westward ho...

PART I:
We did it, as promised… an adventure. I woke up at 4 am yesterday and loaded the car with all kinds of gear to begin a cross country expedition. I love road trips and something about the new snow falling out west began to call me.

As my little Volvo wagon was pulling onto the interstate at such an un-godly hour (my body was not meant to be awake before the sun has fully risen) I instantly flashed back to a road trip of my youth. I was 7 years old and my entire family was loaded into my mom’s mini van as we set out for New Mexico and Arizona to deliver my brother to some back packing expedition during summer break. As I sleepily but excitedly sat wrapped in a sleeping bag on the back seat, I heard my dad say to my mom that no one on the road at 3 am was up to any good. I’m sure this innocuous statement was referring to the possibility of drunk drivers on the road, or kids joy riding looking for some trouble to get into, but my seven-year-old mind took the statement literally and became convinced that EVERYONE driving cars at 3 and 4 am was evil. I looked out the window and nice men on their way to work at some early shift, convinced they were robbers, pirates and worse. The statement my dad made has always stuck with me, and it crosses my mind to this day every time I get in the car really really late or really really early. Funny how kids seem to hear everything and never forget.

Back to the adventure at hand… 30 hours worth of driving through America’s heartland on my way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. While this long of a road trip may seem like torture to some, to me it is a time to relax and breath fresh air, see interesting landscapes and get to know new states. The wide open expanses and emptiness of Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Wyoming are amazing and beautiful. Every big-city dweller should be forced to make this drive just to see that the world does not revolve around their way of life (no offense meant, as a former resident of that New York City myself, but it has to be said). As we crossed a small crest in the landscape somewhere in Kansas, a wind field opened before us, perfectly dotted by an army of enormous wind mills. What a fascinating site, but encouraging about the resourcefulness of America. Tiny red lights blinked in unison on the tops of each slowly turning wind mill to warn passing aircraft. We would continue to see these fields as we crossed the west, and I am transfixed by the sight.

As the sun sank over the horizon last night, the landscape turned into a ridiculously beautiful, Bob Ross “Happy Painter” type picture. The land tuned to a black shape and the vivid sky lit up behind it in a display that makes you feel the strange urge to grab a paintbrush and capture the scene in some cheesy painting on black velvet. I see why those people make that horrible art! If I had to look such an amazing sky every night, I would feel compelled to do the same.

I promise, this is not a shameless plug for Cerulean products, but this morning as the sun rose over the Colorado prairies, the sky became an exact replica of a scarf we are selling right this minute. Pale golden yellow shifted to a light turquoise and I was struck. I don’t have a picture of the sunrise, but you can see the scarf by clicking here. Its as close as I can get you. (and its now on sale!)

We arrive in Jackson Hole tonight and I will bring you more tales of adventures in the snowy west as the week goes on!