After celebrating a late Christmas with kids and grandkids in Utah, we began our journey back east. Southeastern Utah has some spectacular scenery, especially near Moab:
We took this opportunity to drive around Arches National Park during the off-season:
We continued to head south, crossing through the snowy corner of Colorado:
and into New Mexico:
Much of northern New Mexico belongs to various Indian tribes, evident by the numerous casinos along the roadside:
New Mexico has some wide open spaces, reminding us about the huge volume of cargo that still crosses the country by railroad:
You can tell that you’re entering Texas by the classic names of western towns:
Of course, Texas is covered with ranches and farms: 
But they’re not just raising cattle and farming cotton – they are also harvesting the wind (and oil, of course):
We had to stop for some Texas BBQ:
We enjoyed visits with friends in Dallas and southeast Texas, and continued east through many acres of rice fields (our friends in China are surprised to hear that Americans actually grow rice):
In Louisiana, we drove across the Atchafalaya swamp:
and crossed the Mississippi:
The journey was a long one – the trip odometer clicked over to 6,000 miles as we entered Atlanta. We were thankful for many things along the way, including this:
…the cheapest gas in decades!
Looks like an amazing trip! Particularly that Moab part…
Great pictures!!! …Makes me want to go on a road trip…