July 20th - Day 38
Some days on our adventure, it feels like we look at the same landscape the entire day with little change (thanks Mid-West). Today was not one of those days. From deep canyons, to arid ranch land, to green pastures, to the Rockies, to massive sand dunes, we saw a lot of different landscapes. These are the driving days that we really appreciate!
A few highlights/memorable moments from the day:
We started the morning in Palo Duro Caynon, where we went on a hike before it got too hot. It was still in the 90’s though! Everyone needed some exercise and we were pretty set on getting a hike in (one sad note - I had to wear something other than my Birkenstocks). Following our hike, we stopped by the visitor’s center/museum and then headed out on our 6.5 hr. drive.
So far on our trip, we’ve been able to avoid any car sickness. Early on, Elias was close to getting sick, but we moved him to the front seat for awhile and we were able to avoid the mess. Today, our luck ran out. About an hour into our drive, Ilena got sick. Just as we had to pull off the side of a rural highway in Wyoming to clean grease off the floor, we pulled over on the side of a rural Texas highway to clean up another mess (puke). When you’re on the road for so long, something like this is bound to happen.
Today, we stopped for gas in the town of Dalton, Texas. With it being Texas, it’s not uncommon to see cattle trucks. When we stopped, we saw multiple. Innocent Ilena then proclaimed “I bet they’re going to a cow party!” I didn’t have it in me to tell her the type of party that they were most likely headed to. ;(
We ended the day at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Southern Colorado. There wasn’t enough time to explore after we arrived, but we will tomorrow. In other news, Ilena lost her first top tooth tonight and is loving her new smile!
