Wow, this took a long time to compose.
We decided to take off on a road trip for the 4th of July weekend. Since our cars are getting a bit old for a trip this long (almost 3,000 miles, by the time we got home) I rented a Ford Explorer with three rows of seats and satellite radio. Made for a comfortable trip.
MapQuest said it was to be a 12 hour drive, and it was, on the way back. But going up, we took our time, stopping here and there, looking for roadside attractions like "World's Largest Kumquat". the trip took us through some areas I've never seen, and I've seen an awful lot of this country.
We left the Los Angeles Basin through a crack in the mountains called the Cajon Pass. That dumps you out onto the high desert, the edge of the Mojave. From there, it is pretty much a straight line and 3 hours of driving into Las Vegas. Didn't stop there (god forbid), but headed straight on into Mesquite, on the Arizona border. Stopped there for gas and a meal at one of the local casino buffets. Pretty typical, mediocre food and very old people. Why is it that old folks like casinos so much? The Indian casinos here in California seem to make their living off of seniors. This week I read an article in the paper about how the drug used for treatment of Parkinson's disease has been shown to cause compulsive gambling. Maybe the old folks can sue the drug companies AND the casinos. Talk about poetic justice.
Going north from here the road passes through a small strip of Arizona and enters the most beautiful river gorge. It's quite arid, but the geological formations that have been exposed by the thousands of years of erosion are very beautiful. My wife being a science teacher, there was soon a heated discussion about types of rock and the way tectonic plates are lifted, and so on. The kids held up their end of the topic very well, I was impressed. They were talking about stuff I never heard of, for all I know they could have been pulling my leg. But it was interesting.
Exiting the gorge, we were in Utah, and the scenery changed dramatically. Here is the landscape seen in old westerns or read about in Zane Grey novels. Towering buttes and mesas stretching away into the distance, giving that wonderful sensation of infinite space and endless sky. It's so
easy to see why the first (white European) explorers came back east with glowing tales of beautiful places. The other thing that impressed me from this point on in our trip is how much unpopulated open land this country has. Oh, I mean, I already have known this, of course, and remark on it whenever I go work up north, but there is something about seeing it that takes the breath out of a man. Hundreds, thousands of miles of open land, but we crowd ourselves into cities. And now, there are those who seem to be encouraging that as an answer to the coming energy problems. Let's all crowd ourselves even further into little hives, so we don't have to go far to get what we need. I've got a better idea, let's move away from the hives and relearn self sufficiency. Oh well, never mind....
We went past Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon, stopping for a peek here and there. Great mountain biking in this part of the country, just don't wait until summer. We continued north on I15 until it hit I70 and then turned east. 
Another 250 miles and we hit the Colorado border. More forests now and mountains showing themselves in the distance. Big mountains. We stopped in Grand Junction for dinner and called ahead to the lodge where we had reservations because it looked like we wouldn't get in until about 10. Stopping for pictures had definitely slowed us down.
From Grand Junction, we headed a little ways east then left the highway for rural roads. We were headed for Grand Mesa, an area recommended by an electrician I sometimes work with, who made it sound beautiful. As the 4th of July weekend had approached, I had gotten restless for
some new scenery. We hadn't had a vacation this year, and I wanted to get out of our neighborhood and away from the local kids and their noise. So I idly asked my buddy one day if he knew a good spot for the weekend. Anything nearby in California would be mobbed. Vegas was supposed to be booked solid. So, what the hell, let's try something different, I figured.
I searched in the internet and found the Alexander Lake Lodge but it was booked, since the 4th of July was only a week away. The very nice man I spoke to there recommended The Grand Mesa Lodge and I did find a small cabin available there, and made reservations. I went down to the bookstore and got a book on Colorado and started reading up on it that weekend. Found some 
cool stuff. Grand Mesa is the largest flat top mountain in the world, and the cabin was at 10,500 ft elevation (gasp). Within an hour from the cabin is Glenwood Springs with some incredible caverns according to the book. I found them online here . I have always loved caverns, and I knew the kids would like them also. Then I discovered that they had something called a "Wild Tour" where a guide takes you crawling into the depths of the mountain for a half day trip. They warned that it was difficult and strenuous (and they weren't kidding), I couldn't resist and made reservations for all 4 of us. I also discovered that the slopes of Grand Mesa has many small vineyards. My wife has been asking me for years to take her on a wine tasting tour, so I figured, "Bingo! Something for everyone". That left a day for general sightseeing and maybe a little fishing, which seemed like a good idea since the mesa has 300 lakes.
