what's around the corner? is it safe to pass? the arrows are green, but what if the operators responsible for pushing the button have gone to lunch?

how long can i go on, with reckless abandon and 75 mph of trust in those lights, into the dark?

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

-Added to the Cream of the Crop pool as most favorited.

blogged

blogged by angela here

about 15 minutes before our final stop for the day: beaver, utah. i was driving, so this is my beautiful wife behind the camera on this one.

that storm certainly didn't look like any fun at all. luckily, we really didn't have to go through that.

at least, not that i remember.

-Added to the Cream of the Crop pool as my most interesting.

this is the end of day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

this was just the most incredible scene when i was there looking at it. it's actually quite a steep descent. made me nervous just looking at it from the scenic overlook we stopped at.

the historical plaque noted that, before they made this highway, a person could walk between those hills and touch both sides at the same time. the cost to expand it to freeway size was apparently quite expensive.

i believe those are the rockies in the background.

the san rafael swell. something like "spotted wolf" canyon, but i'll have to check and get back to you on that one.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

the best way to keep your kids quiet during long road trips.

we bought a couple of cheap kids movies (barney for $2, bob the builder for the same price, the wiggles for $5, etc) that they had never seen before and unwrapped one video each day of the road trip.

so, between leaving at 4:30 each morning (the kids slept until 7, so that's 2.5 hours down), breakfast (you get at least 30 minutes of quiet time there), lunch (another 30 minutes, plus 15 for the toys in the happy meals), and naps (2 hours in the car, easy), we really only had to worry about entertaining them for about an hour and a half each 8-hour day.

the whole trip really didn't go that badly.

UPDATE: apparently, it didn't go that badly because a whole hour of each day got sucked into a freak wormhole and ceased to exist. at least, according to my math it did. (how embarrassing, to have your mother-in-law correct your math in public. yikes. and to think i would work for her tutoring her math students on occasion)

i mean, hi MOM! thanks for checking! love you! =]

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

or was that one family in front of the san rafael swell?

i guess it's not that important.

the kids were, of course, at their cheeriest, considering it was roughly 7 in the morning (i forgot to reset the camera's time back when we entered utah, so the exif data is off by an hour), 2 and a half hours into the day's drive, and quite chilly out. and they were still in their pajamas. and hungry.

the historical plaque noted that, before they made this highway, a person could walk between those hills and touch both sides at the same time. the cost to expand it to freeway size was apparently quite expensive.

i believe those are the rockies in the background.

the san rafael swell. something like "spotted wolf" canyon, but i'll have to check and get back to you on that one.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

about an hour and a half into the trip on our last day, rik gets another idea: now that it's a bit lighter out, what would happen if i used the fireworks setting again on my piddly point-and-shoot to force a long exposure?

and so, largely because his wife is asleep, rik does his best 4-second tripod impersonation while trying to keep an eye on the road at the same time.

apparently, 30 minutes more light makes a very different image. note that this is taken less than two minutes before the next shot on my stream. no massive photoshoppery here (or on the next shot) either.

fun.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

i don't know much about this.

basically, i just liked the look of the bridge, but couldn't really get a good shot until we were almost past it. i had to turn around and shoot through the side window, next to my kids (which would explain the reflection of my son's thomas the tank engine pillow case in the window...bedtime express!)

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

it was a pretty tightly packed vehicle there. and you can't even see the state of the floor here.

that's because some of you may be eating.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

it feels like i haven't posted in ages, and i have so many of these pictures that i want to get through and post, so i thought that getting one done would "prime the pump," so to speak, so expect more road trip shots in the near future. if not, yell at me to get moving.

an early morning scenic viewpoint along the I-15. it has quite the interesting story. here's an excerpt from the utah blm website: "Early cowboys named this feature as they watched the early-morning fog shroud the base with the peak protruding above, often giving the appearance of ghost-like figures floating in the air. Ghost Rock was an important landmark in this desert region."

