Salt Lake Adventure: Day 7

Day 7 found us attending WGU’s “All Hands” meeting at the Delta Center arena in downtown Salt Lake City. About 1,500 employees gathered for the highly polished, heavily produced event also brought in thousands more employees who gathered at viewing hubs across the country. It was quite a spectacle! Kudos to the production team—they kept…

Salt Lake Adventure: Day 6

The sixth day of our Salt Lake adventure was the first opportunity Cliff had to meet in person with his entire team after more than 10 years with Western Governors University. While Cliff spent some time earlier in the day getting a new tire (it was beyond repair) and shopping for supplies, Jon logged an…

Salt Lake Adventure: Day 5

The long drive from Estes Park to Salt Lake City was mostly uneventful. Driving along Highway 34 to Loveland was spectacular. The drive along Highway 287 from Fort Collins to Laramie, not so much. Although the ridges, or “hogbacks” in the foothills north of Fort Collins were colorful and unique, they were no comparison to…

Salt Lake Adventure: Day 4

We returned to Rocky Mountain National Park, a promise we made to ourselves when we first visited five years ago. Then we spent five days exploring the park, from end to end and all points in between. This time, we decided to include a hike on the Tundra Communities Trail, located at Rock Cut near…

Salt Lake Adventure: Day 3

Deciding whether to take a driving tour of Rocky Mountain National Park or attend the Estes Park Wine Festival was an easy choice: we went with the wine. And we’re so glad we did. The ninth annual event, held in beautiful Bond Park, was an absolute joy. The weather was ideal. Bond Park, located in…

Salt Lake Adventure: Day 2

Our second day of travel found us driving from Amarillo to Estes Park, a route that took us through Oklahoma and into Eastern Colorado. This westernmost portion of the Great Plains is sparsely populated, largely farmland, with many small farming communities. In fact, more than 90 percent of the farms in Eastern Colorado are family…

Salt Lake Adventure: Day 1

Cliff was offered the opportunity to visit Salt Lake City for meetings with his team from Western Governors University and commencement exercises, so we decided to camp there for the week. The first day of our Salt Lake adventure was spent driving from Dallas to Amarillo, traversing seemingly endless miles of oil fields, cattle ranches,…

Endless Summer?

With each passing year, it seems like summer comes earlier and stays later, thanks in no small part to climate change. This weekend was hot and humid, more like summer than spring, as days grow longer and continue lengthening in the lead-up to the summer solstice some 10 days from now. High temperatures and humidity…

Empty Nesters

Our weekender at Loyd Park was our first campout without a dog. We said goodbye to our precious little Duke just 10 days ago, but the feeling of loss is still profound. When we started camping in 2013 our canine companions were Gunny, Baxter, and Ranger. We said goodbye to Gunny in March 2014. Then…

Spring Fling

After last weekend’s long journey to Illinois, it was good to break away for a weekender at our beloved Loyd Park. We needed to reconnect with nature, unwind, and create lasting memories with our little Duke, who likely won’t be with us much longer. Spring’s lengthening days and warmer temperatures beckoned us to Site 8,…