On the way up on to the mesa it was pitch dark. Little two lane blacktop road, twisting and turning
through the trees. My kind of driving. But something was strange. Took me a while to put my
finger on it: no cars. This was Friday evening of the 4th of July weekend. Where were the crowds (my spirits soared). Then we started seeing the deer, singly at first, then in groups near the roadway. I slowed way down. Didn't want to hit one of those babies, rental or not. It took quite a while to get to the top, and I began to wonder how we would find the place in this pitch black. Then suddenly, there was a what looked like a little general store set way back from the road. As we were almost past, I saw the sign, this was it. We pulled in and met Connie who owns the lodge with her husband Ken. Super nice people. They had waited up for us, gave us the keys and a little rundown on how to find the cabin. The cabin came as a bit of a surprise. Tiny A-frame with a kitchen/sitting room and teeny bathroom. A stairway (some would call it a ladder) led up to two very tiny rooms, each 
with two single beds. The kids were fun, seeing it as an adventure. No TV or phone or anything else they are accustomed to. Unpacking the car, we met our companions for the next few days. We were stunned to see hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes, but they were VERY happy to see us. We hustled and beat our way into the cabin and soon fell asleep.
We got up at dawn the next day and went up to the lodge. Connie gave us a recommendation on a cafe in the little town of Cedaredge, about 15 miles down the road. So we went over and had breakfast and afterwards noticed a little storefront for a local winery. No one was there but the proprietor. We tasted wines and chatted with the owner and his wife, who showed up a bit later. They talked a bit about their background, both of them lawyers, and what it was like to follow a dream. Surface Creek Winery is the name of their business, and their Cabernet Franc was great. I bought
a couple of bottles, holding back a bit since I knew we'd be hitting a bunch of vineyards that day. I ended up wishing we'd bought more. This place turned out to be one of our favorites. They also explained how the area was famous for it's fruit and recommended heading up to Antelope Ridge to get some of the current cherry harvest. The folks at the winery also had some of their cherry wine to taste and we ended up buying a couple of bottles of this as well.
We pulled up to Antelope Ridge and found a big orchard bustling with activity. We started to buy a bag of fresh cherries, but then noticed the sign that you could pick them yourself, if you wanted. The kids were all for this, so off we went with a bucket. What a ball we had! George was up tree after tree, tossing down cherries from the highest places as the rest of us settled for the low hanging fruit. The cherries were excellent, exactly ripe, plump, colorful. When we went back, we found we had 6 pounds. Oh well, they were cheap, and besides, 3 days later, they had all been eaten. Great healthy snack food, and a ton of fun.
From here we started driving around the base of the Mesa, pulling in every time we saw a sign for a small vineyard. My favorite was Reeder Mesa Vineyards.
Quite a few miles off the highway, but a beautiful setting and very nice folks. We met Doug, the owner, and tasted wine while we talked to him. He has been there since the late 70's. He's the local mobile mechanic, which really piqued my interest, since I also do mechanical work for a living. We bought some of his Riesling, Merlot and Shiraz. 
The last day we were in Colorado, we went back for a few more bottles, since we liked his the best. It was so cool to talk to someone who has followed his dreams and seems to be successful and happy at it.
Throughout the rest of the day, we went from winery to winery. We bought 2 or 3 bottles at each one, some vineyards being more to our liking than others. With one exception, they were all small, a husband and wife operation, very friendly, nice people. I have never been tasting at places like these before, and the experience was a lot of fun. Oddly, I don't drink wine. I am most fond of beer, even brewed my own for a couple of years. But I have gotten into the habit of tasting and buying wine for my wife. She generally has a glass or two of red in the evening and seems pleased so far with my choices.
