Denver with Jeff, Linda and Maya - Nov 9, 2008 - Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States

I spent several great days in Denver visiting with Jeff, Linda and Maya and doing some things that can only be done in a larger city like Denver. I got to spend a good bit of one on one time with Maya which was great. She is such a great little person!

While there I visited an Apple Computer Store and ended up buying a brand new MacBook computer. At first it intimidated me quite a bit because it is different from the PC's that I've had all of my life, but after some time, practice, and help from Jeff and Linda I've come to like if a lot. I still have to work out email, but once that is accomplished I believe that this will be a perfect little laptop for me. I've heard nothing but bad things about Microsoft's new Vista software and that helped push me toward the Mac. Also, Jeff has recently purchased one and both he and Linda love it. I could have gotten a PC for much less money, but this was the better choice, in my opinion.

I'm not much on big cities, but Denver is certainly one of the best of the big cities that I've visited. I've become familiar enough with it that I can get around real well now with the help of my trust Garmin GPS.

The drive from Moab to Denver which is nearly 400 miles was uneventful except for the beautiful scenery along the way.

I'm now in Harrisonburg, Va visiting with my long time friends Paul and Marsha Rexrode after a 2 1/2 day trip across the country. I'll be moving around between family and friends for the next three weeks.

This is such a huge and beautiful country. Gas prices were below $2.00 per gallon most of the way and I managed to find two decent motels for $40 and $50 per night respectively. The Ranger is a very comfortable vehicle to travel in and I did about 700 miles the first day, 600 miles the second day and 350 miles the third day without being excessively tired at the end of these days. I traveled on interstate highways the entire trip mostly with the cruise control set at between 75 and 78 mph. You can cover a lot of ground like that.

The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia is one of the most beautiful places in this great country, in my opinion, and it is great to be back here for this 3 week visit with friends and family. I'll be leaving Virginia around the 1st of December, and will return to Denver to spend a couple more days with Jeff, Linda and Maya before returning to Moab. As soon as I get to Moab I'll be heading south to Arizona.

I'll be taking pictures as I travel around Virginia and will pass the best of them along to you.