Chillin' in Grand Junction

Oh my... It has been quite a trip back to Denver so far. It's been insanely hot the whole time (in the 100s). We stayed Monday night with friends in Boise, ID. Then Tuesday night with friends in Tooele, UT. On the way to Tooele, the car started to overheat a bit. We got there with no problems. Then we took it in to Jiffy Lube this morning and got everything filled-up and flushed. So, we headed off with the intention of getting to Mesa Verde for a two-day stay starting tonight.

We stopped in the afternoon at a little rest stop near the junction of I-70 and US 191, a little ways north of Moab, UT, in the absolute middle of nowhere. When we came back to the car, it wouldn't start. There was power; it wasn't turning over. So, after several failed attempts, we called AAA. That proved to be harder than we thought. There was virtually no cell reception. Once we did get through, we were connected to the Portland, OR office because our cells are from Portland. Anyway, we finally got through to Utah AAA and placed a call. "They should be out within the hour." It was blazing hot. No shade. So, about 1 minute after the successful call to AAA, the car started. We wasted no time getting back on the road, but we had to call AAA again to cancel the call. After about 30 unsuccessful or partially successful calls, we finally got through, to Colorado AAA this time, and got the call cancelled. We were in Loma, CO by then.

Anyway, we checked into a hotel here in Grand Junction. It's got powerful AC and high speed internet (hence the reason I can post this). We're going to bypass our four days of planned camping in the 100+ degree weather and come straight back to Denver tomorrow. For now, we are just enjoying the cold -- chillin' in Grand Junction...