~the view from along the way~

We finally made it home.

By mid-afternoon we pulled into the driveway here at home along the Western Slopes and began the arduous process of unpacking the car.  It didn't take that long as we worked together and before we knew it all that was left in the car were the 1,900 miles that we put on it during the course of the trip.  It was good to break the new Jeep in and to do what my father would have referred to as "getting all of the cobs blown out".   Mike drove all the way and when I wasn't busy watching the inside of my eyelids, I kind of/sort of helped to navigate.  It is always a wonderful thing to make a journey of any kind, especially one this long, without trouble along the way.  God watched over us and gave us safe passage in the going out and in the coming back.  You will never convince me otherwise.

And so, it is back to normal here, whatever that might be.

It's the early morning hours and I slept in until 4:30 a.m. instead of my usual 4:00 time of getting up.  Sally the dog was glad to be able to go back to her normal routine of getting a bathroom break and a treat before returning to her place of rest by Mike's side of the bed.  Crosby the cat is glad that someone, anyone decided to come back home.  She is now under the butcher block table and happily enjoying a drink from Sally's water container.  Although both of them were cared for by great people, I think that if we would have chosen to be gone any longer we might have found them walking down 50 highway, their backpacks in hand.  Looks like we might have been missed by them.

Being away from home for nearly a week wasn't easy at times and by about Wednesday we knew that it was time to head back.  Much would be awaiting us and since there was little more that we could do, we packed up the car and left out in the early morning hours on Wednesday.  Mike decided that we would go back another route, one that would take us to see some places that he wanted to show me.  After a brief stop in Las Vegas to see the infamous part of the city referred to as "The Strip", we headed out for southwestern Utah and a chance to see Zion National Park.  It was a detour worth taking.  The photos below show some of the sights we were able to see during our 2 hour stay there.

                                ~the mile long tunnel that cuts through the mountain~

                       
                       ~the beautiful colors and striking rock formations that abound there~

Yesterday as we continued to travel home we caught up with I70 near the Utah town of Richfield.  After enjoying a good breakfast we headed out towards home.  Thankfully we decided that it was "ok" to slow down a bit and to take a moment to enjoy some of the landscape from the scenic views just off of the interstate.  What breathtaking images we were able to see!  They are shown in the photos below.

                                         I have come to appreciate "interesting trees".  

     Flat Stanley from Mrs. Morris' kindergarten class enjoyed the journey with us.

Mike was right when he said that if we didn't stop and pull off the road that we'd miss most of the best scenery.  For once, we slowed down and enjoyed the beauty that this land has to offer.  

And so, it's back to normal now.  It's time for me to return to "the 21" and my life as a teacher at Olathe Elementary.  I have missed them and realized even more just how much they mean to me.  Our time together is growing shorter and there is so much to be done before sending them on to second grade in the fall upcoming.  Those little people mean the whole world to me and I love them each very much.  Where did the past nearly 6 months go?  Time flies when you are learning how to read and write.  It flies even faster when it is spent doing what you were destined to do from the beginning.  

They call me "teacher" and that makes my heart happy.