Road Trip

By Ken DeLaat

There is only one way to visit the Rockies.
You gotta drive it.
I’ve flown west several times and while it’s convenient and boatloads faster when time is a factor there’s something about the western trek that makes it more appealing. It’s the reward after the innumerable hours of plodding through the nation's heartland. From Iowa mega farms through the rambling and harsh looking landscape of western Nebraska to the high plains of eastern Colorado and finally the majesty of those beloved Rockies.

So when LSC Lil posed the idea of taking our novice hiking skills to the Grand Canyon a few months ago there was no question when choosing our way of getting there,
Road trip.

Back in the day when I wasn’t staring down at an impending entry into septuagenarianism the 28 hour or so cruise might be completed in a couple of days. But  age has a way of making one more cautious and less in a hurry and besides, our travels have always focused on the journey more so than the destination. Thus with a Sunday reservation near the canyon, we departed on a Wednesday allowing for several days of highway travel before arriving at our first destination.

Of course, the weeks prior to the trip involved shifting routes, numerous ideas on possible stays along the way and finally the inevitable decision to kind of wing it and see what the road would give us.

In the coming days I’ll chronicle the trip including stays along the way, epicurean quests and the continuing puzzle involving those solitary orphaned shoes mysteriously appearing alongside  highways and byways.
Stay tuned.