Evans, CO and KUDOS

Greetings from Centennial, Colorado! I’ve been here with Steve and Stephanie since Thursday, 6/30. Stephanie rode my bicycle with her Dad from the Goodsen Recreational Center so she enjoyed 5 miles of riding with him. Over the last few days, we had a wonderful time visiting Mom, Dad, Meri, and Hailey. We also enjoyed breakfast at a LePeep restaurant with Denny, Bette, Justin, and Derek before they left for their mountain home. Last night we enjoyed the company of Steve’s Uncle Cliff, Aunt Nomy, and cousin Candy over a delicious dinner at Mom & Dad’s. So, we’ve had some nice moments of reconnecting with family and friends here also.

Steve was ready to go this morning since he’s been off of his bike for 3 days. He left about 9:20 MDT. In fact, Mom & Dad’s subdivision had a 4th of July bike parade so he was even able to ride in it as he left the area. Bette and Derek had given Steve a small American flag last Thursday, so he placed it in his panniers in order to be part of the parade. Today he rode through the Denver Metro area on published bike trails. Some of these trails were crushed limestone, but most of them were paved asphalt ones. He originally set Platteville as his goal for the day, but once arriving there with 60 miles on the saddle, he decided that he had a few more miles in him! Riding another 20 to make it an 80 mile day, he ended up in Evans, Colorado. A storm cell was brewing to the west of Evans so rather than chance camping tonight, he selected a little motel for the night. Tomorrow he’ll head onto Fort Morgan, Colorado.

My next travels will take me to more National Parks or National Monuments in Colorado and then onto New Mexico. I will let you know what interesting sites I come across. Most of the SW area of Colorado I haven’t seen in 40 years!!! Gulp…that dates me, huh?

This summer is certainly “unconventional” and I do miss Jeremy and Stephanie, Zaney, friends, home, church, and our neighborhood very much. I’m deeply relieved that I can meet up with Steve every 1-2 weeks. Most of our travels in the past have been together so it’s a little odd at times knowing that we’re having two separate experiences for the summer. But, it is fun to catch up and share photos and stories of what we’ve enjoyed on our own.

One of my goals for the summer is to visit as many family members and friends as possible as part of my travels (Steve’s also doing the same). To date I have visited or “reconnected” with 41 people from Oregon, California, Montana, and Colorado. This is an awesome experience! How grateful I am for the wonderful hospitality and love that they have all shown to me.

KUDOS to our adult children. Without Stephanie’s devotion to our kitty and home, I wouldn’t be able to take on this amount of traveling this summer. She’s doing an AWESOME job of managing our household while we are gone. I don’t know about you, but we get tons of snail mail. So she’s diligent about calling me and we sort mail together over the phone. Being a companion to Zaney, who loves her human family, takes a lot of time. I know that Steph will give her plenty of attention and Zane will love and adore her for it! And Jeremy’s knack for being our webmaster has been helpful in keeping us connected with so many of you and to help journal our journeys for the summer. We also appreciate Jeremy’s delightful SENSE OF HUMOR as he adds his interesting tidbits to his postings. So….thanks to all of you who have acknowledged Stephanie and Jeremy’s part in our summer, for they are a big reason that we’re able to do what we are doing!!

KUDOS also to one of our veterinarians and his staff for taking care of Zaney while Steph vacationed with me in Colorado. It was comforting knowing that Zane was in very good hands. We also appreciate our neighbors who have watered some young crabapple trees and generally keep a watchful eye on our house and offer support to Steph if she needs it. ~~Toodles ’til New Mexico. Love, Diane