Great American Road Trip: Day 1

I had planned Day 1 to be our most grueling day of driving.  I wanted to get as far North as possible on the first day, so we could spend the rest of the trip relaxing and actually seeing the sights.  We left the house shortly after 6am and had breakfast in the car:

Hello Utah:

Then my navigators napped:

As the boys slept I wound through red cliffs.  At times red dust blew so heavy across the road I could hardly see where I was going.  We passed Canyonlands National Park and went through Moab.  Moab definitely looked like a cool town to come back & spend a weekend.

My navigator woke up in time to snap one shot before we jumped onto I-70 into Colorado:

By the time we hit Rawlins Wyoming, we were tired.  Todd was driving, and it was late.  It was dark, windy, and there were lots of wildlife on the side of the road.  Some had already been hit, and some we were afraid we were going to hit.  We pulled over at the first hotel.  The nice ladies at the front desk informed me they were booked and the next available room was probably in Laramie, miles away.  They did offer Todd some coffee, tho.

As he pumped gas, I got out my Wyoming visitors guide and started dialing.  Luckily, the Hampton Inn just had a cancellation.  They were at the next exit.  Within minutes the three of us were passed out in a clean and comfy king size bed.  We didn't know it now, but this would be the most comfortable bed we'd sleep in until we got home.

Miles driven:  847

Hours in the car: too many to count