Road Trip Diaries Part III: Ring My Maroon Bells

The view from inside our pashmina-curtained car camping set up

During the last week in August, Ryan and I dropped the dogs off at boarding, packed up the Versa and embarked on a 5-day road trip through the southwest. Thousands of miles and 35 hours of driving took us through 5 states: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Arizona. In Part III, we are waking up in Aspen after a long day of driving through Utah.

When Ryan and I told people we were car camping for the wedding we were attending in Aspen, we got a lot of looks. Looks that said it maybe wasn't the best plan. And that might have scared me off the idea.

That is, if we hadn't done it before.

Similarly, the last time we road tripped to a wedding, we decided to camp. During that trip, to Big Sur in 2012, we also arrived at our campsite in the middle of the night, in pitch black darkness. So this time, just like before, we had absolutely no idea what we were going to be waking up to.

Motivation Monday: I Run This Beach

Thanks to Skechers for sponsoring this post!

I thought of the title for this post as I was sweating my way down the Ocean Beach Pier this morning, but in the effort of full transparency: I jogged this beach and collapsed into a sweaty, gasping mess the moment I returned to my front steps. 

Did I mention this was a 2.5 mile run?

Needless to say, I'm a little out of shape. The move, school, work... all of it has taken its toll and rendered me completely useless in the fitness department. But with the move over last week and school ending this past weekend, I woke up and realized I had no excuse. 

More importantly, I had a reason. 

Road Trip Diaries Part II: Dinosaur Discovery

During the last week in August, Ryan and I dropped the dogs off at boarding, packed up the Versa and embarked on a 5-day road trip through the southwest. Thousands of miles and 35 hours of driving took us through 5 states: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Arizona. Part II picks up as we were leaving Las Vegas.

High off of the stoke from learning that my iPad was returned safe and sound, I offered to drive for the first leg of the day as we headed from Nevada through a tiny corner of Arizona and into Utah.

The rest of Nevada was fairly desolate... Flat stretches of nothingness until we hit Mesquite, a border town between Nevada and Arizona which is full of golf courses, spas, and retirement homes. I felt like we could see all of Mesquite from the freeway and it wasn't too impressive. Which is good to know since I always see Groupon deals for weekend getaways there. Guess I can cross it off my list!

As we moved through Arizona into Utah though, the landscape started to get interesting. Gorgeous rock formations with bright colors lined the highway. In some sections, we drove on roads that felt like they were carved out of the rock, like little pavement rivers.

Entering Utah at the two hour mark, with even more stretches of rock before us, Ryan turned to me and said, "Do you think there were ever T Rexes walking through this exact place?" And thanks to road trip magic, a few miles later, we got our answer.

Can't Stop, Won't Stop Moving

It's like I got this music in my mind, and that music is Taylor Swift. Nonstop. This "Shake It Off" business is addictive.

And in all actuality, these lyrics are kind of the story of my life right now. A few weeks ago Ryan and I found out that we had to move unexpectedly. It didn't take too long to find a place that checked off all of our boxes, but moving itself has taken for. ev. er. I literally (fine, figuratively) can't stop moving. We got the keys to our new place on September 18th and have moved something every day since. And we still have more to do!

In the midst of all the chaos, the "Where the hell is the corkscrew!?"s, and the stares from coworkers who are starting to realize I've been wearing variations of one outfit for two weeks because I don't know where any of my clothes are, I've had to make a serious effort to force myself to look on the bright side.

For starters, we now live one block from the ocean in one of the most perfect little beach towns I could ever imagine. So basically, all my dreams have come true. Our dogs are happier, Ryan can start surfing regularly again, the air is cleaner, there's more to do in town...

But best of all? We have 10 new neighbors to say hello to!