Road Trip

We got back Sunday night from our almost cross country adventure. It went like this:

Salt Lake City, Utah to Lincoln, Nebraska
to Independence, Missouri
to St. Louis, Missouri
to Columbus, Ohio
to Kirtland, Ohio
to Columbus, Ohio
to Chicago, Illinois
to Nauvoo, Illinois
to Grand Island, Nebraska
to Salt Lake City, Utah

We saw much along the way. The very best:

Laurie and Clint
Laurie and Clint's apartment
Adam-ondi-Ahmen
The Nauvoo Temple
The St. Louis Arch
The old Chicago City Library
Millenium Park
North Market in Ohio

The not so very best:

Dirty restrooms (Ick, double ick)
Too much fast food
Snacks in the car

We drove, drove, drove...over 4300 miles in 8 days. And here's the thing...I love a road trip. I love driving with the radio blaring, singing along to the tunes, watching the miles tick by. It never ceases to amaze me that we can cross so much country in so little time. Thank you, Henry Ford. I like the feel of moving in a car. I always have. I remember, as a child, loving the feeling of rolling up and down hills, gliding through a turn, and the wheels beneath you on a long stretch of road. We passed through some wonderful country. Big cities like Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis. Cities with history like Kirtland and Independence. Small towns with big names and little populations; one after another. Small towns with even smaller names and sometimes smaller populations. And all of them have their own personality; as varied as the humans inhabiting them. We saw the Mississippi and crossed the wide Missouri. Farmland as far as the eye can see. Beautiful sunsets and even one amazingly beautiful sunrise, with mist blanketing the cornfields as far as my eyes could see.

And I feel grateful to live in a time when I can drive. Learning to drive and learning to read have brought me two of my great pleasures. And during the road trip, I even got to read when it wasn't my turn to drive, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." So add a great book, good ridin' and music and it's a recipe for the best road trip.