After our night at Uluru, we made a super-quick early-morning stop at Kata Tjuta (more huge, impressive red rock), where this was my favorite shot. 😉

Then we were headed back to Alice Springs for a couple more days. On the way, we saw this. Outback Roadside Decor

Abandoned cars — in various states of disrepair — are a standard feature of roads in the Outback. I made Andy stop. I loved the blue against the red Uluru dirt. Most are less picturesque. Pro tip: do NOT leave your car unattended in the Outback. Not for long, anyway!

By Friday afternoon, we were back in Alice and I survived my third CrossFit session with Brittany, her coworkers and friends. I was actually starting to feel kind of empowered. Woo-hoo!

Saturday, we packed up for two LONG days driving to Cairns, Andy at the wheel as usual. We managed to fit in dinner at Brittany and Andy’s friends’ place, where we weren’t the only ones having dinner:

This couple rescues orphaned kangaroos and other wildlife until they are eventually able to head back out on their own. I’m the one holding the other end of the bottle. What an experience — I couldn’t stop smiling.

Early Sunday morning we were on the road again, headed north, then east…and more east…to get to the coast and Cairns to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. It’s almost as far as driving from Denver to DC. But no worries. It was beautiful.

This place is called Karlu Karlu or Devils Marbles:

Even the burned areas had their own beauty:

Mostly, there was a lot of green and sometimes water, even on the road. There was so much rain in early 2024, the Todd River “regatta” was canceled because there was actual water in the river. Google or click here for more on the Henley on Todd Regatta, “Flintstone-style boat races” on the dry riverbed.

And then suddenly–okay, not suddenly at all–we were in Queensland.

Fuel and other necessities are few and far between. You pretty much take advantage of any roadhouse. We stopped in Camooweal long enough to get this shot:

Kind of a cool Wild West vibe for my farewell to the Outback.

One more shot from the Alice Springs bird show earlier in the week:

Wishing you beauty and interesting companions along your route, wherever you’re headed!