Journey to Utah

We made the long journey over miles of alternating expanses of nothingness and snowy mountain ranges. Day one was a success. We finished packing up the U-Haul, dropped Joe by the lab for one last 20 minute stretch of work, and then off we went. There were cries of pain from Hannah Jane as we left the apartment and she didn’t recover for quite a while. The boys were perfectly fine, as I suppose they had no clue what was going on. Although, Hunter did say, “We go live in Udahh now?” and seemed perfectly content with the idea of never returning.

We drove until midnight before we retired at a Hampton Inn. The kids were so excited to be in a hotel. They had trouble going back to sleep, but we firmly laid down the law and eventually all was silent. In the morning, Joe had promised Hannah that she could get in the pool before we pulled out. He ran across the street to the Wal-Mart and returned with PJs for everyone to swim in (suits are hard to find in December) and we all trotted down to the pool. Joe thought that they could splash around on the steps of the pool for 15 minutes or so and that we wouldn’t have to get in. I had my suspicions, but I was trying to be as positive as possible. He decided to leave me there sitting by the steps and grab some coffee while the kids were splashing. Seconds later, Haven just belly flopped off of the steps and was flailing down first in the water. I had to jump in and save him, fully dressed in the only clothes I had that were not in the U-Haul. Joe returns just in time to see me rising out of the pool holding a screaming baby. I had to hit Wal-Mart for myself to buy some dry clothes and shoes for the day and you can imagine how biting the chill is of waddling through a parking lot in Idaho in December while wearing soaking wet clothes and shoes.

On a high note, Hunter decided that today was the day to use the potty. All those books about not potty training during times of change and Hunter asks to go on the big toilet in the hotel. Now, I’m not holding my breath for him to do it again, but it was quite a surprise.

We were off on day 2 of the drive with dry clothes on and swimming pool trauma behind us. Today the kids were totally over the driving. Haven screamed for a good 2 hours without stopping – even with a constant flow of snacks and with me blowing bubbles into the back seat (thanks Jen). The hours were long today and most of what we passed all looked the same.

Finally, we approached mountains that no longer looked like massive, lumpy, brown stuffed toys and were now jagged and snow capped. They took my breath away. Joe said that we would live just on the other side of those mountains. Slowly we dropped down into a little valley and there was the most beautiful land. There we little ponds with ice and snow around the edge, and in the still water of the center you could see a perfect reflection of the broken snow peaks high above.

The town itself leaves something to be desired. The part that I have seen, which is admittedly little, looks kind of typical struggling small town. It does have a wonderful Main Street that is actually still used and busy, if you can believe it. That in itself if quite charming. Our town home, which we have for almost 4 months, is beautiful and much larger than we are accustomed to. Even though it is in what I would call Apartment Central where you can see rental units every which way you look, there are these gorgeous mountains all around.

When the sun set on those snowy mountains and set them aglow with pink and orange fire, I just felt like we had moved to the most blessed place on earth. Just imagine 365 degrees of mountain ranges. On one side they are reflecting the vivid pastels of sunset and on the other side they are dark outlines against a brilliant pink sky.

The last thing that really struck me is how quiet it is. I mean, we’re in a city and cars are passing and all of that, but it’s almost like the sound just keeps going out into this vast sky and never comes back. It’s almost X-files creepy how quiet it can be here. Although, I’m sure Haven will take care of that soon enough.

Goodnight, Utah!