The next morning, we got up early for the 1 1/2 hour trip to Glenwood Caverns. Our appointment for the Wild Tour was at 9 AM and we got there with about 15 minutes to spare. We met our guide, a little gal in her 20's who got us suited up in coveralls, kneepads, elbow pads and a helmet with light. Looking totally ridiculous we paraded through the park (they also have rides!) and into the caverns. We went down the path on which normal people tour the caves, and then went off into a small opening. Immediately we were on our hands and knees crawling along. Picture the area that your knees go in when you sit at a desk. "Okay,' I thought, ' not too bad". We crawled along like this for a few hundred yards until we came to what looked like a dead end. Hard to tell, with only the puny helmet lights, in complete and total blackness. We were all crammed into this tiny space and I realized the guide was explaining that we were at the first difficult spot. Uh-oh. She pointed her helmet at the base of the solid rock wall in front of us. There was a tiny hole at the bottom. This, she informed us, was the "rabbit hole". Sure, girly, but I don't see any rabbits here. She proceeds to crawl on her belly through this small opening. This hole was located at the bottom of a bowl shaped depression, so that required her to bend her body slightly backwards in order to slither through. Now, at one time, this would not have seemed like a problem, but I have noticed, over the last 15 years or so, a growing reluctance in my body to bend in this fashion. Sigh. So my wife manages to wriggle her way through, thanks, no doubt, to her visits to the gym. Then the kids go through like a couple of greased eels. My first two attempts resulted in me with my face in the dirt, firmly stuck at the shoulder, chest area, and momentarily unable to move in either direction. After reversing back out the second time, I yelled through that I didn't think 
that my body would fit through this opening. She advised me to lie on my back, put my arms over my head, and try it that way. That got me through with much struggling, and I found myself in another small rock enclosed space, bent in half in order to fit and panting like a damn dog. I informed her that I thought this was fun, but not so much. She said that was the tightest part, but not the hardest. So on we went, crawling, and at times wriggling through tight spots. Now we were far
beneath the earth, in very tight quarters, with about 2 1/2 hours to go. Then we came to the crack. I don't remember what her cutesy name for it was, but for me, it was my first experience with a touch of claustrophobia. In order to pas through this crack, it was necessary to lie on my side, right arm above my head, press my body close to the ground, and start squirming through. Soon, my chest was firmly stuck between two rocks. The crack was long, with nowhere for my right hand to grab hold of. My face was about 4 inches from the rock and I was stuck. I got this panicky sensation that I could not move in either direction. This inspired me to thrash around with my feet, until I found a ledge to push against. By doing this, I was able to force my body another 6 inches or so. At this point, my skeletal structure was being compressed by the rock, and it was 
getting hard to breathe. Pushing with both legs, I managed another 6 inches, then another. By this time, my legs were shaking with the exertion. Later, we would find that my back was gouged and bruised from dragging across the rock. Finally, after a couple more shoves, I found a place to grab with my right hand and working with the assistance of my right arm, managed to force my body the rest of the way through. I came out with sweat dripping off me, panting like a steam engine, with the guide telling me how great I did. I managed not to say anything mean, but told her I'd had enough. As it turned out, there was an exit a bit further along, and I left, feeling a bit sheepish. The others continued on for another two hours, and my wife told me later that it was just as well I left when I did, as things got more intense.
Instead, I took the 1 1/2 hour cavern tour, got some great pictures, and enjoyed myself in spite
of feeling like a big wuss. But I gotta tell ya, I was very glad to get out of that cave.
The kids went on a couple of rides, they had a 1300 foot zip line and a couple of other cool things, as shown on the web site. When we left, we went into Glenwood Springs and had a great dinner. Drove home through the McClure Pass, beautiful scenery. We were all glad to get back to the cabin and crash.
The next day was the 4th and we went to the small town of Paonia and went to
their Independence Day shindig at the park. That evening, we were waiting for the fireworks in the little town of Delta, everyone exhausted. Emilie said she wished she could sleep in her own bed that night, then suggested that maybe we could drive home that night. We reminded her that we would have to drive all night and would not arrive home until morning. As we discussed it, we all realized that we were ready to go. So we skipped the fireworks, went back to the cabin, packed, stopped for a few pictures at the edge of the mesa, and headed out. Drove all night, arrived home at about 9 AM and everyone crashed.
All in all a beautiful 4th of July weekend.
