It is Good to Be Here

I recently read an article in a travel magazine about how the phrase "You are here." It talked about how that simple phrase can mean so much. It tells you to look at your exact location at this moment and the purpose of it, but the other thing it brings to mind is since you are here, where are you going next? :)  I love this concept because I'm always looking towards what's coming "next" but it's so important to value the NOW.  At camp this summer, the theme was "It is Good to be Here" and I think that's something we should make be our goal in life -- to not just be content where we are, but to enjoy it! Sometimes this is easier than others but I know right now I can say, "It is good to be here." 

I can't believe we've been back in Ohio for a month now! I'm enjoying every moment! We're visiting with friends, spending lots of time with family and getting into the swing of trying to set up a new life here. 

Here is some things we've been up to....

Our final stop on the road trip was St. Louis!  

{Sorry a post never made it up about that.}

We went up to Cleveland to see Brian's family the first weekend we were back and we also celebrated my niece's and my birthdays! 

Then I got to celebrate my birthday with my family!! We didn't do much, but it was perfect.

I thought maybe I'd miss the beauty of the Northwest, but I'm finding that there is beauty everywhere. (Though a mountain in the distance or a short drive to the ocean would be nice.)  

I've started too many projects as usual and right now we're in the middle of making Corn hole boards. Really, it's become Brian's project. 

 My cousins Kayla, Lauren and I went to a Monarch event at a local park.

Brian's brother has officially become a Petty Officer in the Navy! It was so neat to be there for that event.

The newest thing this week was my brother's cow had a calf! She's so little and cute!

The majority of my life has just been hanging out with family and working with the most precious preschoolers! I have been taking LOTS of pictures of them, but I don't have permission to put them up here. :) Maybe some day soon!  

I am taking a college photography class (it just started last week) so hopefully there will be some fun pictures soon! 

For now, I hope that whatever you're doing and wherever  here may be that you find "it is good to be here."

Road Trip Days 13, 14 & 15 :: Purple Mountain Majesty

The last three days have involved a lot of driving, challenging some fears, and exploring this part of beautiful Colorado.  I don't necessarily see the "purple" in the mountains, but Brian thinks it MUST be there if the song says it is!  The majority of Thursday was spent DRIVING, except that we took a pitstop in Golden, CO to ride an alpine slide.  

I don’t know what possessed me to suggest it because by the time we got to the top of the ski-lift type thing, I could barely talk I was so nervous. It was SO high!

{The height made it so we could see Denver though!}

It was actually a lot of fun and when we got to the bottom, I wished we had bought the three pack of tickets instead of just one each!  

After the alpine slide, we stopped at Rock Rock Canyon where there are concerts held in the rocks above the city. {It would be pretty neat to watch a concert from there!}  We kept driving after that and stopped in Boulder for dinner at Panera and so that I could have an interview on the phone. 

We arrived at Rocky Mountain (finally -- 1 day late) and set up camp. There were signs and warnings EVERYwhere about bears! I spent pretty much the next 48 hours praying that the bears would STAY away.  I had a semi-irrational fear that they would just come and get me in my sleep. (They did stay away! Whew.) 

Friday morning we got up and switched campsites (we didn’t have reservations for another night). We also drove up to Bear Lake...

Then we went into Estes Park because I was expecting a call about the job and I found out I got it! YAY! I will be an assistant at a preschool 30 hours a week. This will hopefully allow me to then pursue other things {photography?!} as well as get more training in the preschool world.  

The town of Estes Park is a good combination of cute and touristy.  (There were almost no empty stores which is impressive and different than most towns we went through.)  We got giant cookies from Grandma’s Cookies (they weren’t good), souvenir shopped, went to a bookstore, a SCRAPBOOK store (I’ve been deprived lately because my stuff has been packed away for months), and ate lunch at a place called Penelope's (they had good burgers).  {As a side note, the bookstore was really neat by itself, BUT they had a box of “free” books at their backdoor that they are “advanced copies” and not sell-able.  I want to get on THAT mailing list please or at least find another bookstore close to me that gives away those kind of books too!}

After being in town for most of the morning, we drove back into the park and drove around the top of the park. The drive is GORGEOUS and there were many places to stop and take pictures. There were also storms rolling in which made photo taking both fun and challenging. 

