![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Denver-300x165.jpg\")
<\/a>Two weeks ago my husband and I packed up for our first road trip<\/strong> in two years.\u00a0 Not just any road trip…a trip to see our family in Denver.\u00a0 COVID has taken a big hit to family gatherings for everyone and we were no exception.\u00a0 So while we were very excited to make this trip, we discovered that we were woefully out of practice in preparing for it.\u00a0 I recalled that old adage, “take half as many clothes and twice as much money as you think you’ll need”, and then totally ignored it.\u00a0 I could have been away for months given the clothes I brought along.\u00a0 Oh well, at least I remembered the important things like Dash the Wonder Dog’s food and\u00a0 plenty of oatmeal cookies<\/strong>.\u00a0 Oatmeal cookies are a must,\u00a0 They not only serve as a treat, but in a pinch they can fill in for breakfast.\u00a0 As with most of our long trips, we rented a car so as not to put wear and tear on ours.\u00a0 This time we got a Nissan Armada with enough cargo space to move an army.\u00a0 We filled every inch of it.<\/p>\nThe trip was all too short and soon we were packing up for home.\u00a0 Just as we finished loading everything in the car, our son-in-law decided to check out the tires<\/strong> just to make sure they were safe.\u00a0 They weren’t.\u00a0 There was a nail stuck in the right rear tire.\u00a0 Long story short, he drove the car to the Denver airport, transferred all of our stuff to a new car, and came home with a large Infiniti SUV.\u00a0 It’s only July, but he has already won the 2021 Son-In-Law of the Year<\/strong> award.\u00a0 The next morning we drove to Cedar City, Utah.\u00a0 Yes…that is a roundabout way to get to Scottsdale but the drive through the Rockies is so beautiful we decided to take the long way home.<\/p>\n Finally, on our last leg of the trip, we embarked on the 430 mile trip home.\u00a0 We were feeling pretty lucky.\u00a0 We had not run into any bad weather or freeway construction<\/strong> – a miracle when you’re traveling in the summer months.\u00a0 Fifteen miles from home my husband decided to stop and get a bit of gas.\u00a0 As we pulled out of the gas station the car started to sputter.\u00a0 We made it out onto the Carefree Highway and it began lurching and making a sputtering sound<\/strong> that I’m not sure a car is supposed to make.\u00a0 My husband was able to steer it over to the side of the road, whereupon it promptly died.<\/p>\n So, there we were, in 101 degree heat, no A\/C and Dash the Wonder Dog<\/strong> in the back seat.\u00a0 Luckily, we were still within walking distance of the gas station and it was attached to a small convenience store.\u00a0 The kind manager took us in and even allowed Dash to enter her “no dogs allowed” establishment.\u00a0 You gotta love people who take care of dogs.\u00a0 I called the rental car company and they said they we were too far out for them to come get us.\u00a0 I begged him not to abandon us to the vagaries of a towing company<\/strong>.\u00a0 He finally relented and 40 minutes later showed up with another car.\u00a0 He helped us transfer everything to the new car while he waited for the tow truck to take our ‘dead’ car away.<\/p>\n A half-hour and three cars later we arrived home – it has never looked so good<\/strong>.\u00a0 It was great to be away but it is also great to be home.\u00a0 The lure of the road has somehow lost its appeal.\u00a0 We’ve cancelled our road trip for August<\/strong> and will wait until September to take our annual trek to Sun Valley, Idaho.\u00a0 We’ll be driving our own car.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson Two weeks ago my husband and I packed up for our first road trip in two years.\u00a0 Not just any road trip…a trip to see our family in Denver.\u00a0 COVID has taken a big hit to … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/tire-300x202.jpg\")
<\/a>Our first day we drove to Santa Fe.\u00a0 Not the artsy, fabulous, interesting part of Santa Fe<\/strong>, but a Hyatt Place hotel near the freeway next to a gas station.\u00a0 Importantly, there was no restaurant within walking distance and we discovered the hotel no longer stocks any food.\u00a0 We settled on an Uber Eats delivery from Applebee’s that was pretty much inedible.\u00a0 After a very long day (and plenty of oatmeal cookies to tide us over), we crashed.\u00a0 The next morning we took off, stopped for gas and a Starbucks, and hit the road.\u00a0 We were a half mile down Highway 25 when the tire pressure indicator popped on.\u00a0 The tire pressure indicator on any car can be wildly inaccurate<\/strong>, but we were just starting a 400 mile trip, much of which is through pretty desolate country, so we didn’t want to take a chance. We stopped at two gas stations for help but the best they could offer was a Slurpee.\u00a0 We finally drove to the rental car office, where they told us they were out of cars so they couldn’t give us a new one.\u00a0 They directed us to the local tire store.\u00a0 A very kind worker checked the tires, filled them all, and sent us on our way.\u00a0 Luckily, we made it to Denver without incident.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Grandpa-and-the-boys-300x280.jpg\")
<\/a>We had a wonderful time with family.\u00a0 What did we do?\u00a0 Pretty much nothing – and that was perfect.\u00a0 We have seen all the highlights of the area on other trips.\u00a0 This time, we simply wanted to enjoy the time with family<\/strong> after such a long time apart.\u00a0 COVID has been, and continues to be, a challenge but one of the silver linings is that it has honed our appreciation for the more simple things in life.\u00a0 Being able to talk with our grandsons<\/strong> and catch up on their lives and plans for the future was pure joy.\u00a0 As you can see from the photo, my husband was in Heaven with his two boys.<\/p>\n