The Trip - Part I - Departure and Sedona

We've been home from our road trip for a couple of weeks and, coincidentally, it takes a couple of weeks to get situated after a huge trip like that.  This is especially true when you get a puppy in the interim.  That being said, we are ready to start the series of posts chronicling our experience.  We don't know how many parts there are going to be and I'm sure they will be interwoven with current posts, but we're looking forward to getting a narrative put together.

It wouldn't represent our departure if I didn't say that at 1:30AM the evening before we left, my Dad called me to tell me my Grandmother had unexpectedly been taken to the hospital and would not make a recovery.  This news transformed the enthusiasm we were feeling into uncertainty.  We departed with heavy hearts, kept afloat by the encouragement of our family that this trip was still the right thing to do.  Upon reflection, I believe it was, but the decisions were not easy and I am grateful for the support of Carrie, my Dad, and all of our loved ones who helped me get through the grieving process from afar.

Once our decision had been made to embark, focusing on the tasks involved in camping and traveling was helpful.  Long stretches of interstate are ideal for slow, thoughtful conversations.  Setting up camp is ideal for punctuating those conversations. 

This is the first live run setting up the tent.  We had practiced in the back yard a couple of times, but this was the real thing.  It worked our beautifully.  We set up camp in Oak Creek, just outside of Sedona.  This was the only site on the way up to Montana we had scheduled for only one evening.  I am happy for that because setting up in the afternoon and breaking camp the next morning is not fun.

This is the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona.  I happened to be in Sedona a number of years ago when I heard the news that my Great Uncle Paul (my Grandmother's brother) had passed away.  This church has vigil candles lining the walls, so I lit one for Paul.  I knew when we were traveling through Sedona, I would light a candle for my Grandmother.  When we got into the church, I thought about lighting a candle for my Grandmother and felt that somehow a solemn candle didn't feel right and realized I should light another candle for my Great Aunt Thelma who passed away in 2008 with whom my Grandmother had a special bond.  I lit two candles close to the window overlooking a beautiful red-rock valley. When I told my Uncle Dave this, he told me that he and his cousin Lori had lit a vigil candle in the same church in 1986 for my Great Grandmother (Paul, Thelma and my Grandmother's Mother) when she passed away. Wow.

The red rocks of Sedona. They are beautiful and spiritual and awe-inspiring.  I am so happy this was our first stop.

And our campsite.  I accidentally erased some of our pictures from Sedona and the Grand Canyon.  Boo Ed. Luckily of the 3000 pictures or so we took, 99% of them survived.  Yeah! (Plus, Owen was being a butt at the Grand Canyon, so if some had to go...).