Cross Country Adventure!
Posted on Jul 2nd, 2007
by 
Jeannie
Jeannie
Hi All,
My friend Danae and I just completed our cross country adventure! We completed it in about 10 days, with no flat tires, and a sometimes crying kitty in the back-seat. : )
Here's what we saw along the way:
Day 1: Saturday, June 23: We started out from DC early that morning, car loaded to the brim with supplies and Buster calmly nestled in his back seat kennel. Waving goodbye to DC as I went, we headed first for Asheville, NC. Along the way we stopped at the Natural Bridge in VA- apparently one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. We took Buster in on my back , in what was an attempt to be stealth. We quickly realized that there could be nothing stealth about it, when kids began pointing and saying, "Look Mommy, she has a kitty on her back!" That's when we knew it would be an interesting trip!
Upon leaving there, we came across a very odd attraction- Foamhenge. This was literally a foam replica of Stonehenge sitting up on a hill in the middle of Virginia. We of course had to stop. What on earth would posess somebody.. : ) Next stop along the way was Roanoke, where we roamed thru the little town market. That took all of 10 minutes and then we were on the road again.
Later that evening we arrived in Asheville, NC. I had been there once before, but this was a first for Danae. It was a beautiful walking city with fantastic energy. It's a very laid-back city, with lots of artists and musicians, and people who are very active and outdoorsy. I don't think we've ever seen so many totally buff people! Also, oddly we saw more happy couples walking hand in hand than seemed normal for any place. We wondered for a minute if we had walked into the twilight zone. It was as if a bus of happy couples had just unloaded in front of us. Guess there is something magical about Asheville afterall.
We wandered into the main square and came across a crowd of people lounging around watching a band play. The city was full of people wandering all over the place, and we began to wonder if this was a normal amount of people for this small city. We later learned that it was the first night of the Smashing Pumpkin's reunion tour and fans had come from all over to see them play. The place was just alive with people, it was fantastic!
For dinner we went to he first adorable restaurant that we saw, called Tupelo Honey Cafe (www.tupelohoneycafe.com). We both proceeded to enjoy some great Southern cookin' and frankly one of the best meals either of us had ever had. Danae had pecan crusted chicken and I had my very first sweet potato pancake. Scrumptuous!
Day 2: Sunday, June 24: This morning we took a tour of the massive Biltmore Mansion and its gardens. It was immensely elaborate and grand, but it looked more like it belonged in the countryside of France than in the mountains of North Carolina. It really looked like a castle. That house (well you can't really call it a "house") has more sitting rooms and entire guest floors than I could ever imagine knowing what to do with!
From Asheville, we drove thru the Smoky mountains (which were beautiful) and then continued on to Memphis. After checking in and getting Buster settled in the hotel, we went downtown to experience Beale Street. It was exactly as I would have expected- tacky neon lights, loud music blaring from several of the bars, and lots of drunk people wandering the streets. But it was certainly a spectacle to see. We sat at a bar and had some Fried Green Tomatoes (another first for me!)
Day 3: Monday, June 25: This morning we took a tour of Graceland. It was awesome! For not being from the Elvis generation and having no connection to him myself, I was majorly impressed by his life story. He really did have such an interesting life and was involved with so many charities and giving back to the community. We really learned a lot and thorougly enjoyed seeing Graceland, especially the Jungle Room!
After Graceland we took Buster on a tour of Beale Street and had lunch at a Tennessee BBQ joint. Buster enjoyed watching all of the sights and sounds while we ate, and we got several more interested people coming over to look at the cat. What a riot!
After lunch, we headed off for Arkansas.... Arkansas had to be one of the most interesting places we saw, from my perspective. Some of the friendliest people we met, but I truly feel that Arkansas is having a bit of an identity crisis as a state. It really doesn't know if it belongs to the South, the Midwest, or the West. It really did have elements of all of these regions, as it's smack dab in the middle. It really was a very bizarre and fascinating collision of cultures.
Later that evening, we arrived into the town of Hot Springs, a town made famous during the Victorian era for the beautiful bath houses that were built around its natural hot springs. This I think may have been my favorite spot of the trip. It was an adorable little town in the mountains, with a quaint western feel. One side of the main street was lined with large, stately bath houses- about 7 of them all next to one another. Back in the day people used to come from all over to enjoy their thermal bath houses. We found an adorable old hotel with a ton of charm and the friendliest staff we saw the entire trip. The price included a free massage so we were really exited to take advantage of that.
