There is more! \240Thankfully, Bob’s dolly is making this so much easier. \240I’ll need to get one in Durango. \240The plan is to fit as much as we can in this load to Armadillo Storage in Durango. \240Which reminds me I have to call and reserve a unit ASAP. \240Back to boxes and dolly. \240Then there’s the bbq, the SUPs, the bikes… yikes!

That’s going to do it. \24014 linear feet deep of stuff. \240What is not here will travel in the F150 or in our cars. \240Yes, cars… we opted to do a tortoise and the hare ‘caravan’. \240With a Tesla and a 4Runner, we’ll see how we progress. \240

Denzie Mobile heads to MI

A few more boxes to go! \240Back to the moving truck on foot. \240This is the same spot where Aidan’s RX7 left from during COVID before he headed out to Europe in the fall of 2020.

September 2020

Five years already in a few months!

Off it goes to Texas!

The house sits silently with a few dimmed lights. \240It’s a moment of quiet. \240Soon new laughter and stories will surge within its walls. \240For now, we give thanks for its unique warmth and presence. \240As I close the doors on our remaining belongings, I mentally cap my bottles of memories carefully. \240Sure to sip on them for years as life unfolds in new directions. \240

Finalized

The deed is recorded and we are officially homeless for the first time in 29 years, or so. \240What a wild ride. \240The new owners are happy. \240We wish them all the goodness our home brought us all. \240And wish them well with window cleaning, yard maintenance, driveway maintenance, how the list could lengthen… enough said.

Let’s go hike with Ben and Nadia at Bastyr. \240And then, well, hang the fish!!! Of course. \240Theo’s sailfish trophy will rise and free up the garage. \240

Done. \240Theo’s fish is up. \240A fine trophy for the young man. \240Looks awesome with the diffused lighting of the landing.

It’s swimming again!

Another to do: secure a spot for the trailer. \240Despite a potential buyer surging out of Craigslist, the title is buried in our moving boxes. \240Which means the sale will have to wait a few weeks. \240Mike comes to our rescue once again and the trailer goes to live temporarily on his property near Arrowhead Elementary. \240

Thanks Mike 😊😁

Headed to Durango

Done!

The farewells have been bittersweet. Why does it always take a grand departure to get us all together? \240Darn life gets in the way, I suppose.

Farewell to the gals, Lee, Katie, and Marilisa. \240A few drinks and many laughs.

I

t was great to see Jason, Bella, and Brier. \240A last bit of Mexican Train. \240Looking forward to seeing their successes in life.

And hanging out with Jokko and Rox for a lovely dinner ending with Japanese chocolate and whiskey. \240

We visit with Janice and pick up mini Denzie. \240He’s going to ride with Jilly down tk Durango. \240Thank you, Janice, for your unconditional help all these years. \240We will miss our neighborly chats. \240Looking forward to wine and a roaring fire somewhere down the road.

Ready to go?

Let’s find new smells out there!

We look forward to new adventures with all of them somewhere south of Washington!

One last peek and we’re off.

Farewell NE 110th. You held the best.

We get together with Trinh and Darren for our last evening. \240Wine and a scrumptious paella on the dock. \240The evening is beautiful and our hosts are truly wonderful.

Victor

A few treats and scratches behind the ear. \240One last stop to cancel LA Fitness gym membership and we’re off to Boise. \240

I90 East

Morning in Boise, ID. \240Decent room in an otherwise very worn out Red Lion hotel. \240Let’s hunt down a decent breakfast spot…

Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro

We land at Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro. \240Lovely ambiance with Fuke Ellington’s Wanderlust playing in the background. \240Great start for our day of driving to Salt Lake City.

Fueled up and ready to go. \240Let’s see if the tortoise beats the hare again today!!

We have about 5 hours of road time to go. \240Jilly will add another hour to charge Tessie. \240I spend time on the phone with Anne. \240The miles fly by. \240Lightning on a mountain top stops me for a moment. \240I see three strikes in succession, then nothing. A dramatic sky welcoming us to Utah.

We arrive in SLC within an hour of each other. \240Keenan welcomes us with open arms. \240Always a special moment to reconnect with our boys. \240Tonight we stay at hotel Evo. \240Built over Keenan’s favorite haunt: the bouldering project. \240A massive bouldering gym. \240We opt for a brew pub for dinner: Shades Brewing. \240

Cheers 🍻

Score!

We chat about school and hear about ‘statics’ math class. \240Keenan shares some of his homework. \240Mmm.. yummy math

Statics Homework

Tokyo Palace was great. \240A bit incongruous in the SLC landscape. \240But decent rolls. \240The sake is a bit off.

Earlier the Lexus landed in MI. \240Aidan will have familiar wheels for his internship in Kalamazoo. \240It now sits in Jeff driveway. \240Weird!

Back to our hostel/climbing gym! The EVO hotel is a unique assemblage including a hostel/hotel, a bouldering gym, sport stores, skate park, biking repair, ski/snowboard rental and retail. \240A lively blend of activity.

Keenan and I get our climbing shoes on and hit the wall.

Some stuff is truly built for strength and skill including this route:

Keenan shows us around and demonstrates his growing talent for ‘solving’ these acrobatic puzzles. \240His strength and lanky body allows him to move around on these with ease.

Even the old monkey gets a go at it. \240And, yes, the fingers will be sore! Well worth it to climb with Keenan at his favorite gym.

We hit the road south towards Durango. Six and a half hours. \240Let’s go!

The reddish hills announce the proximity of Moab. \240We’re still in Utah.

The spectacular arches of sandstone offer scenic viewpoints along the highway. \240And soon Moab. \240And where is the ‘hare’? Jilly in the Tesla passes me shortly before Moab. \240I see her turn into a charging station site and stop as well.

Last leg of the trip down. \240We’ll soon cross into Colorado. \240One last charge in the new charging station in Cortez, CO. \240Then Durango, here we come.

The sign says it all. Sunshine mixes with some darkened clouds. \240Soon we’ll get to our ‘home’ for June. \240An Airbnb on Misty Lane. \240

We’ve arrived within minutes of each other. \240The place is charming, quiet, laid back. \240This is going to help soothe the spirit after a race to the finish in Kirkland since we returned from France on May 10th! \240

Well, the truck made it, but the tonneau cover for the bed didn’t. \240I’ll sort this out in a couple of days. \240It’s here, ready to take on new tasks.

The two separate storage units are going to work great. \240A 5x10 with climate control and a 5x10 without. \240The moving truck with our stuff arrives on Wednesday afternoon. \240Tonight, we make a list of MLS for Sherry, our real estate agent here in town. \240Land only properties and houses. \240We abandoned the townhome/condo idea. \240We’re too hands-on. \240It’s baked in. \240Need space and freedom. \240

Ok, now let’s hike.

The valley below Animas Mountain opens up as we climb higher. \240The first section of the hike meandered through Turtle Lake Climbing area. \240A wide expanse of treed ground punctuated by giant boulders used for bouldering fans.

Tomorrow afternoon we get to see land we picked out earlier. \240

First, a good workout earlier in the day. \240

Lazy Sunday. \240Planning to hike Mt Baldy. \240The trail head is 2 minutes from the cabin. \240Wide open space.