A Scary Drive Back to Colorado

Instead of spending four nights on the road on our way back to Colorado, we decided to make a mad dash (for us!) towards home. We wanted to avoid spending time around other people and try to stay as safe as we could.

We made it as far as St. George, Utah, the first night and Grand Junction, Colorado, the second. Traffic was fairly light, and the weather was good. Tim and I took turns driving, and Kitty took turns sleeping on our laps.

The First Part of the Drive Was Easy for Everyone

The weather began to change shortly after leaving Grand Junction. Traveling on I-70 over the Rockies in the winter is always a gamble, and today was not our day. It started snowing, and an accident slowed the traffic way down. Visibility was deteriorating.

Freezing fog soon reduced visibility to almost zero, and Tim could stay in our lane only by following the red tail lights of the car in front of him. He did a masterful job of driving, but I don’t remember the last time I had been so scared. I think I held my breath the whole way and didn’t calm down until we had descended the mountains.

A Scary Drive (And I Didn't Photograph the Worst Part!)

Pulling into our garage an hour or so later was the best feeling in the world!

Finishing Our Project at SAMO

Our project at SAMO was challenging, but quite rewarding and would turn into the largest deaccession in the history of the National Park Service. It’s truly amazing how much paperwork is involved in deaccessioning museum collections that no longer exist. Beth and the staff at SAMO were great to work with and assisted us throughout the process.

Lots of Paperwork - Even the Kitty Had to Help

Although our original commitment to SAMO was for two months, the park asked us if we would like to extend our stay through March 2020. We readily agreed.

Unfortunately, the realities of the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic soon became a factor that could not be ignored. Although we were mostly isolated from everyone while working at the LaKretz Center, the park decided to send us back to Colorado on March 18, 2020.

Before we left, the entire staff thanked us with a lovely luncheon. It had been a great group of people to work with.

Thanks for a Great Going-Away Lunch

All Packed and Ready to Leave