Day One: We headed to Albuquerque via I-40. We stopped in Texas for lunch. Turkey wraps, yum. To note: everything in Tejas is all about Tejas. The grills at the rest areas were in the shape of Texas. There is a part of me that wants to tell Texas that it needs to get over itself. Another part of me, the larger part of me, wants to just say, "Viva Tejas, amigos!"
Day Two started out, obviously, in Arizona. We stopped at the Grand Canyon! So beautiful!
As we approached Vegas, we were able to see the Hoover Dam. Pretty incredible... On this trip I realized how much the West depends on the Colorado River. Right now I am just in awe of the incredible work the Bureau of Reclamation does. Many would argue that the benefits do not outweigh the costs. 
We headed to Vegas that evening, stayed at the Luxor. I hoping the Egyptian theme would be SO awesome; thought hubby might really enjoy it. Turns out that the Excalibur next door had better shows...some sort of horseback swordfight dinner show. :) ...the olde English, castle theme was more fun than the Egyptian theme, as it turns out. We didn't really get to see Vegas, but that's okay...
Day Three we hit the Nevada & California desert and started on through some of the "passes." 
As one drives north from Vegas, the Sierra Nevadas are just sort of in front of you. Before you really get into any passes or cross any summits, though, you have crossed the California border. Can you see the bullet holes?
The first and therefore most memorable pass was the Lida Summit. The little town of Lida literally comprised, oh, 5 shacks and a sign that said, "Lida." Gorgeous no less. On our way down that first mountain, which in retrospect wasn't so bad, I thought the car was overheating -- 24 miles from the closest town in the MIDDLE of the desert. ...no no, it was just the riding of the brakes. To remedy, we used 3rd gear ...for the first time!
We were able to step inside Yosemite, but we weren't able to see the valley, which I guess is what makes Yosemite. But we did get to see yet some more of the majesty!
Me at the base of Lembert Dome.
Mark at the top of a bald rock!
Dog Lake! ...gorgeous!
Right outside the park... vista increíble!
The end of a busy day 3 we ended up at South Lake to spend the night with the Novak's & the Kovanis'. Thanks, Sophia and your WHOLE family! :)
Day Four: to Sherril's bridal shower. Made some really yummy white sangria. She was so excited, more nervous about our games than she was for the wedding day. Was it so bad, Sherril? Mike was interrogating her the whole way to church about the questions and how she answered. Rachelle's gifts were certainly the comic relief.
Day Five: church & rehersal dinner. Mr. Whitfield spoke. He compared Sherril & Mike's relationship to Naomi & Ruth's. It was very moving. I had a hard time keeping it together throughout the service. I hope for them...Many from church went the Great Basin for dinner. Though we weren't in the wedding party, we got a table and just fellowshipped; had such a nice time catching up! Mark and I had a great talk with Ben Millan - he so passionate about his career; I respect that. We got to catch up with Ben Nelson, Ken Blanchard, Bob Jones, Evan Kovanis, etc.!
That night the girls all stayed at the Colcord's while be boys hung out in Reno. We pimped out Sherril's toes and fingers. They needed some help. Thanks to Cher we got an education on how women "work." Very insightful...
Day Six was the wedding. The ceremony was gorgeous, at the Colcord's home. Ron, Sherril's dad, created a patio in the rear of their yard. In the concrete is written Mike & Sherril's anniversary date June 24, 2007. It was one of the most beautiful ceremonies! ...certainly not 1/2 bad for being planned in 4 weeks. Mike's jaw dropped when Sherril started down the aisle.
It was an 11 o'clock wedding, so we had lunch at the reception and danced our hearts out all afternoon. By evening, we were hungry again. France & Rachelle had to head back to Sacramento, so we went to Truckee for dinner at Moody's. Then back to Colcord's for sleep.Day Seven we left the Tahoe area and made our way across Nevada & Utah. We took the Lonliest Highway/5o Hwy. There were lots of interesting sites I am not sure we'd have seen if we took the interstate. Apparently there is a Sneaker Tree in the middle of Nevada. We didn't stop because we didn't notice it until we had already passed it. There is a lot of salt in the middle Nevada desert, who knew? In the middle of Utah 50 Hwy turns into I-70. And I-70 in Utah is amazing. I love the etched earth of Utah. I wish we could have made it to some of the national parks in Utah, but instead we got all the way to Grand Junction, CO.
Day Eight we went to the Rocky Mountain National Park. INCREDIBLE! I saw elk for the first time, tundra for the first time, I was in a huge cloud for the first time. We actually got to check out Winter Park on our way up. If you're headed there for the FOT '07 be prepared for altitude, a seriously curvy drive, and unpredictable weather. It's, of course, absolutely gorgeous...I think it will be a worthwhile Feast site, though not as wonderful as Texas. That night we stayed in Boulder at Mike & Sherril's condo. Great place. I set up their bathroom for them :)
...the pics really don't do it any justice!
Day Nine we drove through the most boring part of the United States... Can you guess? KANSAS (and eastern Colorado)! I have always had this dream to drive across Kansas. ...I think the desire was rooted in a longing for a super-de-duper roadtrip. Well, my dreams have come true and I will never dream as such again. ...simply bc I never want to endure Kansas again.
We ended up in Kansas City, stayed with Dave & Niki, their new baby, Ronan, and Sarah. On our way we checked out Jake's new pad, got to chat with Gwen & Gary's new baby girl (she is SO precious) -- and G& G, and we picked up Cherie... We ate dinner and drank espresso. Thanks, Dave & Niki!
Day Ten we drove HOME! Home Sweet Home! All in all, very fun, romantic, memorable, heartwarming and simply worthwhile.
3 comments:
That sounds like an awesome trip. I enjoyed going through that area when we moved Desiree out to California and your post certainly brings back memories and makes want to go back and explore some more.
...and Ben definitely wants one of those grills.
That does sound like a great trip. Nice to finally have faces to go along with you and Mark's words.
You met Mr. Novak, eh? I thought he and his wife were living in Savannah. I saw them sometimes when we went to services in Walterboro, SC. Did something happen to his wife?
Amanda, I can't believe I never read your blog about your crazy adventure! For some weird reason, I googled my name to see what other Sherril's are out there and ran into this. Can you believe it's already been 6 months?? Glad to see you had such a good trip, Mike and I are so happy you and Mark could make it out:-)
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