8-17 -19 (Day 24 - Ute Pass)

We took a ride across Ute Pass today.  We rode about 15 miles on a dirt road that was as good as some paved roads.  It was nothing to be concerned about on the Asphalt Queen.  It was a nice peaceful ride with very little traffic.  When we turned on Highway 9, there was lots of traffic and a lot of people enjoying Green Mountain Reservoir.

We decided to go toward Granby and look at waterfowl at Windy Gap Wildlife Viewing Area.  We saw several species of ducks, white pelicans, geese, ospreys, and a bald eagle.  We planned to continue to town for a couple of more miles and get a steak to cook tonight.  Those plans changed when we noticed dark clouds headed our way.

We got back to camp with just a few sprinkles and a calm lake.  We were headed in to change into our shorts when the wind started howling, and the rain started.  We sure were glad we headed home when we did.

We had another evening of 50-60 mile an hour wind gust.  The camper next to us was wanting high winds to wind surf.  The winds must have been too high because he got off the lake.  He had to come out of his camper and retrieve his board that was tumbling around.  When the winds died down to about 20 miles an hour he went back out on the lake.

The sun came out, the winds calmed down, we went out, the winds picked up, and it was on again. This cycle happens about 3-4 times every evening in this area.

The internet service here is extremely slow.  We have been uploading photos for the last few days and finally have completed the last 4 days of our blog!  Luckily, we got all this uploaded before Lauren's computer crashed tonight.  It's about time for a new one.

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