My Country, 'Tis of Thee

I'm back. Did you miss me? Were you aware I was gone? No? That's because I was so frantically busy last week I didn't have time post that I was leaving town. Also, I never know if I should post I'm leaving town in the event my cyberstalker burgles the house while I'm gone. Although Eamonn stayed behind to hold down the fort so technically, the house wasn't left unchaperoned.

Anyway, the boys and I went to visit Erin and her gang in Utah for a few days. We left Saturday morning and came back this evening. I came in, unpacked and then repacked because now the boys and I are leaving for Denver tomorrow. Attention cyberstalker: Eamonn will be guarding the house so don't get any big ideas.

So the drive to Utah is just under six hours. . .if you don't have any kids with you. There are several different ways to go depending on if you want more or less interstate driving versus two lane driving. I prefer the two lane way now, but the first time we did the drive from our valley to Erin's house was in 2001 and we drove mostly via I-70. It was the first time I'd ever driven through the Wild West and I spent most of the drive with my jaw on the floor.

I love to travel. I love travel in the U.S. I love travel in Europe. I love travel in Canada, eh? And I've been fortunate to do a lot of traveling. Living out west now has opened up a whole new world of car travel (which I particularly love since I'm so airplane averse).

Anyway, so of course I always knew that the U.S. was a huge, diverse place. But the first time we drove from Colorado to Utah was mind boggling for me. I couldn't get over how vast the spaces were, how the mountains and different rock formations just jut out of the ground. I still remember my first view of the Rocky Mountains towering over Denver. It still takes my breath away when I'm in Denver and look west to see the snow capped peaks beckoning me. It's sounds so corny, I know, but I love being at meetings in Denver, looking out the windows and thinking, "I get to go home to the mountains tonight."

I'm still in awe of the landscape each time I drive from Colorado to Utah and this most recent trip was no exception. So I thought I'd take some pictures as I drove to share a little of what we get to see as we drive. This has been an unusual winter out here--not a lot of snow. So much of the landscape that would normally be covered in snow on the drive was already desert-like. You'll see the different terrains we drive through to get to Erin's. Some areas were warm and others were still locked in a deep freeze. It definitely keeps the drive interesting.

A few disclaimers about the pictures. First, I took these while I was driving. I tried to delete the ones that had huge reflections off the window, showed smashed bugs on the windshield, or had too much steering wheel or hood in the picture. Some were blurry. Some I can't tell what I thought was so interesting.

The good news is that I didn't crash and only nearly drove off the road once. Basically if I saw something that looked good, I just stuck my arm out and tried to photograph it. There wasn't a lot of composition going on. As if there ever is.

So if you're interested is seeing the drive from Colorado to Utah from the driver's point of view, check it out HERE.

And then apparently I forgot to actually take but a few pictures when we were at Erin's, so there are just a few pics of the kids at the end. All of the cousins set up a "restaurant" in Erin's basement and we all ate dinner in it on Monday night. They were so proud of their efforts. . .even if we did all the cooking.