between east and west

Prehistoric to our trip to Dinosaur National Monument was, well.. a lot of driving. But the vast and pancake flat land across Colorado and Kansas held some beautiful moments in the sky. This sunset over the Colorado Rocky's was stunning. And upon arriving to the Rocky mountains there were so many amazing sights to see: a double rainbow after a hard rainstorm, and stunning sunsets.





As we climbed the Rocky's (and by climb I mean in our moving vehicle) the temperature dropped and driving on the way down I even felt a little nausea from the steep decline in elevation. We drove to elevations over 13,000 feet! That's over 2 miles above sea level.









Driving through the Colorado desert we came across many monumental towering rocks. We stopped the car on this bluff and took some pictures. I'm not the biggest fan of heights and standing this close to the plummeting edge was quite a feat for me; but well worth the photo.







On the way out of the Rocky's we camped on a small lake. It was the first time we camped in a designated camping area. John has dubbed this camping as "wus" camping.. but after trying it for a night I can't complain at the instant campsite.. kind of similar to the instant Ramen I have been eating a good deal of. Early morning at this campsite I heard clawing at the edge of the tent and saw shadows of small claws and felt the tent shake. Frozen in the tent, and not by the chilly Colorado morning air, my worst fear of some deep western mountain predator was playing out before my eyes and ears. To conclude the story let me just inform you that this aggressive predator turned out to be a few mischievous chipmunks!











Our fourth of July was spent in Denver, Colorado at our second Hostel. Not as enjoyable as our first Hostel in Asheville but overall the city was nice and we had a good time touring around.

After leaving Asheville, North Carolina we stopped in Nashville, Tennessee to see my number one dream Law School; Vanderbilt University Law. A wonderful woman from the admissions office conducted an interview with me and gave some great tips for my application this fall. I have decided to apply to Vanderbilt, George Mason (in Virginia DC area) and Columbia University in NYC. Vanderbilt Law school is in one main building in downtown Nashville. The school is beautiful and full of the latest technologies and resources for any law student.




West from Tennessee we stopped in St. Louis Missouri to see the Arch and have some good eats. Unfortunately due to a few sporting events going on in the city the Arch was unavailable for tourists to visit. What a magnificent structure from afar though.

One of my favorite historical outings next to the Vanderbilt mansion in Hyde Park was the Supreme Court Case Brown vs Board of Education National Historic Monument in Topeka Kansas. The Old school building houses the commemoration to civil rights and African American rights throughout history. Touring the building not only provided an education on the topic but actually put you into the time period. The exhibits were in the old classrooms and afterwards John and I enjoyed a true Southern lunch like I have never tasted before. We ate at Boss Hawgs BBQ. I don't remember seeing one vegetable on the menu but the BBQ was delicious!