Grand Adventure

Chapter 29

 Dani leaned her head against Eddie as they watched the beautiful landscape passing by the windows of the train. They had boarded the Silverton Diesel train this morning at nine and were now enjoying breathtaking views of the San Juan National Forest and the Animas river as they headed toward the town of Silverton. They would get a two a half hour layover while there so they could explore the historic mining town.

This was a pretty amazing and relaxing way to see Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. She had never seen mountains like this before, massive, rising so high you couldn't see the tops of some because they were swallowed up by the clouds. They rode right along the edge of the mountains at times, which was slightly unnerving, but completely breathtaking as the forest just opened out in front of them, so different from the view yesterday even though they were less than three miles away.

They had driven into Durango this morning and would head back there after the train ride. They planned on eating at the famous Bar D Chuckwagon tonight and then camping out again like they did last night. Dani kind of loved when they camped. There was nothing quite like sharing a sleeping bag with Eddie, the stars spread out endlessly above them. They were heading through a couple more places in Colorado tomorrow before heading on to Nebraska.

They were slowly making their way back home at this point. After Nebraska was Iowa, Illinois, and then back home to Indiana. Dani couldn't believe their trip was starting to come to an end. It felt like they'd just begun but it had been over two months since they'd driven away from their hometown, Uncle Wayne and her mom waving goodbye to them in the rearview mirror.

Dani was both eager to get home and wanting to put it off, to just keep driving with Eddie and never face the reality of the responsibilities that were facing them. These last weeks with him had been the best of her life. She missed her friends and family terribly. She couldn't wait to see them again, to give them massive hugs, and to tell them all about their adventures. But heading back home meant adulting. It meant finding jobs, hopefully having enough money to get a place, and then paying bills, and trying not to fail at this thing called life. The very thought of it made her feel exhausted already, made her want to curl against Eddie and just ride this train until the end of time.

"Hey, what are you thinking so hard about in that pretty little head?" Eddie questioned, resting his cheek against the top of her head, his hand covering hers and winding their fingers together. "You've been awfully quiet for the last few minutes."

"Just enjoying the scenery," Dani answered as she leaned forward, sticking her head out the window to look down at the sea of green and brown below them, the Animas river winding through like a foamy green snake. She pulled her head back in and turned to him. "Don't you find it crazy how many different landscapes we've seen? It feels like we've traveled to places far beyond our own country but it's all here."