We Are Home...

Four Days...

Four States...

Two Hotels...

One Wedding...

One Incredible Morning in Seattle...

One Family Reunion...

One Rock-N-Roll Legend...

Tons of Pictures...

Four Tired People...

We Are Home.

The Road Less...Driven

I should trust technology more.

I know many people say they trust technology too much, and that's probably true for me as well, but this morning as I traveled with some of my family along I-90 heading to Seattle, Washington, my phone's GPS said we needed to exit because cars were backing up ahead. The phone calculated an alternate route that would save us time.

We got off the road and began driving through some of the most amazing scenery I've ever seen. About a mile into our five-mile detour, the calm, tempting voice of SIRI told us to turn around.

And for a moment, I almost did.

I don't have a lot of experience with GPS systems. We hardly ever leave our own state and I'm pretty familiar with my own state. Plus, in Utah you just look up--once you find the mountains and/or the lake, you know where you are. But go to someplace new while driving through literal canyons of trees, I'm as lost as a new politician.

The warning came again and again. "Make a U-turn and head to _____" (insert name of road I'm not familiar with). And I considered doing just that, but then I said to myself, "Self--the GPS directed you here. It must have known the road was open and didn't need us to turn around." So we stayed the alternate course.

We ended up pushing on and we drove on the most amazing side road. My son snapped some pictures and took a video, but it hardly does it justice. The drive just got better and better.

Eventually, we got back onto westbound I-90 and made it into town. I need to remember where that exit is and drive it next time we're in town.z On my own, I might not find it. Of course, I could just let my GPS find it.

Not All Greens Are Created Equal...

Yesterday, as our Mother's Day dinner cooked on the grill, I looked directly east, up at the mountain. This is the view I see as I leave the house every day. It's a view I've seen since my family bought a cherry and apricot orchard back in 1969.

I love this view.

Of course, there are times during the year when the view is prettier than others. Spring (now...) is great, so is autumn. I think winter's my favorite with everything covered in snow. But as I gazed upward yesterday, I took a couple of pictures because rarely is it this green.

Of course, something being green is relative. My friends Clif and Jenn live in Washington State. I visited them in 2006--my one and only time in the Northwest--and I was blown away. I'd been told they have a lot of trees in the Seattle area, but even knowing this, I could not have imagined how incredibly green it is. They carve canyons through the trees where they put roads, like driving through a carpet of vegetation. It was, in a word, beautiful.

I live in Utah, not Washington State. I used to think we had trees where I live, and we do, but nothing compared to where my friends live.

But even Washington State might come in second when it comes to being green like some places in Europe, specifically Denmark. I lived there for a couple of years back in the 1980s, and I saw shades and colors of green I've never seen anywhere else. Some were so bright, they were almost neon. Denmark doesn't have the trees like the Pacific Northwest, but the climate allows so many amazing plants to grow. Seeing Denmark in the spring is simply amazing, pure and simple.

In a few weeks the greens above us on the mountain will fade and turn tan and most of the vibrant green with disappear until next year. Since we technically live in a desert, that's the way it is and we who live here accept it. I suppose if I had to be surrounded by green, I'd have to move.

Once the harsh heat of summer subsides, the leaves will turn, and the mountain will be covered with reds and oranges. Seeing those colors--for me--is like an award for surviving the--for me--extreme heat of summers we endure.

Then comes the snow, and the mountains are reborn in white, my favorite thing.

For now, however, I'll enjoy the green, for a few weeks, anyway.