and we are at the hot springs

Lo and behold, they have wifi after all. Lucky us! And Lucky YOU!

We left our lovely hotel around 11, and had a great chat goodbye with the owner. Honest to goodness, really enjoyed our stay there. And I think he liked us. He said they get their fair share of unhappy people, and he was very happy to have us and get to know us. 

The Shelf Road doesn't take nearly as long to drive on as Phantom Canyon did, and it is extraordinarily beautiful with surprise scenes around each bend. Just when you think you've seen the coolest thing, just go around the corner. 

It is a very rough road so we were happy to have the jeep. The hotel owner said he's done that road in his Subaru Outback, with AWD and big knobby tires. You need them. It was muddy and thick in spots, and then dry as a bone with dust everywhere. 

We got to Cañon City and cut through to Florence, the antiquing capitol of the USA! Or so they claim. There we spent a ton of time browsing one store. I couldn't imagine going to another store. It was exhausting. I found two license plates for Geoff for his collection, a sweet bottle opener for Jess, and Doug found a really cool dolphin figurine for the upcoming birthday cellie next week.  

And there was a brewery around the corner, so we went. Excellent beer, super staff. We enjoyed a fun visit there for sure. 

Because we were going to the hot springs to stay the night, and they are rather remote and don't have food, we decided to eat a big meal and buy some snacks for later. So we went to a sushi/steakhouse and had a great dinner too. Florence is an alright town! 

We stopped for ice for the hot/cold bag because we didn't think there would be a fridge. Turns out they have ever amenity you'd want except a TV and that's ok because we don't need to watch TV. Desert Reef Hot Springs is really cool, semi-secluded, and there are a multitude of soaking options. Super hot to a lot less hot, clothing optional so leave your judgement in the car. 

And we have this cute little short trailer unit and our own little soaking pool. 

So right when we got checked in and brought to our abode, we jumped in for a soak. Super Rancho Relaxo. Doug had hoped we'd have stars to look at tonight bit it is cloudy and we're supposed to get some serious thunderstorms after 11pm. 

I should have bulk uploaded my pictures to Facebook from today like I did with the ones from Phantom Canyon, because the wifi here is not fast, or good, or ... So the only picture I put online today was on Instagram, and I grabbed it just for here. 

Big Beer and Lil' Beer. Digits below! 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. slow saunter walk through downtown Florence, 17 min/.46 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
8:30am: 117
n/a pm: did not take a reading
8:30pm: 108

food & meds:
8:30am: phentermine, jardiance
9am: apple and peanut butter
through the morning, beef jerky, sugar free powerade, nuts
3:30pm: met+glip; 3 beers at Florence Brewing Company; bowl of snacky popcorn
5pm: pad thai, onion soup, gyoza, tempura shrimp
8:30pm: met+glip
9pm: sliced cheddar and a small glass of beer from the brewery