At the rock, there's a plaque that now i wish i had taken a picture of instead of just reading. it described a couple of brothers that were ranchers--cowboys, actually, in every sense of the word--that lived in the area. there's a cave in one of the nearby rock formations that they referred to as "the office," or something like that.

the one part that i remember describes how one brother bet the other all his cattle (like, thousands and thousands of them) that he couldn't jump his horse over a 16-foot gap over a massively deep gorge. his brother took the bet, jumped the gap successfully, and won all the cattle from his brother. he eventually became rather wealthy, if i remember right.

at least, that's how the story should end.

this is the beginning of day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

day one of our road trip/move to kansas. we stopped in st george to see the temple there and take a few pictures.

i seriously couldn't believe when i saw this that we are all looking at the camera and smiling. considering it's on a tripod and a timer, i'd say it didn't turn out too badly.

and we're not totally done yet.

i still don't have any idea how we managed to get the kids to both look at the camera for the portrait. it must be the flashing light of the timer.

this is from day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

tiny towns with big churches flew by every few minutes. it was a pleasant sight.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

on the temple grounds.

just waiting for daddy to figure out his next shot.

this is from day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

me: hey honey, look, the welcome to kansas sign! get a picture.

honey: wait! the camera's off! slow down!

camera: click

honey: uh, rik? you passed it. that was a horrible shot.

me: ok...hold on.

honey: RIK! YOU'RE BACKING UP ON THE FREEWAY!

me: actually, we're on the shoulder

honey: AAAAAAAAAH! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!

me: there. that should be a better angle.

honey: oh yeah, that's much better.

camera: click

honey: can we go now? before we're arrested?

me: welcome to kansas!

car: vroom vroom

at least, that's how i remember it happening. i swear officer. really.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

of the st george temple in st george, utah.

we would see this temple every time we drove to/from utah, but this is the first time we've ever stopped to go see it.

this is from day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

a lovely young couple came by with a camera and saw us shooting our kids. we offered to take their picture. after, they returned the favor.

this is from day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

we took a bunch. and liked them all.

this is from day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

er, drive, i guess.

the only relatively peaceful times on the road. when i get to listen to what i want to listen to instead of barney or bob or the wiggles or disney or whatever the flavor of the day is.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

so frequently, when they are in the car and trying to go to sleep, the one thing that usually gets them to finally konk out is holding each other's hand. it really is just the cutest thing you've ever seen.

unless, of course, your kids are cuter than mine.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

how's that for an obscure literary reference for you. probably my favorite short (and i mean short) story in existence. really.

if you haven't googled the title yet, you really should.

really.

oh, and i love her eyes, too.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

an abstract along the way.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

in case you ever get an itch to see the largest prairie dog in the world, i know how to scratch it: prairie dog town.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

mesmerized by the video in the car, whatever it was.

probably unconsciously cleaning her teeth with her tongue after breakfast.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

somebody who knows more than i do about ag stuff will probably be able to tell me that these are not, in fact, oats, but something else entirely.

so be it.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

just floating lazily along. if i had half a mind (and much quicker reflexes) (ok, and a megaphone), i would have shouted something fun and encouraging to them.

something like "JUST WAIT AND SEE WHAT'S AROUND THE CORNER!" or "OOOOH BOY! I'D TURN AROUND NOW IF I WAS YOU!" or even "ABANDON SHIP!"

you know, to make them feel good and confident about themselves.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

well, duh...why else would there be a lighthouse in the middle of the freaking continent?

