~from a place far away~

From the mountains of Colorado, good morning dear friends and family~

We have been on a long journey, Mike and I.  Almost 2,000 miles on the road later, we have landed in Grand Junction and got a great night's sleep last evening.  It's so nice today to not have to get in the car in order to get to the next state on the travel trail.  We give thanks to our good friends, Mel and Margaret, for sharing their home with us today.  It's always good to be among friends and the Southams are the best folks around.

The trip along the way has taken us through west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, and now our old home in Colorado.  We have seen landscape so very different from that which we are used to in our part of Texas.  The Great American Desert is not a place I would ever care to live in but I did appreciate the chance to see the many sights along the way.  

Sunday's temperatures in Arizona and California pushed well beyond the 100 degree mark. Still 2 hours away from our final destination in Twentynine Palms, the thermometer that registers the outdoor temperature climbed very quickly to 118.  It was a good time to remember just how blessed we were that our car was in good running condition and that the AC was able to keep us reasonably comfortable.  A person never thinks about things like that until they find themselves in the middle of bumper to bumper cars in a single lane of traffic that backs up the better part of 5 miles or more, all in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

God watched over us all the way.

Yesterday we had the chance to visit the Arches National Monument near Moab, Utah.  It was something that we had wanted to do for a long time, especially while we were living here.  Since we were so close by, Mike and I decided to go ahead and make the trip there.  It was hot but this is summertime.  You have to expect it.  The scenery was absolutely beautiful and truly was a science lesson in the great outdoors.  If you love geology, then you will love a trip to the Arches.  I was able to capture some of the photos shown below.

Our first thought was that it looks like someone reclining on a couch, albeit a very uncomfortable one.

The land is filled with such interesting landscape feature.  I loved this tree and the huge clouds that appeared behind it.

It was quite a hike to get to any of the arches and Mike did head up to one of them.  I decided to sit it out in the 100 degree heat.  Maybe when the weather is cooler we will return.

Old Glory was flying in the beautiful blue Utah sky.  It was waving proudly in the breeze.

It was nice to stand in the shade for this photo.  The blazing sun beat down hard upon the park yesterday.

It was so wonderful to add this park to the list of those we have visited.  Check out the national park nearest you!

We are preparing to leave the Grand Junction area soon and will travel towards the south and spend time with friends in the Olathe/Montrose communities.  By the weekend we will already be heading towards home in Texas.  In all of our comings and going, we have been safe and well.  The good Lord above keeps watch over us all and for that, we should each give our thanks.

Have a great day friends and family~