So Then What Happened Was...

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It's been almost one week since we returned and the most consistent comment from anyone has been "so then what happened? Your blog left us hanging!" Before I tie this incredible trip up, let me recap the last blissful days of our journey.

I left off as we arrived in Escalante, Utah. Easily becoming one of our favorite places, this town is small and surrounded by the most amazing mountains and petrified sandstone formations. The vast majority of our visit this year was during a thunderstorm - seems to be the story of our trip, huh? But we welcomed the rain and the thunder and lightening. We both felt tired and appreciated two quiet days to unwind and reminisce about our travels.

The house is owned by a couple who live next door - a bit nosey, but very friendly and always suggesting hikes and outings to local points of interest. We were much more interested in lounging in their amazing rental house. The night of our arrival we cooked pasta and watched documentaries late into the night.

The next morning, Jim woke me up to see the wild jackrabbits that had hoped into the yard as they peered longingly at the beautiful vegetable garden nearby. Being our only full day in Escalante, we had a nice, quiet lunch of freshly made calzones with ingredients that we selected and then drove up the canyon to see what we could see. We knew rain was eminent but had no idea just how dark those clouds would get! That storm chased us all the way home. We decided we would cook again that night and visited the very understocked grocery store and after a failed attempt to capture lightening on camera, we retired back to the rental property. The owners had encouraged us to visit the garden for salad fixins -- and that was quite possibly the best salad I have ever eaten!

Heading to Las Vegas the next day was a long, twisting drive through Bryce into Nevada. We stayed at the Rio for the first time and called ahead to make arrangements for an early check in -- so did 150 other people. After a 1.5 hour check in process, we were settled into the last two days of our trip. Hard to believe we could actually see home on the horizon at this point and that the trip was over!! But not until we had a chance to whoop in up a bit in Vegas.

We played the slot machines, Jim played the craps table a bit, but the majority of our time was in the sports book betting on the ponies! We both came away with winnings -- precisely what you hope for on a trip to Vegas!! And karma aside, we won money on the New Orleans Saints pre-season game and doubled our bet!!

Because we had "stolen" and extra day of vacation, we awoke at 5:00am to make our escape and avoid traffic. I believe had we even been 5 minutes late, we would have undermined that whole plan. The drive was bittersweet. I know we were both happy to come home, but not for the adventures to come to a close. We arrived home to our lovely apartment at noon to find everything exactly as we had left things.

Before I sign off on this trip, I'd like to share a few of my "best moments, best parts, favorites":

• having a whole four, uninterrupted weeks with my husband and best friend as we explored and had all these amazing experiences. I can't wait for our next adventure!!

• The hot sun of Arizona on my face.

• Riding a bike down the aisle of Walmart in El Paso, wandering through the store eating McDonald's cheeseburgers.

• Visiting Threadgill's in Austin and buying my cowboy boots.

• Discovering The Flying Saucer in Houston.

• EVERYTHING in New Orleans! Falling in love with the Saints (my first own football team!!), dancing late one night with Jim to It's a Beautiful World, eating oysters, frozen hand grenades

• Barbecue in Saint Louis!! Visiting the Eisenhower and Truman libraries.

• Surviving the storm in Kansas.

• The waterfall in Colorado, the lovely handcrafted beers.

• The red rock of Moab, the patio at Gonzo Inn, "stealing" an extra day of vacation.

• Getting chased by a storm in Escalante and how the juniper smells after rain.

• Winning money on "my team" in Vegas!

Thanks to all for traveling along with us, for our comments of encouragement as we made our way and for easing us back into the real world when we returned. It was a joy to share this with you all! Stay tuned, this was just the beginning!!

Love, Dena

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Photos

The View from La Luz
Escalante, Utah

The Storm that Chased Us
Escalante, Utah