The Epic 5-day Roadtrip: The sights and experience

The four of us drove out to Colorado and back to New Jersey in 5 days. You don't have to tell me; I already know that it sounds insane.    It was.     It took an immense amount of energy and a lot of teamwork. I learned that I probably have more energy than even I expected, sleeping minimally and still having in depth conversations with the driver as the other two slept in the back. The sunrise, state crossing signs, and mileage countdowns were like little victories.  But it was one of those trips that was more about the drive; the process of getting to the destination.  All four of us needed that much needed "drive therapy" to nurture that adventurous spirit we each have.

It was a productive time, as it always is for me in the car as I finished a book, "The Glass Castle" (it was a disturbing read but featured a few road trip stories at least...), spun two skeins of yarn, wrote a few lesson plans, worked on an embroidery, fell asleep with the sun on my face, and took photos on the go.  Although, I must say, our destination in Colorado was well worth the time and energy, even if we did only enjoy it for two days. Our other destination on the way home, Kentucky, was the other highlight of the journey. Daimon and I are already planning to go back this summer to tour more caves, photograph all the roadside attractions, collect rocks, and appreciated the weird and beautiful of that peculiar state.

We had the best weather; sunny every day and moderately warm.  The last 5 hours of the drive home were grueling, especially since we drove right through a snow storm.  

 I think we were all ready to sleep in an impossible horizontal position whenever we were in Nebraska, which we had to drive through twice.  Passing through St. Louis while the crew was asleep was a very strange drive, especially as I passed the multicolored, illuminated science center at 4 am.   Each sunrise was completely different from the day before. We ate in a smoking section in Kentucky, really studying the accents of the patrons eating and chatting by us. We got a tour of the largest cave system in the world, Mammoth Caves, and our tourguide was like a character in a childrens' book. I wish I could have photographed him! 

Illinois had no shortage of windmills that dominated the landscape. What we didn't expect to see were trucks carrying enormous windmill parts. 

We paused the Dumb and Dumber soundtrack and the car fell silent for a while after we spotted these in the distance. We had only imagined what they'd look like after hours of driving.

In one of the videos we took from the trip, you can hear all of us screaming at the top of our lungs when we saw the glorious Stanley Hotel nestled in the mountainside. 

We saw a herd of caribou, a beautiful buck walking through the snow at the Rocky Mountains State Park, and a bald eagle.  Since I grew up on the east coast, and appreciated the mountains of New York State and the Blue Ridge Mountains, I was speechless as we drove through the state park.  I could not compare it to anything I had seen before. It was all too fitting that I had recently seen Revenant (crossing my fingers it gets a few Oscars this year!) and imagined what it'd be like to spend the night in this kind of wilderness. It gave me a new appreciation for our warm truck to run back to and my warm clothing!

I took this panorama shot in hopes to capture the boys climbing and exploring, but also the mountains that surrounded us, watching us as we looked right back.

Daimon found a rock seat, with a perfectly cut hole just for me to squeeze my toosh into.

 After exploring, cleaning up, and relaxing from our very long journey, we all dressed up and had the best meal at the hotel. We also had the privilege of going to a show at the hotel.

It was 6am when I woke up in my bed at the Stanley Hotel. I snuck outside into the freezing cold with a tea in hand and watched the sun come up over the mountains. I was awestruck, and said a wish, but also felt a deep moment of gratitude for the experience. How could you not!

Keep an eye out for the next post featuring the weird and unusual sights of the road trip.