Monday, May 11, 2015

America the Beautiful: Part 1

We drove about 650 miles today entering 4 different states! It was a beautiful drive, stunning really, and we are enjoying our very comfortable digs outside of Park City, Utah. For a pet friendly hotel, this place is really nice. Our room is huge, the grounds have plenty of areas to walk Tanner and the price was great! There is even a swimming pool and hot tub but I think we'll be skipping those amenities. We get a full breakfast in the morning, which isn't a given in US hotels so all in all, we're pleased with our first day of travel.
This morning as we readied ourselves to go, Tanner was decisively going with us. He was in the car for a half hour before we left! He's a pretty good traveler, except for his incessant flatulence, which I guess is the cost of having a 10 year old lab!
Having not driven any appreciable miles in the US for a very long time, both of us were truly blown away by how lovely the drive was today. Driving by Las Vegas, Nevada was sort of surreal. It's really an odd place! As soon as we entered Arizona, the landscape got dramatic. Towering rock formations and multi-colored ridges dotted the landscape. Having just come from the desert lands of Israel/Palestine/Jordan, we were surprised by some of the similarities in the landscape. In fact, we even chuckled a bit when we saw signs for Mt. Nebo and the Jordan River! Having been to the "real" ones of both of those places, we were amused that those who gave these places their names co-opted those holy places.Upon entering Utah, our 4th and final state for today, the magnificent canyon formations surrounded us. Soon, snow-capped mountains came into view as well. Parts of the US got lots of snow yesterday so we were happy to have clear, blue skies the entire way. We were also surprised that it stayed light until well after 8.30 p.m. It made the driving much easier and more pleasant to be able to take in the views.
We hope to do a similar amount of driving tomorrow, hoping to land in Rapid City, SD. We're expecting a fairly beautiful drive once again.
It's truly fun for us to experience the US via road trip. The wild west feeling that we had a few times today is a bit unique to the US. And just seeing the various landscapes, the small towns, the different communities that are scattered about our route reminds us of how diverse our nation is.
This trip has also been made easier by the thoughts and prayers that so many of you have shared with us. We are so thankful that we have the flexibility we need right now to take this trip. Let me just say another thank-you for all of the support we feel during this trip.
I'm happy to be traveling in our nice Honda CRV. I think Doug has a dream that one day, we'll travel like this couple on a big motorcycle. Except that he would want to add a sidecar for Tanner, of course.

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