If you want space, go to Utah...

But if you want reasonable temperatures and some trees to look at, go to Colorado.

The drive from Cedar City, UT to Glenwood Springs, CO is spectacular. I know because Kamiah and I spent a lot of time radioing Sid to tell him to look out various parts of the car so he could see something spectacular. The sheer scale of the land in southern Utah is astounding.

Kamiah and I have been here many time, but this is the first time I’ve driven it myself (my parents never let me drive the interesting bits – probably afraid I’d send the car off the edge or something) and it felt different. Kamiah felt it too. Like being adults has somehow deepened our appreciation of Utah’s beauty. Or maybe we’re really looking at it for the first time and not just thinking about how we can grub around in the dirt all we like and not have to shower for *days*. Hey, give us a break, we were kids!

We came over a crest at one point and found ourselves overlooking this:

Lucky us, there was a scenic viewpoint pull-off so we were able to get out and take a look. Kamiah, who is the designated sign-reader in our group, discovered that this was none other than the San Rafael Swell. This is our dad’s favorite place in the whole southwest United States, maybe the world! We’ve camped out there almost a dozen times and didn’t think it was all that great, but here we are, off on the side of the road because we just couldn’t drive past something so fantastic without stopping for pictures. Dad will be so pleased.

A family photo, just like Dad always made us take. Except that we’ve all had showers in these pictures. Showers were a luxury back in the day.

But really, how could you not want to stop and stare when you’re driving through things like this?

Our destination, Glenwood Springs, was the place we used to start and stop our month-long family camping vacations so of course Kamiah and I planned to do exactly what we’d done as children: check into the Hotel Colorado and then go swimming until dinnertime. How lucky is Sid to get to experience all this with us? Well let me tell you. Do you remember the face Sid was making about Shakespeare yesterday? He’s been making that face a lot.

In our defense, the pool at Glenwood is pretty fantastic. It’s part of a natural hot springs, so there’s a 104F giant “therapy” pool, and then a bathtub temperature even-gianter (that’s a word) regular swimming pool. Sid did seem to enjoy this bit, even though it doesn’t always look like it.

Kamiah the lap-swimmer showed us both up by actually exercising. You can see the end of the large pool to the right behind her.

Dinner was a local brewpub, and I can honestly tell you that this is the part of Glenwood Sid enjoyed the most. Guess why.

The Hotel Colorado is historic. It’s old, fancy…it’s the place they invented the Teddy Bear for President Roosevelt! It's beautiful and classic and doesn't have air conditioning. Sid was less than thrilled by the history Kamiah was trying to communicate to him, but he was terribly concerned about the lack of A/C. We did, however, have an experience we couldn’t have had at a La Quinta.

When we got back from dinner, a helpful stranger offered to take our picture on the settee (Kamiah was ecstatic) in exchange for being his audience for a bit as he played piano. Specifically, as he played Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”. This seemed like a fair trade to us. Turns out, he was fantastic, and the sound was so good it attracted others. Pretty soon we had a group of eight or so signing “Don’t Stop Believing” in the formal lounge area of a hotel built in 1893.

The picture Charlie took of us. Doesn’t Kamiah look elegant?

Charlie from Breckenridge plays Journey.

Can’t beat that with a stick.

Note: "If You Want Space, Go to Utah" is actually a song by Christine Lavin. My family has been listening to this song for years, it's on the road trip CD Kami made for this PCS, and we've been singing it pretty well nonstop. Sid is overjoyed.