Oh My Darlin'

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Day 4 - Goodbye bitter cold, Hello red rock!!!

We pulled out of Ouray bright and early. Dad had so very kindly warned us about the road out of Ouray....apparently it's one of the top 10 most dangerous roads! We were really itchin' to get out there and try our luck ;) Ok so i'm kidding...I wanted to leave early so maybe it would be traffic free with no pressure...I mean hives aren't really on my list of favorites. The road was super curvy and very narrow, but oh my goodness was it beautiful?!! That's the dangerous part...You wanna look out the window so bad that controlling your vehicle gets put on the back burner. There was snow, and evergreen trees, and huge rock walls....It was amazing.

We stopped in Silverton to grab some breakfast & gas. While I was pumping our $3.09/gallon fuel, (GASP!!) I sent Beka in the store to ask about a good place to eat...We were a little hesitant to trust their judgement when Beka said the lady in the store said she needed to...and I quote..."breakdown and get one of those big computer type phones with internet". Ok I almost died laughing...she totally acted like she was gonna have to carry around a desktop computer in her pocket to make a phone call!! We finally decided to scope out the "Brown Bear Cafe" and it was delicious. So the lady clearly didn't know much about cell phones, but she definitely has her restaurants figured out. We had a yummy breakfast and were on the road again. We eased out of the Rocky Mountain scenery and arrived at our next stop Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde is truly amazing. The Pueblo Indians built their homes in the sides of the cliffs. It doesn't sound like much, but take time to look at the pictures. I think you'll be amazed at what these people accomplished with the little they had. Innovators.

The best preserved cliff dwelling

When we left Mesa Verde we were on our way to our Utah home of Moab! I could barely contain myself as we got closer and closer to Moab. We started to see red rock & it sounds crazy, but it really did feel like coming home....We had finally arrived & we were starved. We immeditaly met up with Momma & Daddy, and made dinner plans. Red Cliff Ranch was of course our choice for dinner...There are only pictures to describe this place because I have no words :) ...except that their ranch dressing i'm pretty sure is delivered by God himself....It's heavenly...On to the pictures...

MY 2nd HOME!

Red Cliff

Dinner on the terrace :)

....with this view!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Day 3 - Sasparilla & Snowcaps

After seeing corn field after corn field we finally made it to Dodge City, Kansas. We got to the campground kinda late so we decided we would get up early the next morning and go to "Boot Hill" Our cabin in Dodge City was set up like a cowboy bunkhouse....

Jenn & Bex said they felt like they were in prison, but I didn't mind it so much. Not sure what that says about how i'd like prison life, but to each his own I guess ;) The next morning (Day 3) we got up and headed into town. I was so excited because I was gonna surprise the girls by taking them to a little Doughnut shop that I found on the GPS. It was called "Daylight Doughnuts", and wouldn't ya know that when we pulled into the parking lot around 8:00 they were closed. I'm petitioning for them to change the name to "Mid-Morning Doughnuts"....We settled for McDonalds where I made a complete idiot of myself....It went a little something like this....

Drive-through guy - "Welcome to McDonald's can i take your order?"

Me - "Ahem...yes...Could I have an egg and cheese bagel with a coke and--..."

Drive-through guy - "We don't have bagels"

Me - "Oh....well ummm...hang on a second...Well we're from out of town"

Ok I simply felt like I needed to explain to him why I ordered a bagel...I mean we have bagels in Live Oak. Beka & Jenn are still making fun of me.....they said "Beth he doesn't care if you're from out of town....It's not gonna matter, and you still aren't getting a bagel!!"

So then I re-ordered, and left that McDonalds never to return!!

When we arrived at "Boot Hill" we had the whole place to ourselves. We shopped around in the gift shop a little while & then made our rounds through the town. I love that place. I'm pretty sure before I was supposed to be Ree Drummond, (see Pioneer Woman post) I was supposed to be Annie Oakley. I love the thought of walking in the same place that Wyatt Earp once walked. Those guys were the real deal!! We had sasparilla in the saloon & then made our way through the rest of the little town....Here are the pictures

The Big City

Fort Dodge Jail

Mr. Buffalo

This chair wanted to come home with me too, but I think the

"Savannah" chair would've been jealous...

