Road Trip-25 years

 We have been together for 25 years.  We wanted to do something to recognize the occasion.  What do you do?  The world is still in the middle of a global pandemic (there are still a lot of travel restrictions) and you have a new car.  We decided to take a road trip up to Yellowstone.  Curtis originally wanted to get me all the way to Mount Rushmore in SD because I have always wanted to see it.   That was a bit ambitious considering the distance and time frame we had.  I was happy to go up to Yellowstone, I had never been there either  We had a great trip, just enjoying the experience of being on the road. It was also a new experience of driving in an electric car and having to charge for a few hours rather than just "fill er up with gas".

We did our first recharge in Flagstaff, my home town.  It has grown so much since I left, the people and politics are a bit odd, but it is always nice to visit especially in the summer. We did a Tesla recharge and had a meal at Olive Garden while the car did its thing.  Olive Garden was conveniently located next to the charge station.  Then we were on to our next stop, which we were not for certain where we would end up on our adventure.

We started heading north, along the way we had planned to stay in Tuba City, according to our charging app they had a nice hotel with a charge station.  As we were getting closer and closer to Tuba City, we could see smoke, but we were not sure what it from.  Then we realized a structure was on fire. I snapped a picture as we drove by. Nobody seemed concerned, there was a fire truck there. I searched the news around Tuba City for a few days, but nothing was ever mentioned of the fire.  I guess it wasn't a big deal.

It turned out we couldn't stay in Tuba City, all the hotels were closed because of COVID.  We were told we needed to drive about an hour and drive to Kayenta where hotels were open.  We charged the car for a few minutes then we went on our way to Kayenta where there were hotels. I was kind of familiar with Kayenta because I knew my Dad used to drive through there to get to his fishing spot, Paiute Farms on Lake Powell.   It was late, we found a hotel but the guy was cranky acting like we personally brought COVID into the reservation. He thought the whole thing should be closed down.  He didn't appreciate that we were spending money and giving him a job.  

While we were enjoying our very short stay in  Kayenta, We noticed that Kayenta was right next to Monument Valley.  We decided to take a different route and drive through Monument Valley.  I don't think I have ever been thought Monument Valley.  It was totally worth it.  This was one of my favorite detours on our trip.  I don't know why Google said it was closed due to COVID.  There was nothing to close.  It was just a scenic drive.  Maybe we were not supposed to get out and take picks considering there was nobody around.  We even took a few from the middle of the road because there was literally nobody around.

 This was the most nerve-wracking part of the trip.  We were pretty much in the middle of nowhere and the options for charging stations were none.  Curtis felt confident we could make it to the next charging station in Blanding UT.  We would be good as long as... you know the unforeseeable didn't happen.

Fortunately, we made it and we even had a few miles to spare.  We grabbed some food in Blanding while the car charged.

Blanding, UT a little tiny town that still had a payphone outside the town visitor center where we charged the car.

Our next stop was Arches, National Park near Moab, UT.  This was well worth the stop as well.   Many things to see just driving through.  

Next on our adventure was Midway, UT.  A few years back Curtis discovered this place had a Geothermal spring.  We didn't actually take any photos here, but fortunately, someone else did and shared them on the internet.  This was a very cool crater with beautiful blue water at bathtub temperatures.  People use this place to learn to scuba dive.  It was pretty amazing to see.

Interior of Homestead Crater- Very warm and humid on the inside.

It looks like a big dome on the outside.

While in Midway We stayed at the Zermatt Resort.  Midway is about 30 minutes from Park city  I had heard of this resort but I didn't actually know what it was about.  It is based on a European city in Switzerland.  Actually Midway itself felt European with the architecture of the homes and buildings.

The Zermatt was very nice.

We stopped in Honeyville, UT.  This is where Curtis' cousins from the Johnson side of the family live and he spent some summers here.  His Uncle Steve used to be the Mayor.  Curtis thought that was a big deal when he was a kid, but his uncle explained it was a tiny town and it was his turn. 

Curtis took me to "Crystal Hot Springs" another natural thermal spring.  I had never been to anything like this before so it was pretty cool to experience.  Curtis said this place has grown and been developed a lot since the last time he was here.  This place was much different than the other thermal spring.  This was outdoors and the water was a reddish-orange from the minerals.  There were 3 different pools, Each one a different temp.  Cool, warm, and hot.

We continued north on our adventure.  We stopped in Pocatello, ID to for a quick visit with my friend Stephanie Carter and her family.

Next was Idaho Falls.  We found this cool Hotel that was very similar to the one we stayed in when we first got married.  Each room is decorated with a unique destination theme.  Actually, I think the hotel was called "Destinations Inn".  We stayed in the Morocco room.  We were lucky to find this place.  We had wanted to stay at the one in Salt Lake but it was booked up.  We just happened to find this place at the last minute.  It is a unique experience for a hotel.  They treat you right.  We didn't feel like we were in Idaho Falls.

Curtis has a lot of Family in Idaho Falls, there was no way we could see them all, but we did stop at Manwaring Cheese where one of his Manwaring Cousins bought it from another Cousin and was redeveloping it.  We picked up some tasty cheese to snack on during our trip.

Second Job

 After a long painful process of miscommunication and inexperience, Derek started working at McDonald's.  I really wanted Derek to get a summer job, at first COVID was a bit of a set back, but there are so many reasons why I think a kid needs to get a job. 

Back in June, I stopped at the McDonald's drive-through with the kids and we noticed a "Now Hiring" sign.  I asked the drive-through girl if it was better to apply in person online or in person.  She said in person was probably better because things get lost when you apply online.  Which confirmed my suspicions of Derek sending in several applications online and never getting any calls for interviews.  He applied back in June, they called him for an interview the next day.  I would think Derek would be a good candidate for this job because he has a little experience working in the school cafeteria during lunch, and he has his food handlers license.

After the interview I asked Derek how it went he gave me his typical "I don't know, but they gave me these forms to fill out and she said there is one more for my bank info"  I said, "then they hired you if they are asking for employment forms and direct deposit info."  Derek turned the forms in, then he heard nothing.  He would stop by and check-in and they would say I we want to get you on the schedule for Saturday, then he would hear nothing.  After a few weeks, he would stop in (they don't always answer the phone) and they would say "oh we lost your phone number"  these shenanigans went on for way too long, losing his number several times, Derek being inexperienced and uncertain of how to handle these situations.  Finally on August 29th, 2020 he officially started.  He has only been working a two-hour shift one day a week.  We're hoping it picks up. It is hardly worth the effort at this point.  I keep telling him he almost needs a second job.  He made more working a half hour each day during school lunch than this gig.