Climbing the Manitou Incline

Crystal planned something special for our visit to Colorado, a hiking trip up the Manitou Incline. This was a hike up railway ties straight up the side of a mountain! It was 2000 feet of straight up!

I was proud of Crystal for suggesting it, and didn't want to admit it might be daunting for Ed and me!

But when we stood at the beginning of the trail and looked up, we were a little nervous about whether we could actually do it or not!

We stopped frequently for drinks and to rest up, as it was an exhausting climb!

The view was beautiful looking back as we started to gain altitude.

About 2/3 of the way up, there was a bench and a turnaround point, just in case you wanted to go back down on the switchback trail. We decided to eat some trail mix and keep on going.

After 2 1/2 hours we finally reached the summit! We were so proud and so tired! Amazingly, we only got 3000 Fitbit steps out of it! But we did get 200 flights of stairs!

The trail down was gradual and full of switchbacks. While it was not too bad, it took another hour and a half!

By 3 p.m. we were ready for lunch at Dickey's Barbeque Pit, where we really enjoyed relaxing and talking about our triumph! We were so proud of ourselves, but two of us have vowed never to do that again!

If you want to try the climb, see:
 http://www.manitouincline.com/

In the Dog House

Coda finally got to meet her doggie cousins today--Brandy and Holly. It took Ed, Crystal and Verlene to corral them into getting their picture together!

We arrived in Denver about 4 p.m., with NO FLAT TIRES today! It was an uneventful, but happy trip across Kansas and eastern Colorado.

We had fun visiting with Crystal and Verlene and Paul. We're trying to talk Verlene and Paul into retiring to Utah. They're sending us out ahead to see if we like it first!

Paul made dinner for us, and it was great having a real meal after eating out of our car for 3 days. Having a dog on your travels complicates eating out!

Coda hasn't eaten a lick of dog food since we left home, so Aunt Verlene gave her some moist and yummy canned dog food, which she ate right up. She might want to stay here rather than follow us to Utah!

Tired of Tires

Ed said our trip to Zion has been fraught with hardship, just like the pioneers. We've been tested today. Here we are fake smiling at the third tire store of the day!

Our planned nine hour trip from Bardstown, KY to Topeka, Kansas was derailed in Indiana when my new tire (from yesterday) hit a pipe and got a flat. We tried to fill it up at three gas stations before we were able to get enough air to limp to a tire store!

We were lucky to find a Goodrich store in the middle of a cornfield in a small town called Bretzville.

Two very accommodating young men patched it up for us and sent us off to the big city to get the run flat tire we tried to get the day before.

We spent a couple of hours cooling our heels at the Mini dealer in St. Louis, and came out with a brand new tire! We were ready to hit the road, with high hopes of arriving early enough in our hotel to hit the hot tub!

A half hour later, Ed's Genesis picked up a bolt and forced us to look for another tire dealer!

Happily, we found a Firestone dealer in Lake St. Louis who had our name in the system (from Tuesday). They patched his tire and sent us on our not so merry way!

We arrived in Topeka at 10 p.m. central time, too tired to put on our bathing suits, and hopeful that the last of our tire troubles is over!

Some day this will be a funny story, but not today!

Visiting the Brady Cemetery in Texas, Kentucky

We, wanted to stop by to visit the graves of Thomas Brady and Elizabeth Bailey Brady on our way to Utah. They are the parents of Lindsay A. Brady, who joined the LDS church in Kentucky and went west , eventually ending up in Utah.

We had some rough instructions of how to find the cemetery, which were go south from Mackville, KY on the Texas road for 4 1/2 miles. Park, and look to the right over a ridge. You'll see the cemetery from the top of the rise slightly to the right in a stand of trees.

After wandering around in a farmer's fields for an hour we were lucky to finally get help from a local named Chad Warner, who knew exactly where it was! We parked by this fence (this is facing south, and the car is facing north).

Look to the right from the fence at a rise in the topography. Climb that rise!

From the top of the rise you can see the cemetery nestled in the trees!

We enjoyed the beauty of the place and reading the names on the stones. Ed and I are standing by the stones for Thomas and Elizabeth.

