It’s difficult to read maps sometimes, either when you don’t have all of the facts, or if you are inherently directionally challenged like me.  It also helps to understand scale.  We (ahem, I) made a few mistakes when mapping out our destinations and misread some of the mileage, but what a journey we had. In all, we covered almost 1,600 miles, and countless more going in and out of the 6 National Parks, exploring all they had to offer.  It was epic and exhausting.  It’s time to face the sad fact that all good things come to an end.  The longest drive planned was jammed into one day so we could maximize every little bit of Lake Tahoe before we made the descent into life as we know it.  We agreed to the almost 8 hour drive by our family fist bump.  It’s how we counted down time, every hour we crossed in the car together.  That’s a lot of fist bumps.

There is little to take in across Nevada but it is the state the helped us stay connected a bit longer.  I’ll be forever grateful for that 500 miles to Utah, savoring the time before it ends.

We will make our way back to Tennessee to celebrate our nation’s independence but I will still be reeling in the beautiful independence I experienced with the each of the people I call mine.

Happy Independence Day!