#NWFBWA Day 8, 9, 10

Howdy there, from Monument, CO. I feel like I should say something a tad more "granola"...but I don't know what that greeting would be.

I can't believe that we are on day ten of our trip, and tomorrow, Jasmine flies home to Florida. Our trip, since the last blog, has been full of driving, heat, and not too much sleep.

Day 8: Waking up in CA was kind of surreal. One reason being that I had not done so in like five years, and to be in the company of the Potts brought me great joy. Another reason being that we had traveled from Florida to California...and there was still more to go. We all got a shower in before left since we would not shower for a few days. Annalisa, Lauren. Jena, and I picked up In-N-Out and went to meet Jasmine and Ciarra at the Ventura Pier. After lunch and goodbyes, the girls and I left Ventura, and the cool ocean breeze, for a day of driving through the mountains..and heat. My mom said that we would be driving through some of Death Valley, and I am positive that we did, but my eyes were on the road, and my body was looking forward to sleeping. When we were about four hours from the Grand Canyon, our intended sleeping point, we spontaneously decided to take a detour and go to Las Vegas. Away we went, and speaking for all of us, we enjoyed it. We walked the streets, filled with people(on a Monday), and then hopped back in the car to head to the Canyon. The whole time in Vegas I felt like I was watching an Oceans movie. It was a cool experience, but not one I would need to do again.

One of my favorite things about Vegas: this fountain show. #toocool

Day 9: The beginning of our day was spent on the road driving, and after I gave the driver's seat to Jasmine in the wee hours, I was out until we reached the Canyon. We spent only a couple hours at the Grand Canyon. When we arrived we noticed that one of our tires had a small leak, so we took it to the Canyon Village garage to be patched. Our original plan was to hike down into the canyon on a trail, but we ended up just sitting on the South Rim and enjoying the sights for an hour or so. We ate lunch in the town just south of the GC and then started on our way towards Colorado. One thing I do not enjoy about being near places of high interest is the price of goods, whether it be Starbucks drinks, or a string of cheese at the general store...it's ridiculous! We drove up through Arizona on 160, aka the Navajo Rez. There are so many beautiful land formations along this way. I was so thrilled to have the free entertainment for the long drive. As we left Arizona we stopped at the Four Corners Monument...something I have always wanted to see. Not only did I get to stand in four states at once, I got to eat some fry bread. Fry bread for sure gets anyone's native blood flowing more. Heading out to continue our trek, counted 36 deer, and at 4am, made it up the side of a mountain to a beautiful overlook of Colorado Springs, CO, to get a little shut eye.

Four corners...

Day 10: We woke up this morning probably feeling the most worn out that we had yet on our trip. We pushed on though, traveled down the mountain, and made it into a grocery store bathroom to a little freshening up. There is something about a new change of clothes that makes me feel brand new, especially after being in a car for over 24 hours. The plan for today was to meet up with Jasmine's grandpa and see Denver. We had a wonderful time eating lunch, visiting, and seeing sites with him for most of the day. He sure was a mighty fine tour guide. Our original plans for sleeping tonight fell through with the storm clouds coming in, and now the girls are snug(and snoring) in our bed at the Caulkins' house. On a last minutes notice, this family had a wonderful dinner made, and has been great company, with a soft place to lay our heads tonight. We got to shower a few days before we had thought! Yippee!

In the morning, Mrs. Caulkins and Annalisa will take Jasmine to the airport to fly home. Ciarra, Annalisa, and I will head out of here, after breakfast, to eventually see Mt. Rushmore tomorrow afternoon. After that, our next "destination" is Kansas City, for our last night of this trip.

It is crazy to think that we have seen 11 states in the last 10 days, and that includes the three days we spent in Phoenix. We have five more states to see, making a total of 16. Wow.

We are in good health, though Jasmine and I fought that sore throat thing last night, and prayerfully it will stay as such for the rest of our trip.

Thanks for keeping up with us!

 Charli

#NWFBWA, Day 3

  Today, was a long day of driving...lots of it. When I initially looked at the GPS, it said 13 hours PLUS! My, My, My. Yesterday, or maybe the day before, we had talked about me driving most of the trip, because I love driving, and as Jeanne pointed out last night, I get bored when not behind the wheel. After being up 'til 12 last night, and my alarm going off at 5:15, I was still tired as we began to drive. Jasmine and Annalisa ended up driving for about four hours, and then I got back behind the wheel.

  We drove through west Texas today....exciting. The closer we came to the desert, the more beautiful it became. For awhile, it was a game of counting oil pumps in my head. As we came further west, and closer to the border, I was hoping we could see a Mexican in a bush, waiting for his freedom ticket...no luck. We stopped to pump gas, and met Ernie and Juan, men with stories, and advice.

Chico's tacos...kinda like taquitos with soup. ;)

  We stopped for dinner in El Paso at Chico's Tacos...the one listed on top in a food blog we read. On top...yes, my favorite...no, I still lean towards a fresh fish taco on the beach in FL, or in CA, like I can look forward to soon. After leaving El Paso, we drove through my first Border Patrol station...no, not into Mexico, just on I-10W. We passed, and it was non-climactic, as we had hoped to be able to write elaborately about it in our travel journal.

  One thing we did get to write about was our encounter with a Border Patrol officer about 30 minutes later...Jesse.We had pulled off the highway onto a dirt road so that I could find my geocache for the state of New Mexico, and we all needed to use the facilities...which were right next to the car on this stop. After I came back from finding my cache, I took my turn and as I was finishing Jasmine said there was a car approaching. Ciarra and I quickly hopped into the car, and I pulled forward to unclog the narrow way. It was when red and blue lights flashed that we realized who it was...Border Patrol. I pulled up to the truck of the officer, Jesse, and he asked if we were lost. I began to explain that I was geocaching, and in my description, which most people usually do not understand, I asked him if I could show him. He accepted my offer. I pulled back to the cache, got out, showed him where the cache was, and probably looked and sounded really ridiculous trying to do so. We ended up talking to him for a few minutes, explaining our trip, before we continued on our way...with another fun story for our journal.

  Ciarra has done an incredible job being the scribe for our trip thus far, and has even been drawing parts that need that special touch. I can't wait to look back at it as we end our trip in eleven days.

  Tonight, we are SO BLESSED, and sleeping in soft hotel beds, thanks to Jasmine's dad, in Wilcox, AZ. We will continue tomorrow to Tempe, and will spend three nights in the home of my mother, celebrating her school graduation, as well as Angela's, my sister. She is the reason this whole trip even came about, and I cannot wait to celebrate her school achievements and spend time in one of my favorite places, with my family.

  Please pray for our continued safety, and for relationships to be grown, with the love of Christ. Thanks for thinking of us!

Good Night.

  Charli