Colorado at last!

I feel like I could be a poster child for Planes, Trains and Automobiles--I've spent so much time in them in the last three weeks! Trains in Milan, planes to and from Europe, and then two days in a car coming here.

But while it was undeniably LONG, it was also beautiful to spend alone time with my man on the road. I wish I could have recorded all of our silliness and laughter for a rainy day! We snacked on beef jerky, listened to C.S. Lewis' final portion of the Narnia series, The Last Battle, and took turns napping.

We also spent several wonderful, encouraging hours with the parents of hubby's good friend, who happen to live at a convenient half-way point. I appreciated their wisdom, their experience, and their sweet hospitality.

Some pics from the drive:

Grain silo in North Texas

The ground began to be less flat

Rush-hour traffic in Denver. We didn't plan that one very well... 

Finally in Estes Park! Just a little higher than the 300 feet elevation we're used to.

Now the place where I sit and type is a world away from Milan, not only in distance but in everything else.

One short week ago we were snapping goodbye photos with our Italian (and Albanian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Russian, and Chinese friends). We were sipping cappuccinos and eating gelato. We were packing hastily and snatching 2 hours of sleep before our flight back to America.

The view from the porch of the Admin Building. Gorgeous!

Now, I'm surrounded by the sounds of Midwestern English. Most members of the male population are sporting beards. The architecture is woodsy and rustic, and out the window I can see the fresh green panorama of the Rocky Mountains spreading up and out to the blue-brown of even higher heights beyond. The breeze is bracing. The sun is warm. I feel my soul expanding in the presence of the beauty all around me, trying to grow large enough to take in the many facets of loveliness.

I have a feeling that my heart will grow in more ways than this before the summer is over.