Sky and Jia's Cross Country Road Trip 2024

Sunday, August 4 - Monday, August 5 Hey all, I'm losing track of what day it is, where I am or who I am! LOL!  It's been so wild and amazing all at the same time.  For Star Wars fans, I started saying in my head, "I am one with the road and the road is with me."  After this post, I'll take a break for about 10 days. We'll be checking in with family- both biological and chosen- so when Sky and I start heading back, we'll resume regular posting.  Mt. Shasta in the distance.  This is downtown Redding, California. We immediately took Salem for a walk to explore and came across a small park next to Shasta University. Shasta sounds like a soda (am I right, Gen X's?) Anyway, there was this really cool stage thingy and two kids sitting on skateboards rolling back and forth on their butts. lol This is the Sundial Bridge- designed by a Spanish architect. It crosses over the Sacramento River. We were thinking that Redding is also another very quiet town but when ...

  Thursday, August 1 - Saturday, August 3 On our way through Oregon, we noticed the sky was hazy and there were a few road rerouting situations. There was a major wildfire happening within a National Forest not too far away. In fact, we realized that the smokiness and poor air quality alert in Salt Lake City was a result of the same forest fire.  Hazy wildfire smoke Pretty Trees Picture doesn't do it justice, but this is the Columbia River. We drove along this for a long time and it was just breathtaking.  I look a mess! lol but we made it to Salem, Oregon to connect with my parents.  My dad digging in to the "Accidental Omelette".  If you're ever in Salem, OR, head to "Word of Mouth Cafe" They have the best breakfast food - all the breads are made from scratch on the premises and what a creative menu! I didn't take pictures of the interior but there is a lot of character and charm.  Portland Oregon!  Ice cream for dinner with mom and dad. Pearl Distri...

  Wednesday, July 31, 2024 As we left Salt Lake City, Sky shared reflections and memories of the 2 years she spent at residential school in Layton, just 20 minutes from SLC. IFYKYK It only took three hours to go from Salt Lake City to Twin Falls in Idaho. It was a really pretty drive. I did read that it can be treacherous in the winter and dust winds can make things hairy too. We were so lucky that we had clear skies and smooth roads. I can't recommend Twin Falls enough. It's beautiful. We headed straight for the Visitor Center because the website indicated that it had one of the best views in the entire state. It was really something.  It was really windy! It was a great time for Suki and Salem to get some air and grass under their feet. At first, Suki did not want to get out of her carrier. Sky called her a diva and we put her on the grass. If I didn't know any better, she started posing for the camera...  Living that hotel life.

Tuesday, July 30, 2024 First, Suki needed to sit under this chandelier in the hotel room in Des Moines. She now calls dibs on beds in the room.  Salem was happy to work on enjoying his treat! We just didn't have time to spend in Denver and there was too much rush hour traffic to get around, so we headed out early for Salt Lake City. We were in the car for 9.5 hours! We planned breaks every 3 hours but the weather in this area is hot and dry. With two dogs, we just wanted to keep it moving.  Going through tunnels like this was so cool, and it brought back memories of other places, events and friends.  You can't tell here, but there were many steep twists and turns on the I- 70 between Denver and Salt Lake City. The reception was not great and we didn't have music for a while, so we had to sing. OK, I sang and Sky begged me to stop. I sang like no one was listening to many songs...  There were many many miles of road winding through canyons and mountains with no rest a...