I have to admit, I’m pretty excited about life right now. I’m in a parking lot at the Pilot truck stop in Mountain View, ID and its my first night out on the road in Sofia.

Last weekend, I did a trial run to Element 11 (our UT regional burning man event) in Grantsville, UT. Things went pretty smoothly all things considered minus a few minor mishaps (some decorative molding flew off on the freeway, ran over a lane marker at entry – I swear those lanes were designed for mini coopers, not RVs!, and I almost backed over a 5” rebar sticking out of the ground while trying to get settled into just the right camping spot). After settling in, the festival was incredible! I did complete my 1^st day of work in my “mobile office” on Friday & everything worked seamlessly! What an awesome weekend! I’m also particularly glad that I had my dear friend, Merb, along with me for that adventure.

And so, after a quick clean-up last night and working today, we hit the road exactly at 4:36pm. Me, Sofia, Geb, Nyssa, & Athena (my goddess card – will write more about her later). The trip went by so quickly! Probably mostly due to sweet texts I got from friends wishing me well on my journey, as well as phone calls with my two sisters & my mom. I recently switched phones from AT&T to Verizon, specifically for traveling because Verizon has such better coverage. And, I was not disappointed! I never lost a signal all the way from Salt Lake City to Mountain View.

Geb & Nyssa did great! They were a little nervous on their 1^st trip in Sofia out to Element 11, but this time, they just took it in stride. Geb sat on my lap a lot of the way. Nyssa has claimed the top bunk above the drivers’ seat as her own. When we finally did arrive in Mountain Home I took them out on their leashes for the 1^st time. They were so cute! Nyssa doesn’t really know what to think about the whole harness & leash thing, but Geb did pretty good. He just didn’t like being constricted to a small space – I think he wanted to go run up a tree & really explore!

The sunset tonight was so pretty… I stopped outside of Bliss, ID to take a picture. I realized that I’m going to be able to see almost every (if not all) the sunsets for the next 4 ½ weeks! So often I get busy with things inside & I’m not outside to enjoy the sunset. I realized that driving in the evenings (as I am doing because I’m working during the regular work day) I will get to see & appreciate the sunset each day. Perhaps when I finally get back home I’ll be able to fit in a few more sunsets, taking time out of my busy scheduled to just slow down & enjoy the beauty nature shares each day.