I've never been this high before

Life is one beautiful trip

I love quirky America.

If it weren't for Instagram, I wouldn't know where I was. This van was spotted in the midst of Rio Grande National Forest today.

We drove through Pagosa Springs, where the water emerges from the ground at temperatures of 120 degrees, and is the deepest geothermal hot springs in the world. "Pagosa" is an Ute Native American word meaning "healing water." 

This fountain bubbles in town.

Elsewhere, in the middle of nowhere . . . a potter's studio.

Today's drive took me over the San Juan mountains and crossed the Rio Grande. I passed a sign noting the elevation as 9875 feet and imagined it next to my house, which is 8 feet above sea level. That's when it occurred to me that I have never been this high before. It seems like a different world here, and the low country of South Carolina feels like a safer, more grounded place. 

And sometimes they just close the highway for an hour, and this is what you see. I read my maps and napped for a bit while waiting for crews to move boulders out of the road. This is the Blast Zone.