Before & After....MUUUUCH Better!

So..I am still figuring out how to work the whole blog thing...so bare with me...

I think I left you all off in South Carolina some place?

Lots has happened since. First, an amazing weekend in New Orleans! Toured the city, walked the streets and met some locals. All while the temperatures soared into the 100s with a humidity of 98%. It was hot and we did a lot of sweating. But it was all worth it.

From New Orleans we drove North and started heading west in Kansas...beautiful countryside for the first FIVE hours, but after 12 hours of seeing the SAME flat land and cows, it gets a bit tiring. As Kari said, the site of the mountains in Colorado was a soothing one!

SAND DUNES...WOW, I felt like I was in Egypt. I recently read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho which is a great story about a young man who is in search of treasure in Egypt and finds a lot more than he could ever imagine on the trip. I kinda felt like the young man in the book, hahaha...in the desert, looking for the beauty of it all and finding so much more...I think you get the picture.

From the Sand Dunes we headed to Pagosa Springs! Sitting in the natural hot springs along the San Juan was a once in a life time experience. It smelled like sulfur (something awful) but the smell is soon forgotten once you step into the pools! I even got to wear a white robe! I felt so special :) Even Oprah took a visit to the springs!!!

I have never been this far west before, so seeing the landscape has been a great experience. It's breathtaking and pictures can not even come close to capturing the magnitude of beauty the land holds. Canyon Lands and Arhces....works of nature that leave me speechless. Had my first real experience mountain biking on Slick rock (not the infamous Slickrock trail) and loved every minute of it! Although I am left with a nasty bruise on my thigh (don't know how it got there) I'd do it all over again in a heart beat. Well....the downhill part I would do all over again in a heartbeat, the uphill part...not so much. Oh, and I won't tell you that Kari got lost..oops, I already did, ask her for the details!!!!

Stay TUNED!!!

Still trucking'

Wow, has it really been so long since our last opportunity to post? It seems that it has been a minute and an eon all at the very same time. We have had the pleasure of seeing vast tracts of land, falling in with some and counting the miles to get out of others.

One that that has been painfully clear is that each and every place we have stopped is worthy not of the few hours or couple of days that we are able to give them, but a month in and of e.

This whirlwind smattering of sights that we are experiencing is something like an appetizer sampler plate. What it has been doing is giving us a taste for travelling and what we might like to have as an entree our next time around! Much of the conversations that we are havin consist of returning here or there or where we will travel next. And we're not even done with this trip yet.

Becasue it has mostly planned itself out at this point, in some ways it geels like it's coming to and end already despite all that we still have before us.

Are you dying to hear what we're up to or what all the silly pictures are about? OK, I'll share a bit.

The first few recount an really fun couple of hours that we had whetting our whistles and chatting up a couple of locals that we met at the bar. though those of you who know how shy we are will be very surprised to hear it, we actually made fast friends and were able to loosen up enough to let out a few laughs (and be the brunt of a couple, too I think). Actually, I think I missed the mask one....what would a trip to New Orleans be without a touristy shot in a sampling of the local attire....;)

How cute are we, smilng our pretty little blonde heads off just outside of Dodge city Kansas as we admired teh setting sun?!?! I think we were smiling because caught a whiff of Colorado on the horizon and with it the promise of seeing and being in the mountains once again.

Once in Colorado, our first major destination had to be the Great Sand Dunes. Too many times, I was forced to drive right by the entrance and this time I was determined to set foot on them. Turns out, when we got there, I think that Allison was actually the one that was most enamored with the whole sight and sounds and feel and, well the sand....beach diva that she is....

I for one was very happy to spend that very evening soaking in natural mineral water in and around the San Juan river and to show her one of my most favorite stops on the trail...Pagosa Springs.

On our way to Utah, we simply had to stick our tongues out at someone, but since no one seemed to be in the vicinity, we figured you and the camera would do...jk.

Yesterday brought us inconceivable vistas and a bit of excess sun. Today, it was a great ride with an even better guide who was actually from none other than Rochester NY....crazy, right!?

Now it's getting to be the time to skip town and head on to our next amazing destination and adventure...wanna know what that might be? stay tuned....

=)K

We're still out here....

.....just been a little tough to come by the time and internet access at the same time to make posts. Hopefully tonight, we will be able to further entertain you.

Debi, thanks for the idea about the map. Hopefully we can look into it this evening!

And thanks to all you commenters...we love to know that we aren't talking to and making only ourselves laugh! =)