Happy New Year’s Eve! I hope you’re enjoying this holiday season!

December has been a fun and unusual month! My husband and I have been on a cross-country road trip since December 2nd. I’m typing this as my husband drives 80 miles per hour (that is the speed limit!) on I-10, in the middle of no where, in Texas. We are approaching Fort Stockton and it’s been almost 100 miles since the last town!

Now it’s time to share what I’m thankful for this month!

1. I’m grateful my husband’s employer shuts down every year between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, without that extra time off, this road trip wouldn’t have been possible.
2. I’m happy I can read and type while being the passenger in a car. This was impossible when I had Lyme, I’d get nauseous almost immediately. I was able to do homework during our drive!
3. I loved being in Florida with my parents, cousin’s, and aunt for Christmas. This is only the 2nd time I’ve visited for Christmas since I moved to California in 1996!
4. I’m thankful for the National Park Service, we visited two great parks on our trip, Big Bend in Texas and White Sands in New Mexico. Here’s a few of pictures from these unique locations.
   

   These are the only gypsum sand dunes in the world. White Sands was one of our favorite stops!

   

   We did a short hike and also did lots of sand sledding. It was a fun day!

   

   The cool rock formations on the Ernst Tinaja trail in Big Bend.

   

   The watering hole on the Ernst Tinaja trail. Many animals come  here to get water, unfortunately we didn’t see any during our hike, although we did see lots of road runners and jack rabbits in other areas.

   

   The Chisos Mountain Range located entirely in Big Bend, this park is the size of Delaware! It shares a boarder with Mexico , so we got to see the Rio Grande. We only explored a couple areas, and hope to go back someday.

5. We’ve driven almost 6,000 miles, had zero car issues, and only experienced two days of rainy weather. I am so thankful for our reliable car and that we weren’t driving in the mega winter storm that affected New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana and many other states on December 26th.
6. I’m thankful for our Go Berkey Water Filter, we use a big Berkey filter at home. It filters out all kind of yucky stuff, including the chlorine. This smaller version allowed us to have filtered water our entire trip and not have to buy any bottled water.
7. This one may sound silly, but I going to share it anyway! I am SUPER THANKFUL for my bed! When this trip is over I’ll have slept in 19 different beds; I cannot wait to sleep in my own!
8. I overcame my fear of riding horses and I thank God for helping me overcome fears! Although I only did a couple slow rides, I really enjoyed the two days we spent at White Stallion Ranch, and the sweet horse I rode during our stay. Here’s a picture of me and Dusty.
9. Last but not least, I’m thankful I was able to take an almost 30 day trip and feel well the entire time! I doubt I could have done this trip 2 years ago!

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What are you thankful for this month? I’d love to hear from you!