But sadly it seemed like the town had had its heyday and was no longer living up to its potential. While the town was still beautiful and well kept, it was virtually empty. We went out to find dinner and could only find one restaurant open, right in the middle of dinnertime, in the middle of the summer. There were hardly any people walking around, and what people we did see were mostly seniors. There was nobody our age for miles! And for the number of honks and whistles we got, you would have thought that he men there had never laid eyes on a woman! So bizarre!
Day 4: Tuesday, June 26: This morning we got up and had thermal baths in the hotel's lovely old bathhouse. We had a very sweet bath attendant and it was just like they had done the baths back in the day. Old tubs, large tile rooms and one of those funny saunas where it closes up around you and your head sticks out. I wish we'd had a camera in there! After having our baths, sauna and cool water shower, then we had our free massages. Heaven!
After our massages we went to breakfast at a cute little diner, which was very inexpensive, and where we saw one too many hair scrunchies (need I say more?). On our way out of town we stopped at the town "watering hole". Because the town sits on natural hot springs, they have a large water spicket where the locals come to fill up their water jugs. The water is piping hot, straight from the springs, and it is some of the freshest, most therapeutic water you can drink. So we filled up all of our water bottles and we were on the road again.
From Hot Springs we headed north up a scenic road into the Ozark region of the state, which was lovely and looked very much like New England. We drove out of Arkansas and into Oklahoma. Unfortunately there wasn't much to write home about in Oklahoma, except for the fact that apparently the entire state was flooding just behind us. When we got to our hotel somewhere in the western part of Oklahoma, we turned on the news and saw that virtually the whole state, and many of the areas we had just driven through, were flooded. By some miracle we just happened to be about 6 hours ahead of the storms, so we missed the entire thing.
Day 5: Wednesday, June 27: This morning we got up and visited the National Route 66 Museum, which despite its name, wasn't very impressive. That took all of 10 minutes, and then we were off into the Texas panhandle. Not much to report there either, except for supposedly the largest standing cross in the Western Hemisphere- standing in the middle of some farmland. Bizarre.
After passing thru Texas, and seeing the famous Route 66 restaurant where they dare you to eat a 72 ounce steak (cause that is healthy!), we headed into New Mexico, which was some of the most beautiful landscape we saw on the entire trip. We headed up the scenic Turquoise Trail up towards Santa Fe and saw dramatic landscapes the entire way up.
Along the way we happened upon this tiny little town on the side of the road. It looked like a little artist colony and it looked familiar to me in an instant. I immediately thought that it looked just like the town used in the movie "Wild Hogs". So I start telling Danae how this town bears an uncanny resemblance to that town and how I wonder if it is in fact the town they used to film the movie- next thing you know we happen upon a building called "Maggie's Diner" and wouldn't you believe that on the door is a sign that reads "This Diner was built by Disney for the movie "Wild Hogs" starring John Travolta, etc." I knew it! The town was called Madrid, New Mexico, which was exactly the name of the town in the movie where the characters went for a chili pepper festival. How cool that we just accidentally happened upon it!
We arrived in Santa Fe just in time for a spectacular thunder and lightening storm. With the backdrop of the mountains behind Santa Fe, the sky lit up all sorts of colors with the lightening. I've never seen anything like it, and now I understand why paintings of Santa Fe always show a painted sky with pinks and purples. The storm went on for hours and it was spectacular.
We went out to explore the town at night and while walking around we came across the oldest church in the US, from the old Spanish missions. Ironically at the very moment we were passing the mission, the sky cleared up and we saw a rainbow directly over the church. Talk about sending goosebumps up my spine! That was a religious moment if ever there was one. It was beautiful!
We continued looking for a dinner spot and happened upon an adorable little restaurant, which turned out to be one of the most famous spots in Santa Fe. The atmosphere was so lively and fun and the food was awesome. Another great meal like the one in Asheville!
Day 6: Thursday, June 28: This morning we got up and went to an adorable little creperie in the heart of Santa Fe. Then we roamed around and explored the city. Santa Fe is one of the cutest cities I've ever seen, nothing at all like I expected. It doesn't feel like a city at all, but rather is a cute little adobe village. All of the buildings are made of the rust colored adobe clay and it is full of artist galleries and adorable little boutiques. This was definitely one of our favorite stops!
