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Greetings from "the road" - a road we've longed to journey down again! We spent the past week visiting my family in Phoenix, Arizona, but since we drove there from Colorado (about 700 miles or 1100 km) we got to see some pretty spectacular scenery along the way. It's one of those roads less traveled - even for many Americans - down through Four Corners and across the vast desert expanse of northern Arizona.
We began our trip with a drive west and south through Colorado. I would love to write an enthralling description of the San Juan mountains and the majesty of Ouray, Silverton, and Durango, but alas, our drive consisted of six hours of rain and snow. It's sort of a tragedy, as this part of Colorado is considered by many to be the most beautiful part of the state, but unfortunately the weather just wasn't in our favor. We stopped for the night in Durango before continuing on the next day to the Four Corners monument (in the middle of the Navajo reservation). It's the only place in the US where you can stand in four states at once - pretty nifty! The drive from there through
The Million Dollar Highway
The precipitous road between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado. Arizona is stark, but I've always found beauty in the openness of the desert. Red buttes, a panorama of blue sky, wildflowers in bloom - what's not to love?
Foreigners we've met in our travels always ask for advice on what to see when they visit America, and I'm always quick to point them towards this part of the country. Don't get me wrong - New York, LA, Miami, etc are all great places to see and experience American culture. But to truly see the country, you have to get out of the cities and journey out west. We have some incredible one-of-a-kind sights here, from Monument Valley to Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon to Yosemite. To me, those are the settings that make this country unique!
The clouds disappeared the second we crossed into Arizona, promising a week of warm weather and plentiful sunshine. We spent our time there visiting my parents, brother, and our beloved Denali, took a trip out to the Wildlife World Zoo (one of the top 30 in the country), and soaked up some sun at Bartlett Lake, northeast of Phoenix. Overall it was great to just slow down for a breather after
Four Corners
The only place in the USA where four states meet - Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. 2+ years of nonstop work, school, and planning.
Yesterday we took a 4-hour flight across the country to south Florida, where we'll be spending the next 10 days catching up with old friends and visiting Jeremy's family. Our secondary goal is to get as much sun as possible to transform our pasty white winter pallor into nice tan skin that's fit for life on the equator! This blog contains 23 photos, so be sure to scroll down to view them all. (Alternately, you can click on the first photo and scroll through them at full size from there).
Catch you guys soon! In the meantime, I need to get outside and work on that whole "tan" thing...
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Laurie
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Farewell dear friends
It is the blessing of Jehovah that makes one rich, And He adds no pain with it.... You have sacrificed and worked hard to go on this spiritual adventure... Keep putting Jehovahs Kingdom first and he will take care of you.. We're very proud of you... love you, Laurie