Durango Travelodge

... rises quickly) and little other life was visible, but like I said slowing down was not really in our interest. Rising back into the higher elevations on the other side of the valley, the air cooled and life was a little more enjoyable. It was great to experience the temperature changes but I couldn't imagine being one of those people out on their touring bicycles heading through the valley.

We soon arrived at Zion ...

... mountain town that has grown because of the railroad that stops here. We met some lovely people from New Mexico, Lisa and Brad, who camped next to us with their dog and 2 cats. Tomorrow we are headed North along a scenic route through the San Juan National Forest. RVing is the best.

Yay! Tonight we had our first show (1 of 2) in Durango, CO and it went phenomenal! Everyone kept talking about how "it' happened. For those of you that have been involved with theatre before, then you know that "it" is. During each of our songs tonight there was an ephemeral moment, a moment in which we all felt the goosebumps and had to blink back tears. We felt like the audience could really understand our message and music. We touched lives tonight ...

... that makes trails for hikers and bikers around the Durango, CO area. Our job was to help create a new set of trails. After a brief safety discussion, our leaders showed us our tools and how exactly to create the trails. It seemed like pretty strenuous work but Cast B 2009 was up to the challenge.

Oh, did I mention that in order to create the trails we had to hike 2 miles up the side of a mountain in 90 degree heat and reach an altitude of ...

... able to say good-bye to my Dad before leaving for Durango. I frantically called his cell phone and thankfully, it was one of the few times he answered :) He left the coffee at the coffee shop and sped over to my Mom and I. By that time I was sobbing, along with my Mom. I had a wonderful time with my parents! It was so relaxing to spend time with them and I miss them greatly.

Everyone, work on them for Germany! :)

We had ...

I only have a little more than a month left before I depart to Shanghai for the academic year. This will be the place to get any updates on my trip for those of you who are interested. I will update this as often as I can, but who knows how busy I will be studying abroad. The anticipation is keeping me very excited, but I still have a lot of preparing to, which at times makes me hope that this trip will be worth it, but i am sure it will be. I hope you (my friends and ...

... systems - Shawn puts a threaded rod thru the baluster which eliminates any sway and provides for an extremely strong rail. *Interesting Note: Shawn attaches 2x6 Trex top and bottom railings using FastenMaster Bolts. This is one of the strongest we've seen on our trip. Also, note the custom iron work with stainless steel bolts attaching to his posts and beams.

... we made sandwiches and ate lunch. So far our food plan is wonderful. We have only purchased 5 meals. We have one of those plug-in coolers. We stock it with carrots, celery, grape tomatoes and cauliflower dipping sauce and an assortment of salad dressings. We also have a supply for PB&J sandwiches. With cheese and crackers and some microwave popcorn we are traveling CHEAP! Tomorrow we take the narrow gage train from Durango to Silverton, CO. Stay tuned. Dirinda, Jan, Shawn

... 55 square miles of sand with dunes 750 feet high created by the force of the wind pummeling rocks against the base of the Sangre de Christo mountains (named "Blood of Christ" because a Spanish priest in the 1500s saw a blood-red sunset as he was dying.) The next day we did a bike ride across the Colorado Plateau, which is as flat as the Eastern Shore near Chesapeake Bay. For a few days we thought we had a mild bug, as we had no energy, had headaches, and were short of ...