From Santa Fe we drove into Arizona towards Flagstaff. The landscapes continued to captivate us, changing dramatically at every turn. We visited the National Petrified Forest and we saw petrified trees that were thousands of years old. We also saw what I can only describe as something of a moonscape, with mounds of stratified dirt, each layer a different, brilliant color. It was incredible to see and hard to imagine what a contrast we were seeing from where we began back in Asheville.
This evening we arrived in Flagstaff, which to my surprise was not at all the desertous, cactus-filled landscape you expect of Arizona, but rather was a very green mountain town, full of fir trees. It felt like the Pacific Northwest. We roamed around downtown Flagstaff and I found it to be a cute little town with the feel of what was once a western outpost.
Day 7: Friday, June 29: Today we drove an hour north to the Grand Canyon, where we were planning to spend the entire day hiking (this time Buster had to stay behind in the hotel!) We walked the 10 mile rim trail and took in breathtaking views. The colors inside the canyon were incredible. Pictures or words can hardly capture its awe. It was hard to believe that there we were standing beside one of the largest holes in the earth!
I could tell a very funny (and classic!) story of how we ran out of water and got lost while hiking around the Canyon, but I would make my mother way too nervous if I told that story. Mom, if you're reading this, all you need to know is that we are still here to tell the tale and very much ok!
After finishing the rim trail, we waited to see the sun set over the canyon. Unfortunately I don't think we caught the most spectacular of sunsets, but it was still stunning nonetheless.
The most interesting thing about our visit to the Grand Canyon, is that we hardly saw any other Americans. It seemed that easily 75% of the people we saw were foreigners, speaking all sorts of different languages. It impressed me to see that people had come from all corners of the globe to see this awesome sight. Though it was a bit to my dismay to realize that Americans as a whole are just too darn lazy to do something as active as hiking at the Grand Canyon! (we sure saw many ounfit Americans in Vegas the following night ,however. Doh!)
Day 8: Saturday, June 30: Today we headed out from Flagstaff towards Las Vegas. Along the way we saw a fantastic Route 66 sight, that was well off the beaten path. It was an eclective little take-out restaurant, papered with sticky notes, decorated with offbeat signs, and run by pranksters who played practical jokes (such as squirting a fake mustard bottle on Danae's shirt) on their customers. The backyard had eclectic outhouses designed to confuse customers and a yard full of old 1950's cars leftover from the Old Route 66.
We continued on down the street and saw a whole host of old Route 66 hotels, gas stations and abandoned shops. It was as if we had crossed into an alternate time and universe. It was sad to realize that what was once Route 66 is no longer, but it was really neat to imagine what it must have been like in its heyday.
After that stop, we headed to another off-the-beaten-path attraction. But this time it was REALLY off the beaten path. A while back a lost artist was seeking to find himself, so he went into the middle of the Arizona desert and painted an enormous mural on the side of gigantic rocks. He called it "The Journey" and it was representative of his journey to find himself. Well, finding it was not all that easy either. It was a ways up what the guide book called a "dirt" road. Let's just say that was a bit of an exaggeration. It was more like driving through a dried up river bed, with large boulders and big divets. We got about halfway up the road in my "little engine that could" (aka a Saturn SL1), and from the looks of the other 4x4s and SUVs around us, it was clear that we were not going to make it. So we temporarily abandoned the car on the side of the "riverbed" and graciously accepted the invitation to ride with a nice couple in a big SUV. We made it up and back and saw the very unusual mural. Certainly not one of those sights that most people get to see!
From there we were on to the Hoover Dam, where we realized that the dam basically causes a huge snag-up of traffic, as the highway passes over the top of the Dam. We stopped there to get a quick picture, and saw the crystal blue Lake Mead behind the dam. The Dam itself was an impressive feat of architecture and it was hard to imagine that they built it when they did. We didn't last long there, as this was the beginning of the hottest heat we had felt. You literally could have fried an egg on the sidewalk. It was upwards of 115 degrees in some places!
After the Dam we forged on thru the heat (my poor car struggling up thru the mountainous roads) and passed thru the spectacular Black Mountains before arriving in Vegas. The Black Mountains were literally that, dark black dirt. They were like nothing I'd ever seen (again, the landscape kept changing and changing) and were striking against the blue sky.
