california dreamin' ~ part 2 of 2
driving through the Redwoods as we leave California
Nevada
Nevada
Nevada
Nevada
Utah
Utah
Arches National Park - Moab, UT
Arches National Park - Moab, UT
Arches National Park - Moab, UT
Arches National Park - Moab, UT
Arches National Park - Moab, UT
Arches National Park - Moab, UT
Arches National Park - Moab, UT
Wilson Arch - south of Moab, UT
western Colorado
western Colorado
western Colorado
western Colorado
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve - Mosca, CO
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve - Mosca, CO
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve - Mosca, CO
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve - Mosca, CO
eastern Colorado
near Flint Hills of Kansas
It was day eight of our trip when it was time to leave California and head east back towards home. We planned to take 4 days for the journey spending nights in Nevada, Utah and Colorado. I could tell we were all getting weary of being away, but we had planned to see Arches National Park and the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve and those adventures would help us along.
The beauty of Nevada again surprised us. This time we drove through the middle of the state with a more direct route to Moab. The next day was our drive to Moab, which we jokingly called the Branson of the West. This small city was overrun with hotels, restaurants, off-road vehicles and people. Arriving in the early evening gave us a cooler part of the day to explore Arches, but it was still so hot that we did not do much there. The park is conveniently laid out so many of the formations can be seen while driving so that is mostly what we did.
The next day was our drive to Colorado and again we arrived early evening to spend time at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The park was 45 minutes away from our hotel (as there isn't lodging nearer) and it would have been easy to skip this adventure due to our travel weary selves, but knowing it would be worth it we went and it turned out to be one of the most pleasant, memorable things we did. The evening weather was cool. We arrived when the sun was setting, so were out of direct light. The park was only sparsely populated. We found a wide open space for Jesse, Ella, Roone and Moonlight (!) to play frisbee one last time. It was the perfect final evening and so, so enjoyable. The beautiful backdrop of the dunes and the quiet moment together as a family will stay in my mind as the capstone to our big adventure celebrating Ella.
It was truly worthwhile to drive to California, but that amount of driving, to us, was definitely a bit much. I think if stretched out over a month as opposed to two weeks it would probably feel less strenuous, but then, to me, a month is a long time to be away from home. The next day we drove through beautiful eastern Colorado, that wide state of Kansas with its picturesque Flint Hills and finally made it back home all of us knowing full well that although we truly enjoyed our time, another California road trip was not on any one's mind to repeat, at least in the near future.
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