Back in Seattle -- for the next week

Driving down Route 128 toward Arches National Park.

We arrived back in Seattle on Tuesday afternoon, using 279 gallons of gas to cover 5,185 miles for an average of 18.5 miles to a gallon, which is more than five miles a gallon better than the old truck. Besides getting a daily taste of Sirius radio, we listened to 345 songs on my iPhone, ending the trip with "It's the Same Old Song" by the Four Tops.

We left Grand Junction, CO, on Sunday morning -- not as early as we had hoped -- and drove to Cisco, UT, before turning south on Route 128, planning to get off the Interstate for a day and spend some time exploring one of the many national parks in Utah.

We stopped to look at flowers, watch bike riders on the road, rafters on the Colorado River and campers all along the way. We moseyed into Moab, which was packed with Memorial Day visitors, to get some drinks and snacks before heading into Arches National Park.

Then . . . BIG disappointment. Just before we got to the entrance to the park, we saw a big sign that read, "Park Full -- Closed."

Never heard of a national park being full or closed. And while I agree with the move to protect the place from overuse, I wish it had happened on another day. We accepted that we had to write this off to our own lack of planning and our slow start to the day and to our delay in getting to the park. The best thing that came out of it was our decision to return to Utah at a later date to do some weekday, non-holiday explorations of the parks there.

We checked the maps (some newly purchased in Moab) and considered heading farther south to check out Canyonlands or other places but decided the crowds would be there, too. So we set off for Salt Lake City to visit our niece and her family. Jason fixed burgers and shish kebobs, we got reintroduced to two of the three kids and the two cats, got a free night's lodging and sous vide eggs in the morning for breakfast.

Anne and Jason with Daria

From Salt Lake City we drove to Emmigrant Spring State Heritage Area in Oregon and rented a cabin for $24 a night. Ate most of the food we had been packing around for three weeks, built a perfect campfire and settled in for the night. Only drawback was how close the campground was to the freeway. Lots of noise that tended to keep awake those who aren't deaf in one ear.

Our last day of driving was only the second of the trip when we did not drive some part of the day in a blinding rain, sleet or snow storm. Happy to find shorts-wearing weather in Seattle. Finally.

We are here until next Friday. Then it is off to Lake Tahoe for "America's most beautiful bike ride" around the lake. I'll let you know if it lives up to that name.

The woman never stops cleaning.