We arrived in Vegas to find that it was still well over 100 degrees. We had a lovely Italian dinner and spent the evening walking up and down the strip (and sweating the entire time), taking in what can only be described as eye-candy. So many bizarre things to look at in Vegas. So much over the top opulance, you didn't even know where to look first. We went from casino to casino just to check out the different structures and saw several of the free shows. Our favorite was by far the Bellagio, which has its fountains choreographed to music (I have a video clip attached). Fortunately for us, neither of us cares at all about gambling, so we didn't even delve into that whole world. It was most fun to just watch all the other crazy people!
Day 9: Sunday, July 1: Today we left Vegas to head towards Joshua Tree National Park. There was no direct route to get from Vegas to Joshua Tree, so we decided to take a short-cut through the Mojave Desert (sounds like it could be a bad idea.. just wait until you hear tomorrow's story..). The Mojave Desert was another journey with ever-changing landscapes, and this is where we saw our first Joshua Trees- although we didn't exactly realize that's what they were until later.
Once through the Mojave we arrived at Joshua Tree National Park, which we passed through while of course listening to the famous U2 album. And while we saw more of the same Joshua Trees, we such an entirely different and shocking landscape. Piles of granite rock formations that looked like they had been dripped down from the sky and hardened. Apparently they were formed thousands of years ago from lava bursts coming up from the earth and then cooled in the rock piles. But they seemed completely out of place. Looked like something I would expect to find back home in the Granite State of New Hampshire, but certainly not in the deserts of Southern California. It was such a neat sight to see, and certainly will entice me back on a much cooler day to do some rock scrambling!
That was our last stop along the way. From there it was HOMEWARD bound, to my new home in Los Angeles. We arrived at my new apartment at right around 6pm on July 1st! And my trusty little Saturn, along with my trooper of a cat, had made it the entire way without any problem at all...
....The next morning, our first in LA, we got up to head over to Santa Monica for a nice walk along the beach. The minute I got in my car, I knew something was wrong. I pulled over to find that my right passenger tire was as FLAT as a pancake. I just stood there and laughed. Not only had we just driven 3,000 miles with no problem at all, but just the day before we had driven through the Mojave Desert, where we had no cell service and hardly saw any other cars for miles. What on earth are the odds that we should make it all that way, and through the desert, only to get the flat the day AFTER we arrive? I still cannot believe it. I have to say, that was religious moment #2 for me on this trip. Something or someone was out there looking out for me, making sure I made it to LA safely! Talk about goosebumps!
My friend Danae and I just completed our cross country adventure! We completed it in about 10 days, with no flat tires, and a sometimes crying kitty in the back-seat. : )
Here's what we saw along the way:
Day 1: Saturday, June 23: We started out from DC early that morning, car loaded to the brim with supplies and Buster calmly nestled in his back seat kennel. Waving goodbye to DC as I went, we headed first for Asheville, NC. Along the way we stopped at the Natural Bridge in VA- apparently one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. We took Buster in on my back , in what was an attempt to be stealth. We quickly realized that there could be nothing stealth about it, when kids began pointing and saying, "Look Mommy, she has a kitty on her back!" That's when we knew it would be an interesting trip!
Upon leaving there, we came across a very odd attraction- Foamhenge. This was literally a foam replica of Stonehenge sitting up on a hill in the middle of Virginia. We of course had to stop. What on earth would posess somebody.. : ) Next stop along the way was Roanoke, where we roamed thru the little town market. That took all of 10 minutes and then we were on the road again.
Later that evening we arrived in Asheville, NC. I had been there once before, but this was a first for Danae. It was a beautiful walking city with fantastic energy. It's a very laid-back city, with lots of artists and musicians, and people who are very active and outdoorsy. I don't think we've ever seen so many totally buff people! Also, oddly we saw more happy couples walking hand in hand than seemed normal for any place. We wondered for a minute if we had walked into the twilight zone. It was as if a bus of happy couples had just unloaded in front of us. Guess there is something magical about Asheville afterall.
We wandered into the main square and came across a crowd of people lounging around watching a band play. The city was full of people wandering all over the place, and we began to wonder if this was a normal amount of people for this small city. We later learned that it was the first night of the Smashing Pumpkin's reunion tour and fans had come from all over to see them play. The place was just alive with people, it was fantastic!
For dinner we went to he first adorable restaurant that we saw, called Tupelo Honey Cafe (www.tupelohoneycafe.com). We both proceeded to enjoy some great Southern cookin' and frankly one of the best meals either of us had ever had. Danae had pecan crusted chicken and I had my very first sweet potato pancake. Scrumptuous!