We pinned our GPS location to help the next happy travelers. See the pin at https://goo.gl/maps/iEqF6YeqXot

If the link doesn't work, the GPS coordinates from Google are: 37.682885,-85.087584! Let me know if this helps you find it someday!

Silver Linings

We had an adventure this morning getting a new tire for the Mini. Nobody in the state of Kentucky or West Virginia had a run flat tire in stock. We eventually drove to WV to pick up a tire the same size that is does not serve as a run flat. This means if I get another flat on that one we're up a creek. Hopefully, we'll eventually find someone that can replace the temporary tire. Since the Mini has no spare, it's like running on your spare till you get the tire fixed.

The upside, was we stayed in a Quality Inn that had a giant jacuzzi tub! Nothing like soaking in a hot bath to make you think all is right with the world!

We got to drive across the Ohio river twice to get the new tire. The pretty blue and green bridges were east and west lanes.

We found the Brady Cemetery, north of Texas, Kentucky. It was not easy to find, so I'm going to make a post to help someone else locate it. We walked in the hot sun for an hour looking for it. Happily, we got our 10,000 steps today!

Because of the flat tire, we ended up having the opportunity to overnight in Bardstown, KY and see the Stephen Foster Musical. I got to hear all my favorite songs, Ring, Ring the Banjo, Oh, Susannah, Hard Times, Come Again no More, Way Down Upon the Swanne River, I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair, Masssas in the Cold, Cold Ground, Old Black Joe and more.

Unfortunately, it started to rain at the end, and thunder and lightening eventually pushed the cast off the stage (and us out of the seats). We'll never know if Stephen Foster married his Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair, or if he ever wrote his great plantation song, My Old Kentucky Home!

Happily, we got back to the General Nelson Inn a little earlier to comfort Coda, who was cowering under the furniture. She really hates thunder and lightning! We got some grateful cuddles from her before bed!

Goodbye House!

Goodbye Maryland house that we have loved! It has been 6 and a half wonderful years. We're smiling here because we're finished packing and cleaning. But, believe me, we've shed a few tears to leave this house!

We brought Coda back to the house after spending the night with the Rigbys. She ran around looking for the furniture. She's thinking, "How can we live with no stuff?"

The team from Exclusive brought 5 guys to finish the job this morning. The load came out to almost exactly two 53' trailers. No one should have that much junk!

Thanks to team Halsey, who came with a vacuum and a broom, we were finished cleaning and  ready to hit the road by noon.

Poor Coda became even more confused to spend the afternoon and evening in the car! She had a nice view from her perch in the backseat. I'm driving the Mini, and Coda is with me. Ed is driving his luxury car, the Genesis!

We stopped for dinner at a hot dog stand in Flatwood, West Virginia, the land of Coda's birth. She wouldn't eat her dog food, but thankfully the nice girl at the counter brought her a nice ice cream with peanut butter on it.

We made it to Ashland, Kentucky, where we're spending the night--and maybe longer. I hit a pothole and got a flat tire in the Mini. So, tomorrow we'll have an adventure trying to find a specialty tire in a small town.

Ed was so nervous about moving. I told him to stop worrying. What could possibly go wrong! It turns out plenty!

Moving Day is a Lot of Work

Today was moving day. We got a late start, as the crew didn't show up till noon! Fortunately, the weather was dry and sunny!

The crew from Exclusive van lines was hoping to finish the job in one day, and they might have if they had started at 8!

It was exhausting watching them wrap every item of furniture and box up everything! We had done a lot of work before they came, but, it turned out, there was a lot of work left!

Ed ran over to Hawaiian shave ice and got us some slushes--our last fix before we leave town.

Suzanne is not only letting us sleep in her very fancy guest room tonight, but she also brought us a delicious and healthy dinner. We were feeling the love!

By 10:30 the crew left. We had filled up one 53 foot truck and one 28 foot truck. They are going to fill part of a third truck tomorrow. We're cautiously optimistic that tomorrow they'll be done by 10 a.m. We'll be following them with a vacuum and broom and hope to leave town shortly thereafter!