So we're back... And I'm happy report that (despite the endless hours in the car) we are feeling pretty rejuvenated, sprightly even. It's a bit obvious, I realize, but the power of a good getaway can not be underestimated. I left Dallas feeling anxious, surly, and a bit, well, bummed out. It's been a tough summer friends. Family stuff, health stuff, work stuff. And amid all the "stuff," the summer also just sort of flew by (a bummer in and of itself). I think I've swam in our little pool exactly five times in the past three months; lazy afternoons were almost nonexistent; the girl's camp schedule was nearly militaristic. Suffice to say, "the summer guilt" was in full swing.

The getaway came just in time, and, due to the lack of cell towers in the high Chihuahuan Desert, it was a real "off the grid" kind of situation. And a not so surprising thing happened when I unplugged and stopped obsessing and kvetching. I relaxed. I made stuff with the girls. I drank gin and tonics (but not too many). I tooled around on my bike. I looked at art. I took photos. I thought, and thought, and thought some more. And unlike the thinking that occurs when I'm anxious, surly, and a bit bummed out (aka the over-thinking), this thinking bore ideas, schemes, plans.

In between their intermittent bickering (after all, they are sisters and we did trap them in the backseat of an overpacked car for 25 total hours of drive time), the girls also got into the getaway groove. They shunned movies in favor of endless podcasts (Audrey is now officially obsessed with How To Do Everything), they marveled at the mountains of Big Bend and fell in love with wild, hippie towns along the river road, they ruled the desert on their bikes, Audrey finally got the crazy genius that is Donald Judd, Millie discovered the joys of onion rings. All was good with the world.

I took a lot of photos — too many for one post — so I'll be back with part two tomorrow... Stay tuned. (I know you're waiting with bated breath). ;-)