Two Flats

I was the recipient of a flat bike tire after riding around a gravelly area by our campsite. I had heard a good pop as a large pebble zinged off sideways as I ran over it, inadvertently. Low and behold, the next day my rear tire was ploof. That same day, I noticed a good sized screw wedged into our driver side front tire on the truck. Gratefully, we were in town in Page, AZ when I noticed it and not out towing Vilia somewhere! Page has a Big O Tire shop and the folks there were terrific. I was in and out in 20 minutes. Patched and good to go. Not so with bike tire tubes in Page. Amazon to the rescue! My new tube arrived quickly.  I fought nobly against rubber and titanium, it is a battle with my bike to separate tire from rim, but it worked. Bike and truck are whole again. Life on the road.

We leave Lake Powell tomorrow to head to the four corners area of SW Colorado, SE Utah, NE Arizona and NW New Mexico and Mesa Verde National Park. It is hard to leave this place. We were on the water twice in boat rentals. To be able to saddle up to sheer walls that descend as much as 600 feet straight down beneath the water is remarkable. We have seen walls such as these from the bottom up at Zion, Capitol Reef and other places along this trip.  To swim beside in the mild waters of Lake Powell and consider what lay below you was quite humbling. Plus, we were the welcoming recipients of wonderful late summer weather of days in the 90’s and nights in the 60’s while here. Could not be more perfect.

Today has been a get ready for travel day and we have a local severe weather alert for high winds and extreme low humidity. Fire danger. It is blowing crazy at our campsite. Glad that here we have limited underbrush so fire is not a worry. The weather is quite the opposite on the East Coast as our Carolinas are hunkering down to what is being forecast as a rain event of historic proportions. We have family in those parts! Best wishes to them all for safe weathering of the onslaught. Our earth and its weather anomalies.