Omaha -> Denver -> SLC -> Bend

Erica and I high-fived a couple times in Idaho exclaiming, "Good Road Trip!"  We decided we could write a children's book about it (or at least, I did).

"You've taken us on quite the treacherous road here, Sarah." said Erica as we drove through the Rockies.  Fresh snow covered the mountains from Winter Storm Venus that had recently swept through.  Originally unfazed by driving through mountain passes, Erica seemed to change her mind once she realized the steep 6% grade of the roads and the weak engine of my little Ford Focus 2003.  Any kind of snow on the road would have required we close our eyes, throw caution to the wind, and hope for the best.

Colorado Route 70 W

We had stayed in Denver an extra night due to the snow, but were able to experience a bit of it when picking Erica up at the Denver airport.  My friend who we stayed with - also 6 months pregnant -owns an SUV with robust tires.  We plowed our own way through inches of fresh slush and snow on the highway, passing vehicles stranded on the shoulder, to meet Erica from her punctual flight.

Before I arrived in Denver, I had spent the day anxiously scouting the Nebraska landscape for signs of tornadoes.  My parents had suggested I check the weather report for the West, saying they heard there were "storms" out there.  To my horror, I discovered forecasters coloring Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma as red danger zones packed with thunderstorm and tornado warnings.  Upbeat reporters were gawking over the baseball-size hail.  I clicked on another link that brought me to the snow storms heading into the Denver area.  The change of seasons was turning my blue sky into aggressive storm clouds.

Misadventure

Nebraska blessed me with a light rain, but Colorado ate me up by allowing a massive thunder cloud to threaten the entire landscape.  Once I realized I would be entering this bruise of a sky, I quickly tried to find an alternate route.  But it was to no use; I was surrounded.  I gripped my steering wheel, heart racing, and clicked on Sufjan's Avalanche album.  With a chorus of instruments and voices, I slowly entered into the brief pounding of rain and hail on my windshield.  Water flooded the road for a few tense minutes.  Sufjan was replaced by jazzy samba as I slowly avoided two vehicles who had hydroplaned in the lane next to me.  Hula girl fell from my dashboard and my windshield cracked somewhere along the way.

Old Friends

Colorado Springs

Cute cute cute Sloane

Reunited

We left Denver on the day that showed multiple suns on my weather ap: Monday.  Blue skies guided us the entire way through Colorado and Utah.  Big horned mountain goats ate grass along the mountains of Rt. 70, inches away from the road.  The mountains transformed into the canyon landscape of Western Colorado and Utah.  We played pop through the desert and Sufjan's Come on, feel the Illinoise! as we drove around one more mountain and into the city of the Great Salt Lake.  We were greeted with freshly baked bread, margaritas, and big fluffy pillows.

Hospitality

Somewhere in Idaho I glanced at a truck that had a warning sign, "Long Load" and for a second thought it said, "Long Road."  We drove by dinosaur backs, purple sky, and could trace all the rain storms in the surrounding sky.  We counted how many Fed Ex trucks with three trailers we saw (5, but probably about 8).  A Jack Rabbit bravely crossed the road slowly hopping his huge back feet.  Juniper trees and sage bushes began taking over the landscape.  Erica saw a hawk catch a mouse.  Farms turned to lavender fields.  Finally, I could see small shadows of the mountains of Bend in the distance: Bachelor, The Sisters, and Broken Top.

Idaho

Dinosaur Land (Oregon)

After ten final hours of driving, we pulled into Ten Barrel Brewery where Erica's husband was there to meet us.  Now my car is resting in the driveway of my new respite in Bend.  The marathon is over, let the summer begin.

Thanks to everyone who was a part of this adventure!  Special shout-outs to my tires, windshield wipers, Starbucks cold brew, and This American Life.