Road Tripping - Day 4 {Day 17}

After all our fun in St Louis, we packed up the van one last time and headed out of town. Today was our longest day - 11 hours of driving, most of them through Kansas. :)


From time to time I would give Javi my phone so he could take pictures. This helped pass the time and I love to see what he takes pictures of. I love looking through them when he is done - this one I thought was quite funny.



It took a little while getting into Kansas for things to really flatten out and open up, but once it did, man you could see for miles.





We passed the time playing the alphabet game, and I trounced Lover THREE times. This never happens. It must have been a sign of good things to come. :) The kids mostly played with their toys, snoozed in their seats and munched on snacks. They were such troopers on this trip. See what I mean about seeing for miles? I loved the openness. Although I would imagine that you would wish for shade if you lived there.



This picture is hard to see, but it was indicative of how absolutely empty Kansas can be. It says "Colby Oasis, Exit 53 3 HOURS AHEAD" You know it's bad when they are advertising something three hours down the road.



As the sun came down from behind the clouds overhead, the land got really, really pretty. We got to the last third of Kansas and the landscape started to change from farms, farms and more farms to much more wild, rugged landscape. That was our first clue that we were getting close to Colorado!





So, we were heading west. Obviously. And, the sun sets in the west, we all know that. What we didn't know is that it apparently sets at the end of the highway. :) We were traveling about 80 miles an hour, so as the sun set, it seemed like it hung indefinitely in the sky, just at the horizon - longest sunset I've ever experienced. I think Lover's retinas are still a little singed from driving into that ball of fire for so long.





In the last remaining light, as the landscape around us changed, we both commented on how it looked so much like Spain. I commented to Lover, "it feels like we're coming home." We may have both welled up a little.From the moment we got here, it has felt like home. Yes, there have been ups and downs, but we are so thankful to be here.