Country Roads, Take Me Home...

Eventually, we finally made it home.  The winding West Virginia roads took us back to familiar landscapes.  As the trip ended we were sad but also relieved.  It was a fantastic trip and we were so blessed to have been able to go.  We made so many memories that we will never forget.  Lauren & I are now safe and sound in Winchester getting our selves ready for her last year of PT school and my 3rd year of teaching. 

The St. Louis Gateway Arch!

Home Sweet Home!

Our Appalachian Mountains!

GOAL!!

Driving across Kansas was NOT the highlight of our trip.  Flatness, flatness, and more flatness.  At least we didn't get sucked up by a twister.  Driving across the long monotonous Kansas landscape ended up being totally worth it... We had a blast that night!!!  During our stay in Kansas City, Lauren & I decided to go to an MLS soccer game.  The game was played at LiveStrong Sporting Park between Sporting Kansas and REAL Salt Lake.  LiveStrong Sporting Park was amazing!  Although there is not a bad seat in the intimate stadium, we were lucky enough to be sitting in the second row!  We could literally reach out and touch the players!  The atmosphere was electric game was very exciting.  The match ended with Sporting Kansas (the underdog) winning 2 - 0!  My favorite part of the night was how much fun Lauren had!  When we left she was already talking about us possibly going to see my favorite team D.C. United play later this season!

LiveStrong Sporting Park:  Pre Game

Ya... we were that close!

Blue Hell:  That is the hardcore Kansas fan section

Rocky Mountain High...

The next stop on our trip was the Mile High City of Denver, CO.  Driving through Colorado was amazing.  Lauren & I were able to get out and stand in the ice cold Colorado River... the same river that shaped the Grand Canyon, where we had been only days before.  The view from the road as we drove through the Rockies was truly beautiful.  As we approached Denver the weather turned on us a bit, however, we were still able to make it pretty close to the top of the 14,000 Foot Mount Evans.  On the way up we passed two mountain lakes and some great overlooks.

Colorado River!

Echo Lake at the Base of Mt Evans

Overlook on Mt Evans

When we arrived in Denver, we were starving!  No worries though, Denver is the home of one of Lauren & I's favorite places to eat... CHIPOTLE!  Yes, I can honestly say that eating at the First Chipotle ever created was the highlight of our trip to Denver.... Delicious!!

Denver Skyline

The First Chipotle Ever!

Red Dirt Road...

After leaving Las Vegas, Lauren & I headed to the more rustic destination of Arches National Park in Moab, UT.  First of all, let me just say that Utah is one of the most gorgeous states that we have had the privilege of driving through.  As we pulled into Arches we realized that neither of us had ever been in a place anything like this.  There were huge formations of red rock as far as the eye could see.  Just like in the Grand Canyon, we decided to stay two nights instead of just one.  Our first night mostly consisted of setting up camp and exploring our campsite, which was awesome by the way.  Directly off our site there were huge sandstone rock formations that were easily climbable.  Lauren watched as I was totally transformed into a kid again...  I pretty much climbed everything we came across during our whole stay at Arches! The night ended with us watching an amazing sunset.  During the rest of our stay, we went on a couple of hikes out to some of the more popular rock arches in the park, hung around camp reading and relaxing, and watched an even more amazing sunset followed by a beautiful sunrise on our last morning.  All in all it was a great time!

Camp Duffy!

The World Famous Delicate Arch 

Lauren & I at Delicate Arch

Double Arch:
 P.S. The 3rd Indiana Jones Movie was filmed here!

Lauren & I at South Window

Landscape Arch

A Large Rock Formation Outside of Our Campsite...
Oh Wait!  Who is that on top?

Sunset View From Our Campsite!