When we left Dodge City we headed to Colorado. Since Utah has my heart, Colorado is my #2 love. It's beautiful....although after 8 million corn fields we would've appreciated anything. We headed through the snow capped Rocky Mountains into a small town called Ouray. Our cabin in Ouray was my favorite. It was so nice inside, had real mattresses on the beds, and a little furnace. It was soooo cozy....and yes!! I said furnace. It was 32 degrees when we got to the campground. After we checked in we went and had BBQ sandwiches in town, made our way home, & snuggled down for the night.

Our cozy cabin

We found an Alpaca!!!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Day 2 (Part II) - Just one second...

This afternoon had several hours of travel in store for us. The GPS kept trying to take us a different route than what we had mapped, but i kept ignoring it & we stuck to our original plan. Highway 50. Beka was driving, and Jenn & I were snapping pictures like crazy people. I love to take pictures...I don't love it as in "make it a career". I love it as in you only have seconds to get that one shot...then it's gone. That one second. That one picture. The emotion & feeling that you see in people's faces when they soak in that picture. It's an art. I want to be able to create that kind of emotional art...So back to today...Beka is driving and the day had been pretty uneventful. I had taken pictures like these...

So it was nothing great...Kansas sign & corn. There was nothing in Kansas but corn, so that's what I shot. After a while the sky began to darken and it began to pour. Beka drove while I prayed. I honestly thought my next photo opp would be a tornado. After what seemed like an eternity, we could see clear skies in the distance. The sun was setting and it created a canvas for pictures like these...

I was in love with these two pictures. They are straight out of camera shots. No editing or photoshop. I was proud. So we continue to drive. We were getting close to clear skies when I happened to glance over my left shoulder and saw the slightest rainbow. I immediately told Beka to pull over so I could get a picture...She did. I jumped out of the truck and realized that there were now two rainbows. I started clicking away. As i'm snapping, the rainbows literally came to life. They became an array of vivid colors. I'd never seen anything so bright...then as they brightened they stretched out all the way across the sky. These changes were happening in seconds. I could barely contain myself. Here I am, standing in the middle of Highway 50, in the middle of nowhere, hair blowing madly out of control, rain beginning to come down, and i'm literally almost crying. I still cannot grasp the concept that I was there...at that exact spot...at the right second. I had fought the GPS all day, I had prayed away the rain, & my amazing God used both of those things and gave me the perfect second. Here is what he gave me in that second....

I couldn't get the WHOLE thing in my lens....I will be buying a panoramic lens as soon as I get home!!!

Day 2 - Welcome to the top!

Day 2 has been AMAZING. We woke up early, and set out to go see the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. It is one of the most unbelievable things I have ever laid eyes on. I've seen it from a distance, and thought "ok that's cool"....and that was it. However, today...I touched it, studied it, and was completely taken with it. I cannot fathom the depth of the architectual & mechanical minds of this creation. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures.

Behind this door was the capsule we rode in to get us to the top

Here's the capsule...It fits 5 people (bareley). 4 Minutes to the top.

Amazing shot Jenn helped me capture! She accidentally found the shadow of the Arch :)

The second part of Day 2 deserved its own post....I can't wait for you to read it!!!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Wild Wild West Tour Day 1 - Go Time!!

Today was our first official full day on our road trip. We left Live Oak yesterday around 4:30pm and drove up to Atlanta. Jennifer's Aunt & Uncle were nice enough to let her and 2 strangers (Beka & I) stay the night at their house. THANK YOU GUYS SOOOO MUCH! Their house is gorgeous! Words can't even describe it, so be thankful I got pictures!! We are so grateful for them and their hospitality!

Today was a LONG day of driving, but with Beka & Jenn it's never boring. I have laughed my head off all day. We stopped at the every state sign to snap pictures. We've been through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, & Illinois. It was our longest travel day, but we made great time and reached our destination earlier than expected. Tonight we're staying in the cutest little cabin, and when I say little...I mean TINY. It's cozy though, & it's a place to sleep so i'm happy. We are so exhausted. As i'm writing, both of the other girls are having sweet dreams....and one of them is snoring! LOL! I won't tell who though ;) I, on the other hand, decided it would be a good decision to eat Pops cereal in bed..which is something I never do...and now i'll be sleeping with Pops crumbs. Which is gross! I should probably try to get them out without waking Beka up & go to bed myself...early day tomorrow! We are headed to the Gateway Arch!! So excited. I'll tell ya all about it soon!