Day 2: Sunday, June 24: This morning we took a tour of the massive Biltmore Mansion and its gardens. It was immensely elaborate and grand, but it looked more like it belonged in the countryside of France than in the mountains of North Carolina. It really looked like a castle. That house (well you can't really call it a "house") has more sitting rooms and entire guest floors than I could ever imagine knowing what to do with!
From Asheville, we drove thru the Smoky mountains (which were beautiful) and then continued on to Memphis. After checking in and getting Buster settled in the hotel, we went downtown to experience Beale Street. It was exactly as I would have expected- tacky neon lights, loud music blaring from several of the bars, and lots of drunk people wandering the streets. But it was certainly a spectacle to see. We sat at a bar and had some Fried Green Tomatoes (another first for me!)
Day 3: Monday, June 25: This morning we took a tour of Graceland. It was awesome! For not being from the Elvis generation and having no connection to him myself, I was majorly impressed by his life story. He really did have such an interesting life and was involved with so many charities and giving back to the community. We really learned a lot and thorougly enjoyed seeing Graceland, especially the Jungle Room!
After Graceland we took Buster on a tour of Beale Street and had lunch at a Tennessee BBQ joint. Buster enjoyed watching all of the sights and sounds while we ate, and we got several more interested people coming over to look at the cat. What a riot!
After lunch, we headed off for Arkansas.... Arkansas had to be one of the most interesting places we saw, from my perspective. Some of the friendliest people we met, but I truly feel that Arkansas is having a bit of an identity crisis as a state. It really doesn't know if it belongs to the South, the Midwest, or the West. It really did have elements of all of these regions, as it's smack dab in the middle. It really was a very bizarre and fascinating collision of cultures.
Later that evening, we arrived into the town of Hot Springs, a town made famous during the Victorian era for the beautiful bath houses that were built around its natural hot springs. This I think may have been my favorite spot of the trip. It was an adorable little town in the mountains, with a quaint western feel. One side of the main street was lined with large, stately bath houses- about 7 of them all next to one another. Back in the day people used to come from all over to enjoy their thermal bath houses. We found an adorable old hotel with a ton of charm and the friendliest staff we saw the entire trip. The price included a free massage so we were really exited to take advantage of that.
But sadly it seemed like the town had had its heyday and was no longer living up to its potential. While the town was still beautiful and well kept, it was virtually empty. We went out to find dinner and could only find one restaurant open, right in the middle of dinnertime, in the middle of the summer. There were hardly any people walking around, and what people we did see were mostly seniors. There was nobody our age for miles! And for the number of honks and whistles we got, you would have thought that he men there had never laid eyes on a woman! So bizarre!
Day 4: Tuesday, June 26: This morning we got up and had thermal baths in the hotel's lovely old bathhouse. We had a very sweet bath attendant and it was just like they had done the baths back in the day. Old tubs, large tile rooms and one of those funny saunas where it closes up around you and your head sticks out. I wish we'd had a camera in there! After having our baths, sauna and cool water shower, then we had our free massages. Heaven!
After our massages we went to breakfast at a cute little diner, which was very inexpensive, and where we saw one too many hair scrunchies (need I say more?). On our way out of town we stopped at the town "watering hole". Because the town sits on natural hot springs, they have a large water spicket where the locals come to fill up their water jugs. The water is piping hot, straight from the springs, and it is some of the freshest, most therapeutic water you can drink. So we filled up all of our water bottles and we were on the road again.
From Hot Springs we headed north up a scenic road into the Ozark region of the state, which was lovely and looked very much like New England. We drove out of Arkansas and into Oklahoma. Unfortunately there wasn't much to write home about in Oklahoma, except for the fact that apparently the entire state was flooding just behind us. When we got to our hotel somewhere in the western part of Oklahoma, we turned on the news and saw that virtually the whole state, and many of the areas we had just driven through, were flooded. By some miracle we just happened to be about 6 hours ahead of the storms, so we missed the entire thing.
Day 5: Wednesday, June 27: This morning we got up and visited the National Route 66 Museum, which despite its name, wasn't very impressive. That took all of 10 minutes, and then we were off into the Texas panhandle. Not much to report there either, except for supposedly the largest standing cross in the Western Hemisphere- standing in the middle of some farmland. Bizarre.
After passing thru Texas, and seeing the famous Route 66 restaurant where they dare you to eat a 72 ounce steak (cause that is healthy!), we headed into New Mexico, which was some of the most beautiful landscape we saw on the entire trip. We headed up the scenic Turquoise Trail up towards Santa Fe and saw dramatic landscapes the entire way up.
