After a frustrating and draining job out in Colstrip, MT I was released and able to out to SLC with my KTM on the rack. I arrived in SLC and stayed at a Hampton Inn for a few days. I went over to the McEntires place to drop off my KTM for a few days. While staying at the hotel, I was able to meet up with Kelsey to congratulate her on graduation from the U of U with a ME degree. We went out and had noodles. Another evening I met up with my friend Laurie for sushi, and then out to go to the hot pots hotsprings. I switched hotels and the goof behind the counter lost my American Express card. I had to cancel it after it wasn’t found even the next morning. Not thirty seconds after I cancelled my card, the lady at the counter found my card! I had one sent to Damion’s address so I could pick it up later that week.
I went by to pick Dad up from the airport, and we made a visit at the McEntires. While waiting for Brent’s flight which came later that evening, Dad and I went to Trevor’s place and tried to fix his lawnmower. After about an hour of trying to get it to work, we were unable to revive it. It was quite the puzzle though. The problem stemmed from the carburetor. After hooking up the bike rack, I sweet talked the people at the University outdoor department to allow us to pick up the bikes earlier than scheduled. We then went to pick up Brent from the airport. With one extra bike, we needed to make some room, so I left a bunch of my luggage at the McEntires studio and went over to Dave’s place to drop off one of the bikes.
The next morning we checked out of the hotel and headed out towards Fruita. Our main rendezvous location was at the Greenwater Subway. There we snarfed some food, and met up with everyone on our Mancation. We had more people than any other prior trip. After lunch and meeting up w/ everyone, we headed out to Fruita and checked into our hotel rooms there at the Comfort Inn. Got some bike shorts on and headed out. Our first run was out near the Prime Cut, Kessle Run, and Joe’s Ridge. It was excellent. We had a long ride that day, and afterwards hit up a BBQ joint for a massive feast!
The next day we went west out to some other trail system. Once out there we had a nearly thankless steep ascent and by the time we got to the summit, a massive thunder cell moved in. We headed back to the parking lot as fast as we could, but we got hit with a massive deluge and soaked us to the very core! We were all soaked and cold by the time we got to the cars. It sucked. Although, we retreated back to the hotel and crammed all of us into the hot tub, and pool. A bunch of adults hooting and yelling eventually brought the attention of one of the hotel workers who was shocked to see the sight of so many goofy men in a hot tub. We also drove out to go shooting, but were turned around by another thunderstorm. That evening we also recovered by watching Terminator Salvation at the cinemas at Grand Junction.
We headed out to do the Kessle run again the morning after. There was only a little bit of rain which wasn’t bad at all. It all cleared up by the time we did our first run. We ferried ourselves back up to the top and did it again. I realized that I had a tow rope in my car, and decided to use it to bring everyone up to the top again! It was hilarious. Just hurt the hand after a while. We made several runs and had a great time. After getting our fill of riding, we headed back to SLC. We had to make a stop out on HW6 because of another thunder storm. The high winds almost ripped one of the bikes off the rack, and would have made things difficult to explain at the rental office the next morning. I dropped off Brent and Dad at the airport, and the next morning cleaned off and returned the bikes at the rental place. From there, I had to zip out to go to my next job in Bakersfield, CA.
My next job, simply doing NDE testing on pipes on a HRSG was done over a few days in the insane heat. After the job I left to go to LA to visit my friend Debbie. It was cooler in LA, overcast, and windy. We met up at the beach, flew kites, and played in the cold crashing waves. Brr. Thereafter I took the windy scenic route north along HW1.
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