We make this great treck out west every summer. It's a long drive - we take different routes every time but either way you slice it, it's still between 24 and 36 hours cross country. The truth is, I like driving. I like seeing the lay of the land. I like getting a feel for where people live. . . and where they don't. I love the vastness of this land. I don't necesarily love cleaning vomit out of the car on the side of the road or emergency can't-hold-it pit stops. I loathe gas station bathrooms and meals. It's a lot of people and stuff packed in that one mini car of ours. And gosh, Texas lasts forrrrrrevvver! But I also like having time to think, to talk, and to take pictures of things I would normally not give a second thought - like clouds. Here's a look at our drive out west and back again.
Eliza is the winner for best traveler ever. Even when she was a baby, she was just happy to ride.
Clayton wins the award for being the buffer. Poor kid. He always gets stuck in the middle.
Brigham and Isaac entertain us nonstop. And Lydia. . . lydia screams, complains, and shouts orders to all in earshot. But she's cute and snuggly in the car with her blanket and we love her anyway.
And this is what I do when I'm not driving.
I love the look of rolled hay.
Look at the reflection of these clouds.
Windmills dot the Texas prarie.
So do oil rigs.
More windmills - the modern version.
Here's a glimpse of the San Juan Mountains from a distance.
Denver.
Heading out of Denver and into the mountains.
Perfectly straight rows.
More coulds.
This is the welcome sign to Wyoming.
And somewhere along the way Lincoln pops up.
More sky. More clouds.
Through coal country.
Some roads just go on and on forever.
Here's this rock.
Here's Shiprock.
And more roads forever.
Old towns.
And ghost towns.
And wild wild west towns. Still lived in. Today.
Cowboy up.
It wouldn't be a drive through Southern Utah without stopping at Arches - my childhood stomping grounds.
The three sisters. At least that's what my dad always called it.
Everyone had a chance to pose with Balanced Rock.
Lydia wins. She is balancing the sky.
The boys read up on cryptogamic soil.
We cooled off at the Visitor's Center.
Isaac was using this telescope like it was a firing range.
We stopped briefly at Hole in The Rock.
And then headed out for the long. . .long. . . drive back home. On our anniversary. Oh how far we've come!
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