First leg of the road trip

Josh had fun with his pretzels in the car...

We left Texas at 9 a.m., Friday, July 1, after a good year in Austin. We drove 24 hours to Utah, stopping from 3:30-5:30 a.m. to sleep in the car. We got to watch the sun set in New Mexico and then to see it rise in Utah (above). Lyrad and I listened to a fascinating story on CD, Unbroken, a biography of a troubled youth who became an Olympic athlete, then later survived in a lifeboat on the ocean for weeks before being picked up and becoming a Japanese POW in WW2. Incredible story that kept us awake (with the help of many snacks...) while driving. I was really hoping to stop at the Four Corners Monument (since it was closed for construction last summer) but it was 2:30 a.m. when we passed the turnoff to it, and we didn't want to wait until it opened at 7 a.m. I don't know if we'll EVER pass this way again... we definitely can't see every possible tourist site on this cross country trip, but we will enjoy a few highlights.

We've taken a lot of road trips (such as California to Washington D.C., then back again, with four kids under age 6) and this summer will include one of our longest: Texas to California, then California to Florida (via Utah, Colorado Springs, Iowa, and Nauvoo, IL, with a possible stop in Nashville if necessary). Lyrad drove to California with us, but he already flew back to Austin and drove his truck to Florida today. So I'm getting the van to Florida on my own (but with 4 children, including 2 with driver's permits, I guess I won't really be "on my own"!)