I've said this before, I have learned from experience on these road trips that, just when you think you have nothing to do, when you have nothing planned, that’s when life plans your day for you. And that is what happened to us today. We left our hotel at 7:20 and 61 degrees (which quickly descended to 48 degrees and later hit 90), under mostly cloudy skies. All we had planned was a drive to Gunnison, CO and to enjoy the scenery, which is always special through this part of the country. We drove south through Provo and then turned east into the mountains where the topography is breathtaking…hills and mountains where dark evergreen bushes and trees adorn a landscape of multi-shades of green groundcover and where stone walls line the highway in striations of tan and pink and orange…as colorful as a fall day in Maine.

We followed the train tracks for miles, often seeing long trains towing countless tankers carrying oil or cars filled with shiny black coal. And Steve commented that Obama would not approve. At times we were looking at sandy desert land, tan or gray, with sage brush, some a bright silver green and others brown from a lack of water. And often the land looked like a dry river bed. And, if this was not a feast for sore eyes, just when least expected, we came around the bend to see massive mesas with green bases and pink walls standing in regal command of the land surrounding it. And on this desert road, with nothing but nature for miles and miles in both directions, we saw a young couple walking down the side of the highway pushing a pram…with temps in the mid 80’s and moving higher by the minute.   What are they thinking?

And that was Utah. We drove over the state line into Colorado just before noon and stopped in Fruita to buy a Sandwich. We took it across the street to the rest area and Welcome Center where we relaxed, had lunch, and referred to our maps. After a visit inside, Steve came out with a recommendation that we visit the Colorado National Monument, which was just down the road a couple of miles. We learned something today about the parks…National Parks are created by Congress, National Monuments are created by the act of a President. They are similar to parks and administered by the Park Service, and our park pass gained us entrance to this "park" for a 22 mile drive through some of the most beautiful lands we have seen in our travels…orange walls topped with green and a deep canyon filled with “statues” of orange stone sitting boldly in the bright sunshine, smiling back at us as we snapped their photos. And this is what life had planned for us today. Simply amazing.

Instead of arriving at our hotel at 2:45, we arrived after 5, a little later than usual, but well worth it. Now we settle down for the BIG debate, which comes to us at 7 PM. Tomorrow, Great Sand Dunes National Park.