{The storm moving in is off to the right.}

When we got to the Alpine Visitor’s center, which is 11,000+ feet, we had coffee at “Cafe in the Clouds” and watched the elk from the warm and dry inside. 

We drove back to our campsite and made grilled cheese for dinner before getting into our tent barely before it started to pour! I don’t mind being in our tent when it’s raining. It is kind of relaxing. 

This morning, we got up and packed up the site.  We planned on stopping at the outlet mall in Loveland and so that was our first goal. It was actually really lame. Most of the stores are closed, but the community is using the empty shops for things like Boy Scouts, dance groups, a workout facility, etc. It just wasn’t very good shopping. 

We continued on to make it to our campsite reservations at a KOA a 1/2 hour outside of Denver {with quick stops at a Borders to see if there was any good deals and the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to get the Rapid’s tickets for tonight.}.  We got to the KOA and took the first shower in over 48 hours and it was heavenly!  By 3:30, we were ready to go explore downtown Denver a little bit. 

Denver is a VERY unique city.  I know that I should be used to Portland and even Chicago with uniqueness, but those felt like “my” cities so I feel safe and confident.  I think it’s also coming from almost 2 weeks of small towns and being out in nature that I was shocked by the amounts and craziness of people. The area we were in was a street called “The 16th St Mall” and it traveled for blocks and blocks. There is even a free bus that you can take up and down it. There are beautiful flowers in the center, lots of different decorations (from painted pianos to metal buffalos).  There are a variety of shops from chains to individually owned ones. Our FAVORITE stop was a bookstore called “Tattered Cover.” It was like Powells, but almost more personal feeling because it wasn’t as large and the way it was set up was creative and welcoming.  I felt like I was in someone’s really nice, book-covered home! 

We had dinner at Noodles and Company because they were started in Denver. Then we went to a Rapids vs Chivas MLS game. It was a different experience as well because we were by the 25 people in the WHOLE stadium who were there to cheer for the Chivas and MAN were they loud. It was neat that Brian got to go to a game while we are here though!

Tomorrow we’re starting the long drive home. We have a couple more quick stops on the way, but, unless something happens, we plan on being in Ohio by Monday evening! Then the REAL adventure begins. ;-)

Road Trip Days 11 & 12 :: Home Sweet Cortez

The last couple days were pretty crazy, but mixed in was one God thing after another.  I am currently reading Queen of the Road, by Doreen Orion, about her travels in a bus converted to an RV with her husband for a year. At one point in their journey, they are told by another couple that they hope they run into some hardships so they can see how kind people are.  That might not always feel true, but what an great God we have that he can make the most out of even stressful situations. (All God things will be marked with a *.) The beginning of this post won’t have many pictures, sorry! 

We decided we would take the 2 1/2 hour drive down to Mesa Verde National Park and so got up and on the road. When we were in Cortez, CO, just 10 miles from the park entrance to Mesa Verde, we were coming up to an intersection and our car’s engine just turned off.  We tried to turn it back on, but it didn’t work, so a couple of older gentlemen jumped out of their cars and helped us push our car out of the way.*  We called AAA and a tow truck came and got us to a car shop in less than an hour.* The place was called “D & L Services” and it was kind of on the outskirts of town. They were really nice, but said they wouldn’t get able to get to the car until after lunch at 1pm (and it was currently 11am). They offered to take us somewhere to eat or just hang out, but they had wifi and we had food so we stayed. (Plus, I thought if we were visible they would have a little more pressure to get the car worked on.)  Well, 1pm rolled around and they couldn’t initially find anything wrong and so wanted to run the car until it stopped working so they could see what was going wrong.  Two hours later, I was going CRAZY. I think I had a pretty good attitude until this point and then I just needed OUT of there. So, we took them up on their offer to take us somewhere. We went into town where there was a park, Colorado Visitor’s center and a cute little coffee shop called Let it Grow.* (haha YES this is a God-thing when you’re going crazy.)  

