You may be wondering why you haven’t heard from us after we left Thursday a week ago.  Well, one reason is that this happened:

Miraculously, no injuries or serious car problems – we were very lucky indeed – and we were able to proceed to Omaha and Denver over the subsequent two days.  But we’ve been fairly consumed with repairs – and, frankly, deciding which repairs to make, after we thought that the “car” phase of the trip was mostly over.  (We’re now pick-a-part junkyard pros!)

Let me tell you something, though.  When you’ve just rolled over the car three hours into your dream yearlong road trip, a few things pass through your head, once you’ve figured out you and your significant other are okay, called the state police, and dealt with the logistics of rescue from a 45 degree tilted car in a snowy median.

First major line of thought was “I can’t believe we crashed the car three hours into the trip.  Are we going to have to start all over again and lose weeks and months?”

Second, and more importantly: “Even if we are able to physically proceed, are we going to be brave enough to?”

We didn’t have to start over, thankfully.  (We didn’t even have to backtrack more than ten miles.)  And the answer for us to the bravery question is an emphatic YES – neither of us even gave it a second thought, although there’s absolutely zero chance you’ll ever find us in Minnesota in winter again.

It was a good feeling to, as a couple, press forward with our dreams in the face of an initial setback.  The trip has acquired more meaning than we’d expected, even in the first week.