March Updates: New Book and Vacation Recap
I’m finally settled in after my vacation and trying to get back on schedule. It’s been a hectic catch up week, but not without some great accomplishments. Driving almost three thousand miles really got me thinking about my old van life dream and how much it impacted my novel If Found, Do Not Return. If you’re interested in that romance story, you can catch it on Amazon.
In case you missed the feature last week, I did a quick write up on mythical creatures which ties in to my happy update about new books!
New Book
The Rise of the Coilleach released this week (3/9/21) and I can’t wait to hear what you guys think. We are following Kahyr again, our fierce warrior of the forest, and we are going to learn some REALLY BIG THINGS about her name, her duty, and her new challenge. We’re on book eight of the Warrior Series, and with only two books left, anything can happen! Where do you think this high fantasy series is going to end?
Vacation Recap
If you’ve been following along on Instagram or my newsletter, I’ve been on vacation recently! It’s the first big vacation I’ve really taken where I haven’t had work, physical training (I’m talking about you, dreaded run test), or driven cross country in just a few days. Yes, I’ve driven from Wichita, Kansas to San Diego, California in a single day by myself (23 hours) and I’ll never do it again.
Great story as we left our home after some rather rough weather in the state. We were sent through Mississippi for our directions, and boy let me tell you how bad of an idea that was. You see, southern states don’t really understand what real winter weather is like, so when I say they were underprepared, I mean it. The roads were still under snow, and most of that had become ice with the freezing temps. Strongly suggest you don’t travel through states that aren’t used to winter weather because they are not equipped to clear the roads.
After I had driven in the ice and snow for about two hours, we came up on standstill traffic. I instructed my hubs to pull up the best directions to get to Tennessee as quickly as possible (even though he protested at first, I’m the wife and the more experienced weather driver). As we approach the Tennessee border, we can clearly see which state is better prepared for the weather. As soon as we hit that state line, the roads were clear and if it weren’t for the snow on the side of the road, I would have guessed that the storm decided to avoid Tennessee roads altogether.
The hubs and I started the week in Kansas where we spent a day with my family before heading to Colorado Springs. Unbeknownst to me, that’s where my favorite detour existed. For some reason, I was unaware of the incredible beauty that was Garden of the Gods. Thankfully, my hubs suggested the detour and it did not disappoint. While windy, there was still some great snow on the ground, an incredible amount of green, and a whole lot of pretty rocks to see.
Driving through the Rockies, via Denver, is possibly my favorite drive. I’ve done it at least four or five times in my life and it never gets old. You won’t see most of those photos because the windshield was impossibly dirty, we were driving 75mph, and the husband has no idea how to take photos out of a moving car. I mean, I love him so much! He did so good! I didn’t trash 300 of those photos!
Our ultimate goal of this trip was to make it to Arches National Park in Utah. I’ve driven by it several times in my life but never actually taken the detour off I-70 to get there. While I somewhat regret not doing this sooner, it was great to experience this national park with my husband. You can see from the photos below some of the awesome things we saw. If you’re thinking of visiting, I strongly suggest going in February. There aren’t a whole lot of people and the weather was a good 50 degrees - not overbearing hot but not freezing. Perfect if you want to take some more trails (but beware, dogs are not allowed).
Our final sightseeing stop before heading home was Capulin Volcano National Monument, but the drive there was almost better. We went south along the Rio Grande National Forest, the San Juan National Forest, and the Great Sand Dunes National Park. The mountains were absolutely gorgeous through that road (state route 160) so if you ever want to skirt south a bit and take a scenic route, this road is perfect. Plus, there were tons of campsites and RV locations if you’re interested in camping.
Be sure to hover over the photos to get some details about each picture!
