Epic Road Trip

I've been attempting to write this post for an entire month now, but I keep getting distracted. Things are crazy again, schedule-wise, with classes in full-swing and I just got a part-time job to supplement my other part-time job, so it's now or never as far as filling you in on my past few weeks. Here goes...

The husband and I took a much-needed vacation. I had just a couple of weeks between my Morgan apprenticeship and the Fall semester, so we set out on a glorious, nine day road trip to Colorado and back. Although it was tempting to share pictures and blog about all the great things I was seeing, doing, and eating, I decided before leaving on this trip to take a complete social media break. And I used a real camera to take pictures instead of just my phone.  I think it's so important to get away for a while, take a break from reality and stress. Technology can be a big part of that stress and, more than anything, causes you to be distracted from what's real and important. Vacations just force you to simplify, rely only on the contents of your suitcase. Be in the moment. Live. 

Brian and I love to travel and it's our goal to hit all 50 states by the time we turn 50, so this was a great opportunity to knock a bunch of states off our list. We headed from Cleveland through Indianapolis and then on to St. Louis for the night. There we visited The Arch and went up to the top in these tiny, egg-like elevators. In the morning we went to the City Museum, which is the most fun and inspiring museum I have ever been to. It's like a giant fun house, with slides and caves, and there's even a giant ferris wheel on the roof. . When we left St. Louis we headed through Arkansas on our way to Tulsa to visit family and spend the night before making the long drive through Kansas to Denver. 

We had four amazing days in Colorado and we got to stay with my sister in law, who took us on the hike of our lives. We managed a nine mile trek up through the mountains in the Rocky Mountain National Park. The goal was Sky Pond, a small body of water located at 10,900 ft elevation. The hike was rough for me. I'm not in the best shape of my life and the elevation didn't make it any easier. It was hot out, probably close to 90 degrees in the sun and I'd worn long pants because it had snowed the day before when we visited a higher peak. I was sweating and cranky and was having a hard time keeping up with everyone. But the further we got on the path, the higher we climbed, the more determined I became. And the natural beauty of the landscape began to spur me on. As we meandered on the winding path, a stream would appear alongside us, its gentle trickle a wonderful soundtrack to our hike. Here and there the scent of pine would penetrate the senses, enlivening our spirits, a sort of aromatherapy for the wilderness. 

When we got several hundred yards within Sky Pond, our path was blocked by a family of wild elk. We couldn't make it all the way to Sky Pond because the elk weren't moving and we didn't want to disturb them, but it didn't matter to me. The feat of getting to the top of that mountain and seeing those beautiful animals in their natural habitat was enough. I was completely in awe. We were so close to them that I could actually hear the female elk crunching on grass. I had fought my way up that mountain, huffing and puffing. I had faced my fear of heights to scale a small waterfall on the edge of a cliff, and I tested my physical ability. I felt accomplished and exhilarated and awed. To look out into that much vast space you have no choice but to feel gratitude for being able to experience so much natural beauty and wonder and be a part of it all.

We left Denver and headed through Nebraska on our way to Iowa City, where we had the pleasure of spending the night at Julie and Mike's place. Julie was kind enough to take us on a tour of the Iowa Center for the Book, the library's conservation lab, and introduce us to Tim Barrett, papermaker extraordinaire, who was so kind and told me I could contact him any time if I had any questions. Truly, it was a papermaking nerd dream come true for me.

After a nice dinner, Brian and I set out on the last leg of our journey, making it home around 4:30am. We had a great trip, but it's always nice to come home again.