From Santa Fe, New Mexico to Moab, Utah

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Pagosa Springs, Colorado

Durango, Colorado

Moab, Utah

We managed the google maps projected 7 hr and 7 min drive yesterday in just over 8 hours. Not bad when you consider we had to stop often for a hungry baby, a pregnant wife, and a husband who started his day with a big cup of coffee (thanks Kristi!) :)

The pictures above are the off the Internet, but I did my best to find a photo that accurately represented what we saw at this time of year. I think these photos are pretty dead-on. We didn't take any pictures during the drive, mainly because we just didn't feel like it. :)

We started at 8am on the nose and despite the rain that plagued us for the initial part of the journey, were just in awe of the beauty we were able to witness. We moved from the gorgeous terrain of New Mexico, to the mountains of Colorado, and on to the dessert of Utah all in an eight hour drive. I have been to all of these states before, but I will never be in lack of awe for how creative our Creator is.

The trip was made especially interesting by the fact that none of it was highway. We therefore had the opportunity to drive a bit slower, take in a bit more, and see more of the towns up close. At lunchtime, we stopped in a little town call Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We found a little bread baker cafe, ordered two sandwhiches, and found a little table where we could let Isaac be out of his carseat, eat, and just stretch.

After Isaac finished his bottle, JB decided just to hold him while he ate the rest of his own lunch. However, the three ladies at the table next to us would hear nothing of this idea. Charactertistic of the other welcoming people we had met during our brief stop in this tiny town, they told us that Isaac had informed them he would rather sit with them during lunch so as to not bother his father. We agreed, and while we ate our sandwiches, Isaac flirted with the three gals one table over. We had a great conversation and really enjoyed our time getting to know some of the "locals."

We headed from there through Durango, Colorado to our ultimate stopping point: Moab, Utah. This is a small town (around 4,000 people I think) but also famous as it is the location of "Arches National Park". Once we arrived and were checked into our hotel, we headed to a local grocery store to pick up some food to eat for lunch each day, and then found a great local place for dinner where we enjoyed some awesome barbecue.

Today, JB started his "Wilderness Medicine" course. The course is actually in a conference room on the first floor of our hotel which is really nice. We had free breakfast together in the morning, saw JB during one of his breaks, and during his two hour lunch break, headed to Arches National Park for a picnic and sight-seeing. More to come on that in the next post! After that, I think I'll be caught up. Stay tuned.