The Blue Lady Travels in the Red Lands - A Tiny Vacation to Dinosaur Land

Got myself some fine new luggage mostly from Target,
pretty and just the right sizes,
so Sock Monkey & I can start to hit the road together.

I'm ready to get out of town again. This was the first of several upcoming short trips to a number of places. This time it was a driving trip in my little green car with my friend Jan Mi. We went east up into the Uintah Mountains to the small city of Vernal. We left on Saturday and returned on Sunday. The reason for the trip now was to attend the annual spring concert of the Uintah Basin Orchestra and Chorus. Two members of the Z family, who are friends of ours, were playing and singing.

The Blue Lady Travels in the Red Lands. She Visits Places Where Nature is Awesome

So, Bears Ears is a GO. Thank you President Obama. I'l be writing you a personal note about this soon.

Meanwhile it's time to finish up this whole series. I drove right by Bears Ears this fall on the way to Natural Bridges. Next time I'm headed that way I hope I can visit both.

Natural Bridges is not terribly far from Hovenweep. You can easily see both places in one day unless you do a lot of hiking. It was a very early monument, the first one in Utah established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908.

The Blue Lady Travels in the Red Lands. She Visits New Mexico and Utah Places where the Ancestors Hung Out

After 4 days in the big city, time to head home

After Albuquerque I stopped at two places in New Mexico the first day and one in Utah the second. I deliberately decided not to attempt Chaco Culture because I read on the website about how difficult it is to drive there. I knew my car was up to the task, and it had not rained for some time so the road would have been dry. But I thought about whether or not I really wanted to drive over 70 miles round trip on dirt washboard roads, and decided, nah, not this time. I'll see if sometime I can't find a guided tour group that takes you there in a bus or van.

The Blue Lady Travels in the Red Lands: She makes a Plan for a Road Trip

We had a long and glorious autumn this year.
This scene is driving up Cedar Canyon in southern Utah.
The colors were just shimmering which the photo can't show.

In early October I took my first big retirment trip. I took a road trip through northern Arizona, north western New Mexico and southern Utah that lasted 12 days. If I had just been moving the whole time, I probably would not have taken 12 days, but the kernal that began the trip was an accreditation site visit at the College of Nursing at University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

The Blue Lady Is Feeling It

I AM FEELING LIKE I AM RETIRED!

Technically I am not yet there. The official day is June 30. There are still a few chores to do. Last week at this time I was not yet there emotionally. I wrote a draft blog that was nothing more than a  list of chores accomplished and chores yet to be done.

I stil have to take all the boxes home from my office.

But today, right now? Yes, ma'm. I am a retired lady now.

The Blue Lady Contemplates What the Next Couple of Years Year Will Hold

Jul is over, and soon New Year's will old hat. I performed taiko again at the Salt Palace on New Years Eve, and on New Years Day I joined some friends for knitting. I'm already tired of the whole Christmas thing....sooooo glad it is over for another year.

Planning to Be Retired - Part Deux - Where to Live Lists

Should I stay or should I go?

Another Thing you may or may not know exists is lists about good & bad places to live when you are retired. Of course the world is full of lists of all kinds; I guess we love to read them, so why not? I read them all the time. None of them ever prove to be really helpful, I must say, but still I can't help but click on the latest list by someone about something. They are good, clean entertainment.....and food for conversation or blog posts.