Laundry Day in Durango

Sunday, June 7 – After being on the road for a week, reality inevitably sets in as the dirty laundry piles up. So, we made an early morning trip to a Durango laundromat. Three loads. We then had another great breakfast at Carver Bakery and Brewing Co. Yes, you read that correctly. No beer was sampled at breakfast. Promise.

We stayed two nights at the historic, Victorian Strater Hotel right on Main Avenue, a couple of blocks from the train station. We highly recommend it. It added a great authenticity to the whole experience. There was even a horse and a mule out front this morning. We chatted with the owner for a bit, and he said that they are working animals. He just brings them downtown once in a while, since he sometimes gets a free beer out of it.

A Taste of Durango

Friday, June 5 – We got to town right after dark, and it was hoppin. We were starved, so we went to get some dinner at - yes, you guessed it – one of the local microbreweries, Steamworks Brewing Co. Instead of just trying two beers, we got a sampler of all six brews that they had on tap. Our two favorites were Lizard Head Red (our second Lizard beer this weekend), and Steam Engine Lager, their first and most popular beer, which has won a bunch of awards.. And the glasses weren’t as big as they look in the photo. Honest.

Welcome to Moab

Thursday, June 4 - Moab was the biggest metropolis we'd seen in a long time. It's turned into the vacation destination of the area, since it's so close to so many parks. We found a cool, little quirky place to stay: The Gonzo Inn. Turns out that a bunch of big celebrities have stayed there, like Stephanie Zimbalist, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.

We headed to the Moab Brewery for dinner and a beer. It was recommended to us by Ginni back in Flagstaff, and also by the woman at the front desk at the Gonzo. I had the Dead Horse Ale, which is named for an overlook near Canyonlands, and Sandy had the Lizard Light Ale, both of which were great. We sat outside on their patio, and the weather was perfect - just like room temperature.

Been Off the Grid

Hey - Sorry that we've been "off the grid" for so long. No decent internet or cell connectivity in Bryce Canyon, which has horrified Sandy. There's a lot of catching up to do, but won't be able to do it all now.

Bryce was unbelievable. We're in the tiny town of Escalante, Utah, right on the edge of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, in between Bryce Canyon and Torrey, UT, our destination tonight. We're on Route 12, one of the "scenic byways" of Utah, and it is amazing. We stopped for a pit stop, and we're sitting outside at a place called Escalante Outfitters, which was recommended as a good place to get some pizza and beer. You'll be happy to know that right now I'm drinking one of Utah's microbrews, Polygamy Porter - "Why Have Just One?" (Sandy's not drinking - she's driving.) It's a perfect day: sunny, breezy, high 70s. Will plan to update more tonight, as long as we have a connection...

Surprise in Flagstaff

Sunday, May 31 - We stopped in Flagstaff for lunch on our way from Sedona to the Grand Canyon. While planning for the trip, I had been in touch with Josh, who I grew up with in Petoskey, Michigan. He lives in Flag, and suggested that we try Railhead Red at the Beaver Street Brewery when passing through, so that's where we headed for lunch. I texted him when we got there, because we were going to try to connect either today or tomorrow. He asked if we were going to be there for 10 minutes, and when I said yes, he said "We're on our way with santa clause." I wasn't quite sure what that meant - presents? - but I thought, "great."

Several minutes Josh and his wife Ginni arrived, with two other people - our family friends the Reas! They just happened to be in Flagstaff this week, visiting several of the same national parks that we are!

Now to the Santa reference: When my sister and I were really little, Dr. Rea used to dress up as Santa at Christmas time. One year, our parents had put us in the bath together, and Dr. Rea - aka Santa - came over. He came right upstairs into the bathroom to visit us, and it sounds like we were dumbfounded that Santa would show up while we were taking a bath! Mom said that he gave us an orange and a grapefruit. Hilarious.

We had a great time catching up with everyone in a random Petoskey renewal. Thanks to Josh and Ginni for their great suggestions for our trip, and we hope to cross paths with the Reas again somewhere this week in one of the parks!

Beer in Sedona

Saturday, May 30 - We had our first local beer at the Cowboy Club in Uptown Sedona: Oak Creek Amber from the Oak Creek Brewing Co. A little bit sweet, and it went down very easy after being up for almost 20 hours.

Beer and Music

We hope to have at least one regular, if not daily, feature on the blog. A road trip favorite from last year was local beer. So, we will attempt to try a new local beer at every stop and will post a full report. We're open to taking requests on the road, so if there's something you think we should see or do, post a comment and let us know.

We're also taking suggestions for good music for the road. There are a couple of obvious ones, like "Route 66" (we'll be on the old Route 66 for a bit) and "Take it Easy" ("Standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona..."). If you have any playlist suggestions, post 'em here!