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We spent the night in Oxnard, California in a large house we found on Air BnB.  It was a huge house in a residential area.  The houses were literally four to five feet apart.  There were six bedrooms and this was the first place we stayed where there was a communal bathroom.  Strange, but comfortable.

We were up before sunrise.  Our destination was over three hours drive-time away and we wanted to get an early start.  We stopped at a McDonalds for a cup of coffee and hopped back on Highway 101 headed north, then getting on Interstate 5.  

The Day 9 blog was cut a bit short as we were not sure about the ability of “connectivity” to post, so the ramblings today will bring you up to speed.

Yesterday we spent a good deal of the day on the road going from the Grand Canyon in Arizona, southwest, under the tip of Nevada, and into southern California.  It was a desolate trip for many of the miles. 

We thought Kansas was a long, wide-open state.  Kansas had signs of life.  Large, sprawling fields, cows, and traffic on the highway.

We drove through the darkness in Arizona last evening, marveling at the sunset we witnessed along the way.  It was about 7:00 PM local time when we arrived at Grand Canyon National Park.  Our “sign selfie” would have to wait.  Arizona does not recognize daylight savings time, so the hour changeover took us a bit by surprise.

Our stay at the Parkway Motel in Orderville, Utah last night was pleasant.  Katie Q booked it through Air BnB and we were not sure what to expect.  Our host was pleasant, and welcomed us with information about the area including food and recreation.  The bonus was that we were only about 30 minutes from our destination for today.

We had a long, dark drive to our resting spot last night.  We were tired, hungry, and desperately in need of showers after the day of hiking.  We had no cellular service after leaving Moab, and could not check in with our people.

Our internal alarm clocks woke us this morning well before daybreak. That was good given we had a full day on the itinerary.  We packed and slipped out of the house quietly so not to disturb our hosts at Oliver House.

Once on our way, we stopped at Wicked Brew for coffee. They serve a great cup of coffee and we recommend them to anyone needing a morning caffeine fix in the Moab area.  We had our protein bars and bananas for breakfast and we were ready for the day.

We woke this morning and left the hotel by 7:00 AM.  We had  protein bars, bananas, and coffee with us for breakfast on the run.  Our goal was to reach Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park by sunrise.  Our hotel was less than a half an hour away, so we would be close.

Last evening we found our Air BnB room in a victorian home in the Capitol Hill area of Denver.  It was a very nice room in a big, beautiful old house. We were hungry and shortly after we settled, headed out to find food.

Our morning was a bit lazy in Limon, Colorado.  We woke about 7:00 AM and took our time getting ready to head out.  I took an opportunity to do some Pilates to warm up my sleepy body knowing it would be a busier day than just sitting in the car.  After coffee and a bite to eat, we pointed the car towards Estes Park, Colorado to visit our first park of the trip, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Despite the room we had for the night being in a big neighborhood just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, the room was surprisingly quiet.  Katie Q and I rested well and felt good to start Day 2.  We were packed and ready to roll by 7:00 AM.  Right on schedule!