Road Trip!!! Days 7-8 - Woodward, Oklahoma to Cody, Wyoming

We rolled out of Woodward, pointed straight north, with tears in our eyes. It’s hard to part with those you love, especially when it may be months before you see them again. But Bliss and I were ready to get home — to Brad, to our dogs, to our new kitchen. And to Wyoming — being away from home always makes us appreciate what a special place Cody is!

From Woodward, it’s only about 50 or so miles to the Kansas border — nothing like spending a Monday driving across the entire state of Kansas from south to north. To make matters worse, it was our longest driving day of the trip: 575 miles. Ugh. We even missed the “Welcome to Kansas” sign! (Word to the wise: if you ever find yourself tempted to stop in Plainville, Kansas, for Mexican food, just don’t…)

But we saw a badger! And a LIVE deer! Both a big deal after a whole lot of road kill: elk, deer, coyotes, fox, possums, armadillos, wild turkeys and rattlesnakes.

We finally crossed into Nebraska and, after mostly state highways and rural roads on this trip, we were flying along I-80 at 84 mph. Nebraska got prettier and prettier as we traveled west, reminding me of the eastern Wyoming landscape around Lusk, which I love. By the time we got to Chimney Rock, and our destination of Scottsbluff, we were also back in the haze of wildfire season.

We woke early Tuesday and hopped in the car for the last leg of our journey. We both cheered as we passed the Wyoming sign, and several hours later, our beloved Heart Mountain appeared on the horizon.

Nearly 2,500 miles and about 42 hours of driving time over eight days… Whew! It was truly a mom/daughter adventure we will never forget. We giggled and marveled at scenery, sang loudly to our favorite songs and had serious conversations — Bliss even kept up with all her schoolwork. And through it all, we never had a cross word between us. It was pure magic (pretty sure the massage seats in the Volvo helped us maintain cheery dispositions, FYI!)

From Cody, WYOMING, with love!