the National Park website mentioned that parts of the monument have been indefinitely closed (I can't remember exactly why though). Their hours and services are reduced after Labor Day as well. We did get a couple of neat shots of some of the nearby town signs on Hwy 40. Yes folks, dinosaurs are alive and well in Utah and Colorado.

Heading into the Rocky Mountains livened the drive up considerably, both in the scenery and road design. This is probably going to be one of the most beautiful stretches of road we're going to see this trip. I can understand the magnetic appeal that these mountains have for people. You can see ski resort after ski resort cut into the hills - where you know the ski trails are in the winter. I lost track of the number of ski resorts we passed shortly after Salt Lake City.

We started seeing signs for a major general store named F.M. Light & Sons about 100 miles out from Steamboat Springs, CO. After seeing all the hype, I was interested in seeing the store itself, and possibly hunting down a charm for my charm bracelet to mark this section of the trip. Alas, no such luck. We drove the entire length of Steamboat Springs, saw a replica of the steamboat that used to operate on the river there, and a fantastic old-style downtown area...but couldn't find the general store. We did see the sign on the other end that said "You missed us! Turn around!" but we needed to keep going and try and get to Young Life's Crooked Creek Ranch before dark.

Crooked Creek has a fantastic layout of cabins, dining hall, game room, pool, hot tub, ropes course, club room and other activities sure to excite and amaze teens of all ages. It was a bit drizzly and cool as we pulled in - just enough to make unpacking the jackets a necessity.

Now it's off to Boulder, CO to visit one of my sorority sisters from Alpha Delta Chi, and spend the weekend relaxing and recouperating (and watching the CU - CSU football game!)