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

daddy's arm, good for at least 15 miles' worth of (quiet!) happiness and

joy for one particular little boy.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

waiting for daddy to get the tripod set up and the settings right for another family portrait.

then i got distracted by all the fun and games going on over there.

this is from day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

after another 8 hours on the road, we made it to our destination: aurora, co. right around the corner from our motel was a mall.

with a playground.

that makes for two really happy kids.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

but Ness City has been cancelled.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

i guess we know which state forgot to pay the landscaper's bill--looks like they haven't watered in years.

we now return to our regularly scheduled road trip recap. if you missed the big news, well, you missed it.

this is from day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

stopping for gas (and breakfast, which was actually harder than we thought) in green river, ut.

i did another version (the previous shot in my stream). i think i like the crop of this one better, though i'm not really sure about the sepia or the colors, which one's better.

i wish i knew the name of the mountain in the background. it's got quite a distinctive shape.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

we tried to leave every day of our road trip early. today, we left at around 4:30 am. i drove the first few hours or so, then mommy took over for a few hours, then i finished it off. i was quite lucky to be the one in the photographer's seat...i mean, the passenger's seat, as we passed through some of the most beautiful parts of colorado. like this one.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

if i remember right (and my other, unposted pictures don't lie), there was another trailer behind this one, supporting the other end. it was a massively long load.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

in colorado, they have these really cool road signs, probably set up to aid in amber alerts, but when they're not needed for that, they display the date, the time, and the temperature outside.

in california, when there's no active amber alert, they just sit there blank, or display catchy slogans like "click it or ticket."

although, now that i think about it, a couple of them have begun displaying approximate travel times to major intersections down the freeway. you know, like if you're traveling on the 405, and you want to know how long it will take you to get downtown, these helpful road signs light up and say "downtown: you'd might as well try tomorrow because you're never getting there on this freeway," or something like that.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

far from the tree.

at the st george temple.

this is from day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

i'm still not sure if they're referring to the kid or the anteater...

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

to the generic wife. i'm sure she's just so smitten by his gesture that she's hauling his butt down to the sheriff's to book him on vandalism charges.

i mean, seriously, what kind of woman is impressed by this kind of thing?

this is the back side of ghost rock.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

from the front seat of our car as we passed through the virgin river gorge.

and yeah, that's our super cool antenna ball (and yes, i'm the incredibles nut in the family).

this is from day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

i can't really blame her. i would be looking, too, if i was driving. it was gorgeous.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

that song just popped into my head as i was thinking of a title for this.

just the briefest break in the clouds as we were passing through the virgin river gorge.

this is from day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

about an hour into the trip on our last day, rik gets an idea: what would happen if i used the fireworks setting on my piddly point-and-shoot to force a long exposure?

and so, largely because his wife is asleep, rik does his best 4-second tripod impersonation while trying to keep an eye on the road at the same time.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

not exactly something you want to see on a road trip. even less when stuck in a massively long tunnel, like this one.

turns out somebody had gotten a flat, but there's no where to pull over in a two-lane tunnel. so they had closed down the right lane so no one ran into him as he was crawling his way out of the tunnel on his flat tire. it was totally torn to shreds by the time we passed him just as he got out of the tunnel.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

a picture of the sign, that is.

when we stayed here a couple months back, we drove by this spot at night, and some would-be hip-hop star was getting a portrait done with the sign and the whole strip lit up behind him. the photog had portable lighting and everything.

and who knows, maybe he was actually famous.

not that i would know.

we now return to our regularly scheduled road trip recap. if you missed the big news, well, you missed it.

this is from day one of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here (as it gets loaded)

you take whatever kind of excitement you can get on a three-day road trip.

this is from day two of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

day one of our road trip/move to kansas. we stopped in st george to see the temple there and take a few pictures.

the clouds were really impressive when we were there. i saw a shot of this same kind of clouds on someone else's stream (complete apologies if it was yours and i can't remember!) and the discussion revealed that they are usually found on the underside of a thunderhead cloud.

you can clearly see on the weathervane which way the storm is coming from. lucky for us, that was the way we were headed.

whoopie.

because when you're driving, you don't get to appear in too many other shots.

i just love the light on her glasses.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

the little apple.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.

this is from day three of our road trip to kansas. you can see the whole trip here as it gets loaded.