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Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Rain and pain

Sunday morning, as we were packing up to leave Moab, Dave reached over to turn off the lap top and his back went out.....way out.   

We're at James Robb Colorado State Park in Fruita, Colorado. (just a little west of Grand Junction).     It's been raining on and off since we got here so we've just been laying low and working on calming the back and staying dry.

Lewis has been a trouper, going from a very active time in Moab to a relatively cloistered existence here in Colorado.    To keep his mind and body busy we've been playing a lot of ball and "find me" inside Beluga and we've even invented a variation on "the rug ate my ball" game. 


We call it "find the ball under the towel on your back" and Lew thinks it grand fun!     And.....it tires him out nicely.


Dave is doing better after 3 days of rest, heat pads, muscle relaxants, NSAIDs and STIM treatments (the drug store kind).    He's been trying to walk daily and that often helps.    Today he came back with a handful of Lilacs!    I think he's on the mend.


Today was the first time we ventured out of the park, other than to make a drug store run, and it was our last day here.     We decided to at least take Rim Rock Drive through Colorado National Monument, which is only a few miles up the road.


We discovered that the road is under construction about 18 miles from the Fruita entrance but we decided to go anyway and enjoy what we could see in that 18 miles.


As dear MonaLiza would say....."It's a WOW".   I couldn't say it better.


We watched it rain in the distance, but only experienced sprinkles.   We heard loud claps of thunder in the direction we were driving, but encountered no rain.


Rim Rock Drive climbs from the Colorado River's Grand Valley to the high country, passing through two tunnels blasted through solid rock on it's way. 


It winds along the plateau rim for about 23 miles so we were able to experience most of it before the construction caused us to turn around.    I never mind traveling out and back the same way, we always see things we missed the first time and today was no exception.


At one point we thought we saw a Bighorn sheep ram grazing the bushes near the road so we pulled over to check it out. 

nom nom nom

We watched him for quite awhile, he paid us no attention.   The delicious flowering bush he was browsing held his total concentration.

he watched us admire his horns

From the length and magnificence of his horns and the scarred face we figured he was an older man.




When we turned around we got to see all the spectacular scenery in reverse.   I wondered if the old goat....I mean sheep, would be still feeding his face on our way back.


He was no longer working the bushes, but standing on the shoulder of the road looking confused.    He wasn't alone.  He had been joined by what we felt was a much younger version of himself.


just look at that beautiful face!

Perhaps he was conscious of his waistline in the presence of the handsome stranger because he stopped eating, climbed the slope and disappeared.


Or....perhaps he was just full.


8 comments:

  1. This is an awesome drive. I am so glad you saw a couple sheep. They are all over that area. Your photos are spectacular.

    So very glad to hear Dave is improving. It's great to see him smiling with his "borrowed" lilacs! Looks like you will be able to move on tomorrow. Lewis looks so cute playing hid the ball under the rug on his back. It certainly did tire him:)

    Safe travels!

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  2. Glad Dave is on the mend! It's amazing how much entertainment the kids get from the simplest "games" :-) Wow indeed, what a beautiful drive. The sheep pics are incredible!

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  3. It's a beautiful area; you got lucky with the sheep too. I was there last year and did a post about it, see below link. Suggestion, take the wonderful hwy 139 from Fruita to the Dinosaur National Monument, it's equally spectacular.
    https://lalaironwheels.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-colorado-plateau.html

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  4. Poor Dave, the drive to Fruita must have been uncomfortable. Lewis is an absolute treasure!

    What a terrific couple of big horn sightings!

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  5. So happy Dave is on the mend...it’s always surprising (and frustrating) how the simplest movement can throw out your back. Love the stories and pictures of Lewis! Your sheep sightings are awesome. We are so close and have not made that drive...need to fix that!

    Safe travels and happy trails!

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  6. Ugh, sorry to Dave about the back pain. I had some back issues a couple months back and it was pretty miserable. Hope he continues to improve. Your photos from Rim Rock Drive are fantastic. We're heading that way in a couple months and I can't wait to see these views for ourselves. Love the pictures and commentary on the sheep. :)

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  7. Dave is the consummate expert on all back-related disorders! He knows exactly what to do and that it takes time, rest and walking to fix lots of things! Glad he's on the mend and you guys might be in the road again! Take it slow and easy. Simply a stellar scenic drive! Wow is right! Loved the young guy and the old guy pictures. Beautiful and haunting pictures of youth and wisdom.

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  8. Oh, poor Dave! We both know firsthand how debilitating back pain can be. Thankfully, it's usually short lived with rest and good care, which he had. :-) He certainly looks happy and healthy with his bouquet of lilacs.
    Glad you were able to do that spectacular drive and share it with us. Your photos of the bighorn sheep are fantastic!

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