I bring Ashley her tea in bed and cook breakfast as we start our day. It’s not too hot yet so we hop back on the bicycles and head east, back toward the badlands. Longer hills than we expected and not quite recovered from yesterday’s ride and the hike on Friday. Glad we weren’t set on a long ride.

Made a smoothie upon returning – it was delicious and far more filling than I expected! Almond milk, banana, peanut butter, frozen fruit, and chia/flax seed.

Laid about reading for a bit before it got too hot so we headed out on the motorcycle, hoping to use it as air conditioning. We headed into town to top off waters at the visitor center and gas at the station before going south-east on a new road. Either a big valley or a small canyon greeted us at the edge of the park – spotted an RV scouting a camping spot right on the edge. Not only will they have it to themself but will also have a spectacular view!

Continuing on past the park we saw even more off-roaders than yesterday. It’s a veritable city out there! Like everyone from quartsite picked up a 4×4 of some sort and re-converged here. But for a motorcycle ride, it’s a pretty boring stretch of road so we turned around and headed back into the park, meandering our way back into town via the mountain roads.

Ashley begins preparing for our date tonight. Shower and gets dressed up as I put together our cheese, meat, fruit, and chocolate tray. Thought it would be a great at-home date to sit outside and enjoy some wine with snacks. Delicious! A great opportunity to try some cheeses we wouldn’t otherwise and a couple of new chocolates. Good chance to sit and chat, enjoying the desert sunset and evening. Ashley, as always, looked gorgeous!

sunset

patio dinner date

tasting platter