As someone who actually loves to travel, I have done it very little. It is always a matter of not having enough money, or the truck is acting weird, so we better not push it. I have only left my home state of Texas a few times in my life and almost exclusively stuck with the states that share our border. After all, when you live in one of the biggest states in the country, it is quite easy to visit a plethora of sights and landscapes without having the need to cross the border.

That being said, the first time I left was actually the longest distance I have traveled and that was back in 2016, I was invited on a mission trip with my Sunday school class to Estes Park, Colorado. We were going up there to help some church friends canvass for their church, since they had just opened the doors.

From the DFW area, it takes roughly 13 – 13 1/2 hours to drive up to Estes Park. No, I have never been on a plane before and honestly do not plan on it lol My Sunday school teachers rented out this neat sprinter van that had plenty of room to fit about 10 adults, so it was actually a very smooth drive. We stopped in a smaller city and slept in a hotel, so we split the trip up a bit.

The first time I saw the mountains, was such a rush. Obviously, I knew they were massive but just being up close and personal with these creations honestly gave me some anxiety lol It really makes you thank God for even allowing us to view these incredible majesties. The picture shown was taken by me during a hike through the Rocky Mountain National Park. I believe that may be Lake Estes, but please do not quote me on that, it’s been a while lol I have asthma, so the change of elevation was hitting me a bit harder than I wanted so I was not able to walk the full trail.

We saw the hotel that inspired the Shining from Stephen King, we rode UTVs through the woods and went to this park with those multi-lane slides (like at water parks) with a mini golf course. We walked around the city and did so much sight-seeing and just genuinely enjoying ourselves. On top of that, we are doing the Lord’s work, so it added such a sense of accomplishment.

Since then, I have been back to Colorado for a family trip in Colorado Springs, but that is closer so that was disqualified for this prompt lol