I called my dad and he helped me feel a little better about the process.* We  met a really kind lady at the Visitor’s Center who talked to us for a long time and gave us advice about Mesa Verde (even though we didn’t know if we’d ever make it there).*  When we got back to the D&L right before 5pm, they said they still didn’t have a 100% accurate diagnosis because the car never stopped running in over 3 hours! They said it was a 90% chance it was the fuel pump.  We had a few options, ranging from doing nothing and waiting to see what happens (with a couple thousand miles to still go home with lots of “nothing” in between) to waiting until the next morning and they would replace it first thing (this part being something that should be “tuned up” every once in awhile and has NEVER been since it’s birth in 1993).  With our camping stuff and clothes in Moab, we decided we’d stay the night in Cortez.  We went to a restaurant  called “Lotsa Pasta” (again thanks to the recommendation of Laura :)) and it was amazing! 

We stayed at a cheap hotel called Budget Host Inn and it was kind of grungy. However, the next morning we got up and were waiting at the car shop when the guys arrived at 8am.  The owner (who is SUPER kind and very sociable 65 year old man who doesn’t want to retire because he enjoys working)* took us back into the town, planning on picking us up when our car was done. We went back to the Visitor’s Center and purchased 3pm tour tickets for “Cliff Palace” one of the dwellings in Mesa Verde, hoping we’d be able to make it for the time.  Then we went to the post office, another cute coffee shop and I went and got my nails filled in.

We got a call a little after 10am that our car was done. When we were picking it up, the owner told us to call him if we had any problems so that he could tell the next person what they had done/tried OR if we made it all the way home so he knew we got there alright. (He was great!) 

We spent the afternoon exploring the ruins at Mesa Verde. It was a VERY cool park and it was like lots of little towns close together because there were so many different ruins. 

{Brian coming out of a kiva.}

It was neat to drive around and explore the ones that were open to everyone, but I am so glad we did the group tour of “Cliff Palace.” Our National Park’s guide was part Navajo and part Pueblo and his perspective on everything was a little more personal than some tours would be.  He talked about how these were people just like us- with the same brains, hearts, feelings, etc. We need to respect their history, just as we want to be respected, and not thing of them as “uncivilized” or like there was something wrong with them, but just that they lived in a different time with different resources.  

We left Cortez around 5pm, and I felt like we were leaving a place we’d really come to know. The town was cute with fun shops and restaurants and the people were so kind.  We got back to our campsite at 7:30pm. We are so grateful to this campsite as well because they let us extend our stay by another night and worked with us through the whole situation. 

We went out for snowcones/icecream when we got back and LOOK! The “Tropical Sno” has been around since 1984 -- the same as as me! 

Now we’re back in Colorado making our way to Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s so fun to see GREEN hills/trees and Starbucks at every other exit again! 

Road Trip Day 10 :: Arches

The morning of Day 10 was very productive but would not be very exciting to hear about.  I got a bunch of computer/application work done and used up every minute up to our 11am checkout time. Then we went to the grocery store and got to Arches a little after noon.  It was SO hot.  

It's a smaller National Park, there isn't a lot of the amenities like the other parks {shade, water, etc}, but that also meant that there were less people.  We hiked up to a few of the arches including...

{Double Arch}

{North Arch}

Then we just drove through the rest of the park because it was SO HOT.  We had plans to come back around sunset to walk to the Delicate Arch, so we went to set up our campsite and just cool down.  In the midst of the desert, our campgrounds, River Oasis, really is a cool and relaxing place to be.  It's one of the nicest campgrounds we've been to- free wifi, showers, green grass, trees, etc.  Because we're AAA members, we also got a discount, so for two nights it was less than $40! We set up the tent, read, got on the computer and took naps. It was a perfect break in the middle of the afternoon.

