This morning started out cool with temps in the upper 50s.
By the time we made our lunch time stop just outside of Huntsville, AR, temps
were in the mid 70s. Perfect riding weather.
As we made our way west out of the Ozarks the heat kicked
into gear and the scenery began to take on a more arid feel with fewer trees
and lower standing shrubs.
Upon arriving in Oklahoma, we were immediately presented
with a massive casino and a sign notifying us of our entry into Cherokee
Nation. (Rob has a sliver of Cherokee in him.)
Once past Tulsa, the temps had risen into the low 90s. We
stopped for a little break and took the opportunity to get out our Chilly Pads.
With the low humidity, the evaporative towels did a great job at cooling us
down for the remainder of the ride into Enid, OK.
We arrived around 5:30pm and after a doing some laundry, we
walked over to a local Chili’s for dinner.
The story of the day however is the need for us to
completely change our plans for this vacation. The flooding in Boulder and
neighboring Estes Park has been “historic” and extremely destructive. Rocky
Mountain National Park is closed to all visitors as is Estes Park while the
local officials attempt to restore basic services to the town. After a
depressing reality, we’ve reluctantly decided to cancel our previous destination
to visit Rocky Mountain National Park and will instead be extending our stay in
Gunnison, CO from 1 night to 3 nights and adding a 3-night stay in Steamboat
Springs. From these locations we’ll do some day rides around the mountains and
take in the sights. We’ll then spend our final night in CO in Aurora where we
hope to be able to meet up with Michele’s longtime friends Lynn and Ron.
Tomorrow we head to Albuquerque, NM by way of the Texas
panhandle and try and firm up our changed itinerary.
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