COLORADOMG

A funny thing happened on our way out of San Francisco. Literally everyone else left at the same time, headed northeast for the Fourth of July holiday. The first leg of the drive was supposed to take about 4 hours; instead it took 8.

We camped at a state park near Lake Tahoe. This was our first official foray into camping with our new gear, and without adult supervision (i.e. an experienced camper). You probably surmised we survived, but not completely without incident, as Brian did not completely close his side of the tent. Luckily, we didn't wake up with a tent full of bugs, but Brian was significantly colder than Tiffany, as the overnight temperature dropped near freezing.

Our journey continued with a long day of driving from Tahoe to Salt Lake City. We celebrated the Fourth with a bunch of old friends, complete with a front-yard fireworks show and a pitcher of Negronis.

The next day found us reaching the Beaty family cabin outside Estes Park, and reuiniting with old friends. From there, it was all fun and games. Literally, lots of board games and Nertz. Tiffany relived her glory days and earned the moniker on her "Nertz Pro" coffee mug. And though speed is not his forte, we think Brian finally got the hang of Nertz, but only time will tell.

Oh, and views like this at every turn:

Each day was filled with hiking, campfires, board games, puzzles, lots of reading, and lots of Pliny the Elder.

We also found a great spot in Fort Collins to drink morning beers (like 9am... so breakfast beers) and watch Megan Rapinoe lead the US Womens National Team to victory in the World Cup Final. USA! USA!

We headed back with Priscilla, driving back across northern Utah to Salt Lake City, and then across Western Utah and into Nevada, home of America's loneliest road. Believe the claim - we saw at most 10 cars in four hours. But we did see lots of open range bumping up against stunning mountains. The route is highly recommended.

In fact, the way back was so beautiful that we caught Priscilla trying to take a picture while driving. We love you, Priscilla, but your driving is already scary enough, so no need to further imperil us :)

We stopped at Great Basin National Park, where we saw some 4,000 year old bristlecone pine trees.

When we asked Priscilla to take a picture of us, this is what we got. We couldn't be more satisfied with the results.

Our trek continued across the rest of Nevada and into California, where the road suddenly takes a bunch of dips. It's like a roller coaster, incredibly fun to drive.

We continued through Yosemite National Park. Even a brief drive through the park was worth it, to see old friends El Cap and Half Dome.

Next up: Southwest USA