Day 3-4: "Denver or Break".. yes break

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu

Hello Dearest Followers,

Since my last post we left Arches and are now in Ft. Collins. From Arches to Denver was an INCREDIBLE journey. The journey started with a pit stop that led to free showers. We stopped random gas station right after Arches on the side of the road just to go to the bathroom. Not only did this stop have a bathroom, but also showers! Neither Shy nor I had ever been so excited to shower. So yes, we showered at a random gas station in the middle of nowhere (for free) after sleeping in a motel parking lot the night before. We like to keep things classy.

The trip to Denver was supposed to be a little over 5 hours and we didn't arrive in town for nearly 8 hours. One would think it took us a long time because we stopped for dinner or got lost but no, we got caught in the most ridiculous storm ever. The current windshield wipers were shot so we had to stop to buy new ones. Rather than snap them on and off the boys took over half an hour to figure them out. Shy and I could have helped but we were in our shorts and sandals and it was 35 degrees outside. We cheered them on by laughing hysterically and taking a video on Shy's camera. The new windshield wipers rocked but little did we know we were headed into a freaking blizzard. It started out rain, then turned to sleet, then snow, then blizzard. At this point we weren't sure whether to continue on or find a place to stay off the high way. Sadly, sleeping in the car was not an option because the heater in the van is broken. That's right, the four Arizona kids are stuck in a snow storm in the dark, in a minivan, and wearing shorts and sandals. Genius! While debating what to do Justin chimed in, "Denver or break!" very enthusiastically. We all laughed but Denver really did almost break us.

We rolled into Denver around 1:30 but with no place to stay. Irwin (the GPS with the Australian accent) found us a few possible locations but Goog411 ended up being our saving grace. Thanks to Irwin we ended up at a motel attached to "Rock Bar." After checking in and heading back to the car to get our things one of the Rock Bar employees told us we were crazy for staying there and the van would for sure be broken into if we stayed there. Back to square one! About an hour and a half later we landed ourselves at another Motel 6. Not just any Motel 6 though, one where the security guard had something mysterious happen and had to be hauled away by the EMS and have two cop cars come to the scene (sorry mom). Nonetheless we were happily in our two bed room by 3 and all out like a light.

We woke up today around 11 and were headed to downtown Denver by noon. The Denver Diner was our first stop where we got our first meal of the day. After eating we explored down town and went to a couple of outdoors-y stores. Downtown had a myriad of cultural stores. It had everything from a Greek social club to and Ethiopian food place. Denver didn't keep us entertained for long so we headed to Ft. Collins around 3. We just got done with dinner at "The Rio Grande" and are relaxing before we hit the bars and help everyone who just graduated celebrate!

Pending how tonight goes we will be leaving sometime tomorrow in hopes of touring a few breweries, possibly Coors, Budweiser, or New Belgium. After that onward to who knows where!