> Out of all the places I've been, I've never been in the south east. Two years ago, I went with my mom and my brother out to Arizona and back. We drove his F-150 truck all the way there and all the way back. I'll admit this. We went from New York to Illinois in one day, and probably the best part of it was seeing all the Tom Raper RV ad's throughout Indiana (My brother and I found those signs so funny). There really isn't much but that's probably because I've seen New York all my life. One thing great about New York though is the trees in the western part. One of the most beautiful parts. I remember passing the Indiana/Illinois border at about 5-6 o' clock at night. It was so beautiful seeing the sun starting to set on flat fields and more flat fields of hay and corn. I wish I would have taken a picture. I don't remember Illinois too much since it was dark whenever I looked and I was always working on homework that teachers gave me.
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> We stayed in Springfield to visit relatives for a few days. When we left, we ended in Colby, Kansas. Missouri was so green! I've never seen such green grass and green trees in my life. It was so flat out there. My mom always asks me what state it was she liked and I always remind her, "Missouri". I remember the transfer from Kansas City, Missouri to Kansas City, Kansas. We were passed by a truck that had a bumper sticker that said "Horn broken. Look for finger." I've never been to N.Y.C., but I tell you this. Kansas City was so big. So many roadways on top of more roadways.
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> We went through Kansas when they are brown instead of green. It was so windy and dusty that when my mom was driving, she had the steering wheel turned 90 degrees to the left just to go straight. I hate to imagine the turns. We drove down Interstate 70, by the way. No offense to Kansas, but it was a little depressing since all you ever saw was fields of dust. Ever once in a while you came upon a town that had a hotel and a McDonald's.
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> The next day, we left and ended in Durango, Colorado. We left Colby at like 5:00 in the morning and all I remember was seeing a darkness on the fields of dust. It was really nice when we were driving into Colorado on flat fields. The sun was just starting to come up and it gave a very peaceful feeling. It was like that until we hit Colorado Springs (that was where they gave us Orange juice instead of Orange soda). As soon as you started to leave Colorado Springs west, it was all mountains and all rocks. That's all I remember. There was so many different kind of rocks. I saw rafters going down the river. It was quite different than New York. A lot different to be exact. We went up hills and hills and more hills. As we started going up, we started to see more pine trees (something I see all the time, woo hoo!). We passed over the Contiental Divide and started down the other side of the Rocky Mountains. We had problems since the timing on the truck wasn't set up correctly so it didn't take off as well as it should have. Plus we're going up mountains with sharp turns and NO GUARD RAILS!!! But I didn't seem to care. I was in the back flipping back and forth from side to side taking pictures looking down. My brother wanted to smack me for that. It was totally different than anything seen here on the east coast. As we were coming down, there was this beautiful lake that had this really really deep blue color to it. It was an actual blue too.
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> After going over all these mountains, we ended up at the four corners. For people who have no clue what the heck the four corners are, it is the only spot in the U.S. where 4 states touch in one spot. When we went, it costed $2 to get in, but it was well worth it because you can take as many pictures there as you want. It's something that I encourage to go to if you can. There is only one way to describe Arizona...A earth science teacher's dream! So dusty, so dry. One thing I did miss is the Grand Canyon. We were just so tired because we had to be in Phoenix by a certain date. Going through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma is pretty much the same. Dry and there is basically nothing there. It's so spread out. Flat, flat, flat, flat, flat. That's what it is! We did end up staying in Alberque (I can't spell it right...the place in New Mexico). We drove in at like 7:00 at night. I tell you what. It looked like darkness and then seeing all these lights in one area. I wish I would have taken a picture.
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> I loved it. I wish I could do it again. If anyone gets a chance to take a trip like that, I encourage you to do so. It is so worth it. I truly believe that it changed me as a person. If anyone wants pictures of a certain part, let me know and I will see if I can e-mail you some pictures. It is totally different that the south east...but every part has it's own uniqueness to it. And as a Northeastern to be out in the South West really did open my eyes. I can't wait until I can do that again. Then, I will take my time and actually take time to stop and "smell the roses".
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> ~x~Band-"A pretty good cross-country trip."Aids~x~

Now that is my idea of a great trip. And you told it very well. I think the whole trip sounds like an earth science teacher's dream. Did you come back the same way?

The first time I saw New Mexico, I almost went into shock. It was bigger, flatter, and more beautiful than I expected. I never dreamed there was a place in America with so few people. Considering the beauty of the place, I can't understand why more people don't live there.

In Oklahoma, I remember driving for miles on a country road where the west side of each hill had trees and everywhere else was covered with wild flowers in full bloom. It's unexpected stuff like that that makes travel so interesting.

I hope you see Grand Canyon next time. I had seen it a dozen times from the air before I ever got there at ground level. It blew my mind! The next time, I want to ride the train up from Flagstaff.
Howard