28 Jun 2026 2 min read

Prayers for Utah and Colorado

Fire map from earlier today. Lila and her herd started our 2026 Spring Adventure on April 28th and returned home on May 28th. We began and ended the trip in Wichita, visiting close friends — including Lila’s friend Sissy, who you may remember hearing about. In between, we traveled through La Junta, Mosca, South Fork, Durango, Silverton, Mesa Verde, Zion, Kanab, Moab, Vernal, Gunnison, Crested Butte, and Colorado Springs. Seeing the current and potential fire danger along this entire path is both heartbreaking and overwhelming.

Hi, this is Carrie. I have struggled to help Lila with her post this week. Last week, she talked about Moab and planned to tell you all about Vernal this week. We will eventually post about Vernal, Gunnison, Crested Butte, and our Colorado Springs stops from the 2026 Spring Adventure.

For now, it doesn’t feel right to talk about how much fun we had in Lila’s voice while these areas are in turmoil. So, I hope you enjoy this week’s edition, which is intentionally different.

Our family is praying for Utah and Colorado. The beautiful landscapes, monuments, national parks, residents, wildlife, tourists, domestic animals, farms, homes, businesses, firefighters, rangers, and people with loved ones in the path of the fires are all in our prayers.

I’m reminded of Lila’s first visit to Yellowstone. It was less than a year after major flooding. Many of the roads were still not passable, and others were under construction. We contemplated whether we should cancel our trip and ultimately decided to keep our plans. Social media and news had covered the flooding in great detail, and it was surreal visiting afterward. Even with the construction delays and closed sections of the park, we had an amazing trip and cherish the memories. I’m sure Lila will reach into her memory files and send a belated postcard someday.

This time, it doesn’t feel real when I see the social media and news reports related to the fires in Utah and Colorado. We were just there. We saw snow in several locations and felt the dry heat — but there was no fire.

My true hope is that at least one family will be inspired by On the Road with Lila to visit Colorado and Utah when the smoke clears. Like our trip to Yellowstone, you may see damage from the fires, but you will also experience the beauty, strength, and spirit of these places.

Lila suggested I share some of her puppy pictures to end this post on a happy note. How could I tell her no when she was such a cute puppy?

We appreciate you! Have a great week!