Road Trip

Yes, I finally found the cord that connects my camera to my laptop! Actually my dad found it. I left it at home... so he mailed it to me. Finally, I am able to share the pictures from my road trip to Utah! Take a look.

 The drive from South Texas to Utah is... really long. Two of my good friends Robert and Phillip drove up with me, in my two seater truck I might add... it was a little bit cramped but really fun. We made it to Roswell the first day, and spent the night with a friend. The next morning we woke up early and hit the road. Since we all have made that drive several times before we decided to take a new route. Normally we would go through Albuquerque and the bottom corner of Colorado, but we decided to go up through Santa Fe and spend a little bit more time in Colorado. I am very glad we did. Somewhere between Santa Fe and Colorado we started to get into a really scenic area, and since we had been in the car forever already we decided to make a stop. We ended up running into a "natural amphitheater". Best thing ever.

 We hiked into the amphitheater and spent fifteen minutes just yelling and singing just to listen to the echo. It was awesome.

 We also came across Jay "Rock" Leno. Please tell me you see the resemblance.

Found some "precious" stone.

 It was especially difficult for us to get back in that tiny little car and drive away, but we did. The drive through Colorado was gorgeous. We stopped at a restaurant called "Restaurant" (clever name eh?) in some  little town in the mountains.

Once we got into Utah we stopped at Wilson Arch, which is the largest, and just so happens to be right off the highway. We hiked up into the arch (something I had never done before).

I just kept thinking "This is huge!" See how small Rob and Phil look in comparison.

 We watched the sunset. Kinda.

 Besides the fact that I almost died hiking around this thing, it was amazing. A reminder to me of how beautiful this world is. I had the best time on that road trip.

Carli

Today I am grateful to be home.

I had a wonderful weekend up in Austin spending time with family. My little cousin Emily is a bundle of energy who kept me on my toes all weekend! The time was overall relaxing. It was a nice step away from work, blogging, the internet world, and everything else. I even started reading again! I spent a lot of time in the pool, dodging nerf gun bullets, and watching my brother and cousin play video games. I even took a trip to IKEA. That place never get's old. I often wonder if I could live there without being caught. I wish I could have stayed in Austin longer. After that four hour drive back home, I am glad to be able to sleep in my own bed and see my dad (he didn't go).

Home sweet home.
Carli

Road Trip: Smokey the Bear.

On our way home I made my Dad drive the slightly longer way just so that we could drive through Capitan New Mexico and go to Smokey the Bear's memorial museum and grave site. I have been many times before, but somehow it never gets old. It takes just about an hour to go through and is great for the kiddos. Something about a little orphan bear cub that was saved from a fiery home and went on to advocate fire safety is just beautiful (and makes me emotional.... I am a mess.)

The coolest part about the museum is all of the Smokey memorabilia. Most of it is vintage and very cool. Also, not for sale... which is sad because there were a couple posters I wanted to take home. I also wanted Smokey the Bear salt and pepper shakers.

I did pick up this little key chain for me (and one for a friend)! 

And remember... Only you can prevent forest fires.

Carli

P.S. You can check out some other stops from my Road Trip too!

Valley of Fire, Trinity Site, Route 66 Diner, Arches National Park, Salt Lake City, 

Snap Shots

Road Trip: Route 66 in black and white.

This was probably one of my favorite moments of our entire trip. The route 66 diner has been a family favorite for, well, before I was born! Every year when we go to Albuquerque for the balloon fiesta we stop by the Route 66 diner and relive the 50's. My mom and I always get a pumpkin pie milkshake then dream about it for the rest of the year. Since we were planning on stopping in Albuquerque for the night, we thought it would be fun to make a stop at the diner for dinner. Who ever thought of doing that (my dad) is genius.

Because I am not a very good photographer and that the place was crawling with red neon, my pictures didn't turn out as planned... so they are in black & white to hide the crazy lighting. But I kind of like them that way. I think they look like they came from an old roll of film. It's kinda like I was actually there in the 50's!

 Ok I lied... There is one in color.

 Chicken pot pie heaven.

 Story: I ordered the Pumpkin Pie shake but they were out of season and I was sad. I usually am in Albuquerque in October, hence pumpkin pie shakes... I ended up ordering an Elvis shake which consists of peanut butter and bananas. Heaven. My dad thought that it was gross (without trying it). Has the man never had a peanut butter and banana sandwich?! Does he even live on planet earth?! 

So if you ever find yourself in the vicinity of Albuquerque, New Mexico it would definitely be worth your time to go to the Route 66 Diner (on historic Route 66) and then go to Old Town. 

I was really sad when we left the next morning because I have so many memories there.

Carli

Road Trip: Arches National Park

If you ever find yourself in the southeastern part of Utah I would definitely recommend taking a drive through Arches National Park. I had driven by it 

 times before and had no idea that it was so stunning! 

 Brain Rock.

 If you do ever end up going bring lots of water, wear sunscreen, sturdy shoes, sunglasses, a sunhat, and definitely your camera. It was so hot! To get to some of the arches there are trails that are really only hard because they are continuously uphill, but luckily there are a few arches close to the road.

I took a bunch of pictures on film, so if they turn out I'll post them too.

Carli