After PB and J dinner (no campfires allowed) we went back into Arches to hike to the Delicate Arch. We were not the only ones who thought this was a good plan because we had to park FAR from the parking lot.  It's another "strenuous" hike (3 miles round trip) and they weren't kidding! (Thank you Laura for the recommendation of this hike!)

This is the start of the path. (That is our shadows.)  Do you see the slick rock on the upper left? That's what we're heading to and up and over. 

This is the view looking down that steep rock and the sun getting lower. It kind of felt like we were racing the sun.

All the hard walk, blisters and everything was worth it when we got up to this...

We got there in time to watch the sun set on it, turning all the dark reds to really rich colors.  It was beautiful.  

Here are just SOME the people we experienced it with:

I look disgusting because we had just gotten up to the arch, but if you get a chance, take your time and lots of water! It's worth it.   {Do you see that headband I'm wearing? It's so fun! They sell them in some of the Visitor Centers and they're called Blu Bandoo. You soak it in cool water for 5 minutes and it keeps you cool for hours! Really, it just stays wet for hours, but it really does help! I LOVE it!}

We had two nights at our campsite, so we decided we would take a drive down to Mesa Verde National Park and we are almost there.  We are in Cortez, CO with car issues. We're not sure what's wrong yet, but hopefully it's a simple fix so we can be on our way.  A couple God things though - we broke down in a town AND the auto shop has free wifi! :)

Road Trip Day 9 :: A Desert Storm

Yesterday we left Zion around 8:30am and drove east. Our first stop was at Bryce Canyon National Park, just a little after 10am. This park has a variety of overlooks and hikes around things called Hoodoos, and they are uniquely shaped pillars of red rocks and dirt.   

Bryce also had a really good gift shop. I am very impressed with all the gift shops in the National Parks system. Sometimes they have stuff that repeats, but there are always new things to look at at every location that both apply to the specific park and just to nature in general. 

{The town right outside of Bryce is REALLY cute! They have teepees you can stay in and other campgrounds, a rodeo weekly from Wed-Sat in April through October and an old west town. I wish we would have known, but we had to fly through. SO, if you find yourself in Bryce, plan on spending some extra time there!}

We left Bryce around 12pm and figured we'd find something along the way to eat. The problem is that the small towns are mainly run by Mormons (it's Utah!) and so most of the stuff was closed.  However, around mile post 73 on State Route 12 (in the middle of nowhere), we found Kiva Koffee House. A kiva is a native american word for a shelter built into the ground, and their sign said they served lunch. I think it's been my FAVORITE random stop on this trip! 

{You can't see this from the road. All you can see is the sign.}

It was a beautiful circular restaurant built into the side of the rock, overlooking the rocky desert landscape. There was a fire pit in the center, but no chimney because the smoke goes out the center of the roof.  The food was served by and live music played by very laid back people... aka hippie-types, and it was SO cool because of that. If you find yourself in this area check it out!

After lunch we continued on to Capitol Reef National Monument (this is a FREE national park) and this is also when the storms started rolling in. Dark skies and thunder accompanied us through this park. 

{Can you find Brian in this picture?}

It had more uniquely shaped rock and also some of the original buildings from the original settlers (Mormons).

They also had some petroglyphs...

They also have some rocks that are "waterfold" (I don't really understand what it means though I've read about it a couple times), but at the viewing point it started to pore down rain and hail.

So, we said goodbye to Capitol Reef and finished our drive to Moab (just outside of Arches National Park).  We checked into our hotel, the Moab Valley Inn, and then walked around town. There are lots of neat shops and restaurants. Because of the storms going on, there was also a beautiful sunset (that we could only see glimpses of) and a double FULL rainbow. It was beautiful. We got pizza from a place called Paradox (DELICIOUS) and pretty much collapsed into our lovely hotel bed.   We're heading into Arches today!