Out West

The good news is, we are home safe and sound.

The great news is,  Daniel and I still like each other after 42 hours in a car together!

It took us approximately 5 days to make the stops we intended, with the exception of Denver (thanks, rain), and I saw SO MUCH AMERICA. It was pretty gratifying to mark "ROADTRIP!" off the bucket list I made in middle school when driving long distances seemed about the most "grown up" thing a person could do.

The Grand Canyon (Arizona)

If I had the words to describe how breathtaking, mesmerizing, overwhelming, and awe-inspiring the Grand Canyon truly is, I would use them now. Instead, I tried to pick the photos I thought best displayed these qualities, but unless you've seen it for yourself, pictures and words just don't do.

~sO sAsSy~

*blurry* but here is Daniel casually risking his life

And me risking mine

Four Points Monument (AZ, NM, UT, CO)

To make it from the Grand Canyon in North Western Arizona to the Four Points Monument in New Mexico, you must drive through hours upon hours of no cell service, radio signal, and a literal no-man's land. And if you're us, rain. But, once we got there, I marked yet another thing off my bucket list: Standing in four states at once!

Daniel is standing in New Mexico and I'm ALL THE WAY IN UTAH. We thought this was real clever.

Crazy Horse Memorial (South Dakota)

This was not in the plan, but it so neatly fit in with Mount Rushmore than we had to stop. Crazy Horse Monument is a work in progress that will eventually (in about 60 years) be completed and stand larger than Mount Rushmore. Standing Bear, a Native American Indian Chief, wrote to Polish sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, saying "carve us a mountain so that the white man will know the red man had great heroes also." Crazy Horse was the hero Standing Bear referred to. 

The best part about the Crazy Horse Memorial is the pride surrounding this project. Each employee on the campus was so incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. It is very clear that the folks running this show are doing it for all the right reasons, which warmed my heart to the fullest. I definitely plan to visit in the distant future to see the progress they've made! (Google this to find out what the end result will be--it's pretty impressive!)

Crazy Horse was also a great warm-up for the next thing to come!

Mount Rushmore (South Dakota)

And Chuck, we didn't forget to say hello to SD for you

The St. Louis Arch (Missouri)

This was the last stop on the trip before Kentucky. The Arch is a relatively quick, affordable sight to see if you are driving through St. Louis. If you're afraid of heights and it is particularly windy that day, don't do it. The arch actually sways---as in, go to the top, stand still, and feel it moving back and forth. Kind of scary but mostly cool. 

To get an idea of how TINY the capsule is that takes you to the top, here I am in front of the door.

It reminds me of the inside of a dryer. Which is not a pleasant comparison.

The view from the top

I took a picture of this dude when I visited the arch in elementary school. I had to take another.

I had the best road trip date of all time. 

Now that it is over, it's time to plan for the next thing.

It's officially official. I bought my one-way ticket to New York City and I'll be moving there in October. I am sticking around the bluegrass to celebrate my 24th birthday with friends and family before I the big, scary, wonderful move happens. I guess I won't be Kiley in Kentucky anymore? I'll have to brainstorm on that one.

Santa Fe | Part 3

HEY, SEPTEMBER! September is my very favorite month of them all. Not because it's my birth month--although, that plays a role--but it is the start of Autumn, my favorite season, and I get to pull out my riding boots oh so soon! I wish there were only 2 seasons in a year: Summer and Fall. How perfect a world that would make. 

Today marks my last full day in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This post, Santa Fe | Part 3 won't really match my previous two posts: Santa Fe | Part 1 + Santa Fe | Part 2 ...

Because, I have spent most of the week in doors learning the ropes of Adobe Illustrator CC. To make a semi-long story short, I was part of a study conducted by Adobe, to monitor how a complete beginner with ZERO experience in Illustrator (me) learns the program. The month-long study is now over, and I'm only really comfortable with the basics of Illustrator, but I have done lots of creating and I want to share it with you, if I can't provide more pictures of my exploration of Santa Fe!

Before I get to all that, I did adventure out of doors to find a landmark I spotted in a very famous postcard....

Most of the illustrations inside the letters are sort of vague....except for the "A." There is a very distinctive stone cross inside that one. By pure coincidence, I had seen another photo of this same cross when doing research about sights to see in SF. 

