Recap of Yet Another Impromptu Roadtrip

Finally back home in the red rocks and crisp junipers :-)

An abbreviated recap:

MTB, of course. Ran, of course. What's that 'pain' in my ham? my knee? Hrmmm...??

MTB more anyway :-)

M& amp; J's wedding in Maine.

Beautiful.  M and J launched their adventures...more to come.

For us, fun Atlantic swims...spinnerbait as feet.

Sweet stretch of perfect sand to run.

AZ again.

A young guest arrives...lots to do, teach, play,...

(Her firsts: exposure to the southwest, hikes, mtb, 4x4, long-eared squirrels, grand canyon trip, imax, spotting for javelina, coyote, bobcat, hurling on a red rock,...

En route to NV/CA.

But first, who can resist a solo sunset swim at Lake Mead, esp after driving all day?

And the 'perfect' little private 'pond' outside Vegas, especially while in the middle of a 100+ deg mid-day run? Who would've thought about high acidic/alkaline/parasitic levels??

Arrrrghhh!! (Thank you concierge for the benadryl and hydrocortizone! Thank you urgent care nurse for the guidance! And apologies to those who saw us freaking out, stripping and scratching like mad!! Thank you CB for driving us!)

NV ticket for speeding. NV ticket for passanger sleeping in the back (w/o proper seatbelt).

Finally...Big Blue (Tahoe).

Cool cabin.

Gorgeous clear water, as usual!

Still not sure about leg/knee, but will probably race anyway. 
After all, we're here.

Race - performance wasn't spectacular, but views/temps were the best yet.

Knee...ouchhhhhh!

Tortillas, guac, etc. on a rooftop...yummmm.

Knee is out, so rather than Socal to surf, head to Rocky mtns to chill...via the 'Loneliest Road in the USA'.

Stumbled across coolest patch of sand dunes en route (NV), which were a blast, but the sand didnt mix too well w/the post-race massage oil nor the acidic/parasitic issues which were brewing under our skin (which we were still ignorant to at that point).

Alas, the San Juan Rockies and a cabin to call 'ours'. Thanks KRE!!

Must swim in Ouray - best pool and hot springs. (And another corky?)

Engineer pass, Stony pass, Miss Excursion rocks!

But still no running nor mtb for me :-(

Finally found the lake above the cabin, sits at about 12,000' elev - w/3 elks and a chipmunk. Absolutely worth the effort!! :-)

Started off w/brilliant clear blue sky and bright sun above; 2 hrs later was snowing on us.

Gotta love colorado!

Headed south to Durango for an eve of sushi and civility.

Spent entire morning at topnotch sports hospital for xrays etc: knee/ham far overused, overtrained, etc. Must rest. Learned about kinesio taping. (am not getting old, repeat, am not getting old,...)

En route southward to NM thru gorgeous terrain!!!.

But both still itching & scratching, so detoured at local clinic. Diagnosis, not good but pretty darn funny. HIGH-FIVE!!!

Wash everything, scrub everywhere, quarantine, best friday night ever!! Arghhh!

Mosey'd around Sante Fe, headed south to see family.

Great day...so good to hang w/the family!

Great day, great chats, great lunch.

Even met an alpaca, llama, pig and more.

Finally, a short mtb, tho sadly on the road. (Knee is healing, but still can't have any REAL play yet.)

Time to head west and homeward.

Had no idea ice caves existed, especially in NM. Very cool!

Fantastic storms along the way...wow!!!

2800 miles or so later, finally, the sweet smell of junipers of northern AZ.

Casa.

More to follow of course... :-)