Along the way we happened upon this tiny little town on the side of the road. It looked like a little artist colony and it looked familiar to me in an instant. I immediately thought that it looked just like the town used in the movie "Wild Hogs". So I start telling Danae how this town bears an uncanny resemblance to that town and how I wonder if it is in fact the town they used to film the movie- next thing you know we happen upon a building called "Maggie's Diner" and wouldn't you believe that on the door is a sign that reads "This Diner was built by Disney for the movie "Wild Hogs" starring John Travolta, etc." I knew it! The town was called Madrid, New Mexico, which was exactly the name of the town in the movie where the characters went for a chili pepper festival. How cool that we just accidentally happened upon it!
We arrived in Santa Fe just in time for a spectacular thunder and lightening storm. With the backdrop of the mountains behind Santa Fe, the sky lit up all sorts of colors with the lightening. I've never seen anything like it, and now I understand why paintings of Santa Fe always show a painted sky with pinks and purples. The storm went on for hours and it was spectacular.
We went out to explore the town at night and while walking around we came across the oldest church in the US, from the old Spanish missions. Ironically at the very moment we were passing the mission, the sky cleared up and we saw a rainbow directly over the church. Talk about sending goosebumps up my spine! That was a religious moment if ever there was one. It was beautiful!
We continued looking for a dinner spot and happened upon an adorable little restaurant, which turned out to be one of the most famous spots in Santa Fe. The atmosphere was so lively and fun and the food was awesome. Another great meal like the one in Asheville!
Day 6: Thursday, June 28: This morning we got up and went to an adorable little creperie in the heart of Santa Fe. Then we roamed around and explored the city. Santa Fe is one of the cutest cities I've ever seen, nothing at all like I expected. It doesn't feel like a city at all, but rather is a cute little adobe village. All of the buildings are made of the rust colored adobe clay and it is full of artist galleries and adorable little boutiques. This was definitely one of our favorite stops!
From Santa Fe we drove into Arizona towards Flagstaff. The landscapes continued to captivate us, changing dramatically at every turn. We visited the National Petrified Forest and we saw petrified trees that were thousands of years old. We also saw what I can only describe as something of a moonscape, with mounds of stratified dirt, each layer a different, brilliant color. It was incredible to see and hard to imagine what a contrast we were seeing from where we began back in Asheville.
This evening we arrived in Flagstaff, which to my surprise was not at all the desertous, cactus-filled landscape you expect of Arizona, but rather was a very green mountain town, full of fir trees. It felt like the Pacific Northwest. We roamed around downtown Flagstaff and I found it to be a cute little town with the feel of what was once a western outpost.
Day 7: Friday, June 29: Today we drove an hour north to the Grand Canyon, where we were planning to spend the entire day hiking (this time Buster had to stay behind in the hotel!) We walked the 10 mile rim trail and took in breathtaking views. The colors inside the canyon were incredible. Pictures or words can hardly capture its awe. It was hard to believe that there we were standing beside one of the largest holes in the earth!
I could tell a very funny (and classic!) story of how we ran out of water and got lost while hiking around the Canyon, but I would make my mother way too nervous if I told that story. Mom, if you're reading this, all you need to know is that we are still here to tell the tale and very much ok!
After finishing the rim trail, we waited to see the sun set over the canyon. Unfortunately I don't think we caught the most spectacular of sunsets, but it was still stunning nonetheless.
The most interesting thing about our visit to the Grand Canyon, is that we hardly saw any other Americans. It seemed that easily 75% of the people we saw were foreigners, speaking all sorts of different languages. It impressed me to see that people had come from all corners of the globe to see this awesome sight. Though it was a bit to my dismay to realize that Americans as a whole are just too darn lazy to do something as active as hiking at the Grand Canyon! (we sure saw many ounfit Americans in Vegas the following night ,however. Doh!)
Day 8: Saturday, June 30: Today we headed out from Flagstaff towards Las Vegas. Along the way we saw a fantastic Route 66 sight, that was well off the beaten path. It was an eclective little take-out restaurant, papered with sticky notes, decorated with offbeat signs, and run by pranksters who played practical jokes (such as squirting a fake mustard bottle on Danae's shirt) on their customers. The backyard had eclectic outhouses designed to confuse customers and a yard full of old 1950's cars leftover from the Old Route 66.
