Westward!

Tuesday we arrived in Aztec, NM to stay with my cousin Tony and his family. Great people. We realized how long it had been since our North Pole days; about 15 years! You know you have a lasting relationship with others when it seems like it's been only a day or week since your last visit. Those years-gone-by were muted by the amount of time and love given to help make this journey more memorable. Meeting new cousins and seeing how big this family has grown has reminded me of how important it is to keep in touch. Don't let the days go by.

Marie and Maria

Tony and Eleanor suggested we take the scenic route through Durango up through Silverton and Ouray. South West Colorado looks great on the map. Flat and colorful with pretty red words! Ha! We took their advice and headed up HWY 550. Little did we know what we were in for. Hearing Eleanor describe the drive, you can only envision and anticipate how things will turn out. The mountains came out to play in no time, and we braced ourselves as the truck crawled up and down steep hills. Trevor held his composure during the tight curves and passing 18 wheelers. There may be permanent hand prints on the "Oh Shit!" bar from by vice grip as I watched the road's painted line disappear a couple of times. Different areas of the highway became narrow and had some nice cliffs overlooking the towns and rivers. This was certainly a more memorable experience than we anticipated. The drive was magnificent. To be sure, this is only a taste of what's to come!

Stopped to collect ourselves.

Silverton, CO

Looks like an area where people use to pan for gold

Behind Trevor is a massive valley