We left Atlanta this morning on day one of our road trip out to and through the canyon lands area of Utah, as well as a couple of stops in Colorado. We hope. Today was a day to cover as much ground as possible. Not sight-seeing, old town gawking, or scenic driving – just grip the wheel at 10 and 2, find I-40 and grind out the miles. We made it to the Arkansas/Oklahoma border and gained an appreciation for all those who pioneered the move from east to west.

First, it is a long damn way; second, you start off feeling like you are doing great, sun at your back, the country ahead of you, and then around 1 pm you start losing the race and by 2, you are staring at the sun and feeling like the road is running away from you. Like a lot of objectives in life, your goal seems a wee bit more elusive and you start to consider alternatives. And this is from the comfort of an air conditioned car. Put yourself in a wagon. With no road. And maybe Indians. It is a wonder anyone lives west of Memphis, Tennessee.

Tomorrow we claw further west, aiming for Tucumcari, New Mexico and the historic Route 66. We will eventually be camping on the North Rim of Grand Canyon NP, Zion NP, Bryce NP, Capitol Reef NP, Canyonlands NP, Arches NP, Mesa Verde NP and Great Sand Dunes NP. We have all that ahead of us as motivation and we KNOW how great it is. The settlers had no clue what was ahead; their motivation was just moving ahead, capitalizing on their freedom to find something better, to make something better. So my neck is sore and my butt is tired, but I am grateful for stronger souls who settled a country that I continue to find.