I had one of my favorite rides ever this morning. I snoozed my alarm long enough for it to warm up and get light. Then I hopped on my bike and went for a sunrise ride up Zion Scenic Drive. It started on bike lanes in town, I waited in line at the fee booth, then I got on the meandering Pa’rus trail meeting other morning athletes and photographers. I even had to stop and take a photo of the orange rays overtopping the towering rocks. Then I made it to the canyon- where they don’t allow cars and only have buses. It was amazing! I saw a few buses come down the “hill” - there was only 400’ of elevation gain- but other than that I saw no people the entire trip up. I did see a few deer. It was so glorious to just simply ride, watch the sunrise over the canyon, and take it all in. There were no worries of cars, to do lists, or pain. It was just perfect.
Then reality set in, and while Narendra took off to do the Angels landing hike, Kolton and I hunted for internet and power and a place for him to play. Those 3 didn’t harmonize very well, and it was not a productive work day.
Then we ended up driving to Bryce where we stumbled on an awesome campground in time to chase the sunset. It was pretty chilly, but we met some nice photographers and Kolton was trying to make friends with everyone he met. The hoodoos were so unique and beautiful in the evening light with dark skies. Mother Nature - you are so creative! It was fun to check it out, and I was ok with not doing crazy hikes here.
We spent the next day with good internet- for once! We did an evening hike from sunrise point to sunset point- which instantly improved any negativity in my mood from working. Lesson learned: getting outside and moving cured any ailment!
Next we were off to Capitol Reef. I had no expectations, but it was a good start that they had a free campground right outside the park. No amenities, but finally we could park our camper and hang out for free- which is all we needed some nights.
We went to bed under thousands of stars- and a threat of snow. I kept asking Narendra if we were going to tip over in the middle of the night. We woke up to another beautiful sunrise over the red canyon walls. I am going to miss this. We went to our hotel and they luckily got us in. This was a dream. We had a place to be for the day with internet, room for Kolton to play, and electricity! We worked for a bit and then took a long lunch to hike to the top of the ridge. Again- my mood shift was instantly happy. We went back, finished working, and then treated ourselves to a dinner out! There were only 2 restaurants- our hotel and the hotel across the street. It actually was good food, and Kolton did well. 
Thursday morning we set out again- this time en route to Durango. We each had calls along the way, but my call at Hite near Lake Powell was an epic failure as there wasn’t a cell tower, or a soul, in sight. It brought back memories of the beauty of lake Powell, but it was sad to see so little life when I was picturing a booming town with a marina. So, we got to Blanding for a breakfast stop at a diner where a man offered to buy Kolton. Then we made the last trek down to Durango where we checked into a work- paid-for hotel! We made it! We got another fancy dinner- we spoiled ourselves now.
I had a workshop all day Friday, and then we met Heather and Oscar out for dinner - and a few too many drinks. It was fun to catch up and hear about their life down there. Kolton slept long enough for us to go bar hopping- which in hindsight I wish he hadn’t. It was a long time unpacking the trailer of all of my things and Kolton's things and repacking or rental car to the brim. It was bittersweet to be leaving Bessie, but it was also so exciting to be heading home to Sadie, my bathroom, my laundry, my bed, and different clothes! And getting home was just as sweet as the anticipation. Home sweet Home it is. It doesn’t matter how far or how long I leave, but Home is truly where my heart is.
I can’t believe we pulled it off. There were challenges- mostly having to do with wanting to work more. There were absolute highs- peaks, stars, waterfalls, sunsets, Kolton steps, and cables. There were definitely things we had to sacrifice, and new ways of life we had to learn, but we did it together. We had victories reorganizing, and we had heated chats about who got to work more that day, but in the end we got to celebrate so much together. We made so many memories. We got to spend every day with Kolton watching him grow and learn, and talk and walk and form opinions. We played so many games of Yahtzee. We spent days only talking to each other. And we met lots of people with unique stories. We celebrated America’s beauty alongside hundreds, maybe thousands, of other people. We drove almost 6,000 miles. We visited 12 National Parks in 9 states. We had amazing adventures in new cities- every one of which Narendra offered to move to. We grocery shopped at a dozen new grocery stores. We reflected and wrote in our blog/journal every few days. We pondered life in nature just about every day. We rode our bikes on epic trails. We got Kolton outside everyday for an adventure.
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