SO, WHERE IS THIS ELUSIVE CROSS? Turns out it's in the middle of a BEAUTIFUL, residential neighborhood on Old Taos Highway. It is, quite literally, in someone's backyard. And it's SUPER COOL.

Now, to make a long history short, the cross was erected in the 1920's by the Knights of Columbus and the Historical Society of New Mexico to honor the Franciscan Friars killed by the Pueblo Indians in the Revolution of the Province of New Mexico in August of 1680. 

I'm not a history buff, but that is interesting, indeed. 

Now, I'll unveil some of what my Adobe study helped me learn this week. 

I drew this Fall-themed pattern, aka: AUTUMN-THEMED-WIN! You don't understand how proud I am of this one...for someone who grew up in the 'most technological generation,' somehow I don't understand technology, like, at all. A couple of lovely individuals asked my permission to use this as a phone and/or computer background. First of all, props for asking permission. Second of all, you made me feel very good. Thank you, thank you!

For a thing that didn't take much skill, but made me so excited, is this:

It is a map of the roadtrip I shall embark on sometime within the next 24 hours!

The cute little Pontiac Vibe (thanks again for letting us use it, Hannah) is going to take us from our starting point: Santa Fe, NM, to the following places:
1. The Grand Canyon (Arizona)
2. The Four Corners
3. Denver, CO
4. Mount Rushmore/The Black Hills (South Dakota)
5. St. Louis, MO
6. Madisonville, KY
7. HOME (Greensburg, KY)

All in all, this trip will take anywhere from 4 days to a week, depending on how long we spend in each spot (we are sort of on a deadline). The total driving time equals 

42. Hours. 

(UMMM, we may need prayers)...plenty of time for us to get through "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" approximately 84 times. 

Believe it or not, the longest leg of the journey is from Santa Fe to the Grand Canyon: a 12 hour drive. But, I know it will be beyond worth it.
As the very wise Brenda Hall told me a few weeks ago:
"I don't use the word 'awesome' often, because God is Awesome and the Grand Canyon is awesome."
Since then, I've not only become more excited for the Big Ol' GC, but I've reduced my usage of the word 'awesome' by half. 

To see the 3rd creation I want to share, visit my Facebook page. I am pining for long hair again, and that was most definitely what inspired the new profile picture.

Before I leave you, I want to share a link with you.
http://www.gofundme.com/dvgym0 

This link leads to a GoFundMe campaign for the precious dog of one of my good friends, Whitlie. If you ever meet Whitlie, within the first five minutes of conversation, you'll know how big of a place in her heart she has for animals of ANY kind. If you feel so inclined, make a donation to 2 year old Thor for his ACL surgery. His story is in the link! I'll be making my donation soon :)

See y'all next week from, SOMEWHERE, U.S.A.! 

Santa Fe | Part 2

Not many words today! In fact, as few words as possible. Just pictures. This trip has been a good exercise in using my camera on manual. I'm not yet ready to submit to National Geographic, but I'm working on it. And y'all are like my accountability partners. Cool?

Here is this week's practice sesh.

 St. Francis Cathedral | Downtown Santa Fe

Daniel always has my back with the iPhone panoramas

 Looking out at Santa Fe from a very high, very chilly mountaintop 

 Have a lovely weekend!

Santa Fe | Part 1

It's hard to say what has been the highlight of my time in New Mexico so far.

Was it my very first Whattaburger hamburger (um, it had green chiles on it?!?!)? Stomach says YEAH.

Or was it standing in front of one of the most iconic fictional residences in modern day TV?

My love of 'Breaking Bad' says YES.

Or, was it when a really cute tour guide showed me around the Santa Fe Opera?

Definitely a top 3 moment!

BUT NO. Y'all know I had to get up at 5:30 am for this one.

It was cloudy, a little rainy, and a lot chilly. But you can't tell it from this picture. 

As I snapped pictures of the sunrise, Daniel noticed what was going on behind us.

This is a panorama of me taking a panorama of the rainbow--because it wouldn't fit in one picture! I was thoroughly impressed with nature... in one direction was a beautiful sunrise, in the other was a massive, majestic, MOST MAGICAL rainbow.

 SEE? SO BIG! SO GRAND!

My rainbow face.

And my panorama...

NATURE! You even made this parking lot look nice.

And I think I might see a sunset tonight. Nature, can you pull out another breathtaking moment?
Pretty please?