We continued on down the street and saw a whole host of old Route 66 hotels, gas stations and abandoned shops. It was as if we had crossed into an alternate time and universe. It was sad to realize that what was once Route 66 is no longer, but it was really neat to imagine what it must have been like in its heyday.
After that stop, we headed to another off-the-beaten-path attraction. But this time it was REALLY off the beaten path. A while back a lost artist was seeking to find himself, so he went into the middle of the Arizona desert and painted an enormous mural on the side of gigantic rocks. He called it "The Journey" and it was representative of his journey to find himself. Well, finding it was not all that easy either. It was a ways up what the guide book called a "dirt" road. Let's just say that was a bit of an exaggeration. It was more like driving through a dried up river bed, with large boulders and big divets. We got about halfway up the road in my "little engine that could" (aka a Saturn SL1), and from the looks of the other 4x4s and SUVs around us, it was clear that we were not going to make it. So we temporarily abandoned the car on the side of the "riverbed" and graciously accepted the invitation to ride with a nice couple in a big SUV. We made it up and back and saw the very unusual mural. Certainly not one of those sights that most people get to see!
From there we were on to the Hoover Dam, where we realized that the dam basically causes a huge snag-up of traffic, as the highway passes over the top of the Dam. We stopped there to get a quick picture, and saw the crystal blue Lake Mead behind the dam. The Dam itself was an impressive feat of architecture and it was hard to imagine that they built it when they did. We didn't last long there, as this was the beginning of the hottest heat we had felt. You literally could have fried an egg on the sidewalk. It was upwards of 115 degrees in some places!
After the Dam we forged on thru the heat (my poor car struggling up thru the mountainous roads) and passed thru the spectacular Black Mountains before arriving in Vegas. The Black Mountains were literally that, dark black dirt. They were like nothing I'd ever seen (again, the landscape kept changing and changing) and were striking against the blue sky.
We arrived in Vegas to find that it was still well over 100 degrees. We had a lovely Italian dinner and spent the evening walking up and down the strip (and sweating the entire time), taking in what can only be described as eye-candy. So many bizarre things to look at in Vegas. So much over the top opulance, you didn't even know where to look first. We went from casino to casino just to check out the different structures and saw several of the free shows. Our favorite was by far the Bellagio, which has its fountains choreographed to music (I have a video clip attached). Fortunately for us, neither of us cares at all about gambling, so we didn't even delve into that whole world. It was most fun to just watch all the other crazy people!
Day 9: Sunday, July 1: Today we left Vegas to head towards Joshua Tree National Park. There was no direct route to get from Vegas to Joshua Tree, so we decided to take a short-cut through the Mojave Desert (sounds like it could be a bad idea.. just wait until you hear tomorrow's story..). The Mojave Desert was another journey with ever-changing landscapes, and this is where we saw our first Joshua Trees- although we didn't exactly realize that's what they were until later.
Once through the Mojave we arrived at Joshua Tree National Park, which we passed through while of course listening to the famous U2 album. And while we saw more of the same Joshua Trees, we such an entirely different and shocking landscape. Piles of granite rock formations that looked like they had been dripped down from the sky and hardened. Apparently they were formed thousands of years ago from lava bursts coming up from the earth and then cooled in the rock piles. But they seemed completely out of place. Looked like something I would expect to find back home in the Granite State of New Hampshire, but certainly not in the deserts of Southern California. It was such a neat sight to see, and certainly will entice me back on a much cooler day to do some rock scrambling!
That was our last stop along the way. From there it was HOMEWARD bound, to my new home in Los Angeles. We arrived at my new apartment at right around 6pm on July 1st! And my trusty little Saturn, along with my trooper of a cat, had made it the entire way without any problem at all...
....The next morning, our first in LA, we got up to head over to Santa Monica for a nice walk along the beach. The minute I got in my car, I knew something was wrong. I pulled over to find that my right passenger tire was as FLAT as a pancake. I just stood there and laughed. Not only had we just driven 3,000 miles with no problem at all, but just the day before we had driven through the Mojave Desert, where we had no cell service and hardly saw any other cars for miles. What on earth are the odds that we should make it all that way, and through the desert, only to get the flat the day AFTER we arrive? I still cannot believe it. I have to say, that was religious moment #2 for me on this trip. Something or someone was out there looking out for me, making sure I made it to LA safely! Talk about goosebumps!
Access: Public
cross country
July 2008