On the Road Again - Adventures from an Empty Nest

Utah is an amazing place – one I am incredibly happy to visit, but wouldn't want to live in. The air is dry and the sun is aggressively hot. Chapstick and sunscreen have become an essential element of self-care. Every morning begins with shivers and sweatshirts and ends in sweat, sunhats, and shorts. But the scenery – my God! – there is nothing like it. Around every turn in the road, past every hill on a hike, there is a new type of rock formation, a river or dry bed, a totally new variety of trees and shrubs. Tiny oak trees give way to tumbleweed, then juniper, then cactus. Dead and burned trees reach blackened claws toward the sky while ground squirrels dart into invisible holes, chased by an enthusiastic but clueless dog from Virginia. We started in northern Utah, following the multi-state Dinosaur National Monument in from Colorado. We did see dinosaur fossils in Dinosaur, millions of years old and encased in cliffs of sandstone. But we also saw petroglyphs – ancient art create...

The big picture My brain likes exercise way more than my body does. Fortunately, this trip is providing plenty for both. In addition to the beautiful hikes we are taking every day – often multiple times a day – we have had ample opportunities to learn new things. We've learned history: we traveled through reservations in Oklahoma where Indians from across the Eastern U.S. were relocated in the 19th Century; visited the town of Nicodemus, founded by African Americans fleeing white violence in Kentucky in 1877; drove along the old Oregon Trail and read exerpts from journals written by women who made the journey west; and seen some of the amazing artwork of Plains Indians from South Dakota and Nebraska. We drove through forests blackened by fire and visited fossil beds and fascinating geological formations to learn how volcanic activity, glacial movement, drought, and erosion have changed the landscape – and those who live on it – over time. We live in an amazing world, and it's ...