Photo Link Updated

Howdy all,

I was finally able to sit down and post a lot of pictures up on my flickr account. Here is the link again in case you need it.

http://flickr.com/photos/ghgoddess/

Hope everyone is enjoying the blog. I really miss my kitties... can't say I miss work much but I am sure I will be ready for some stability in another week or so... or maybe not. LOL

Enjoy!
Leslie

I spent many months saving for this trip and was able to save more then I expected. When Bill and I realized we would be in Vegas a day early we contemplated staying at a strip hotel or on Fremont St. I had heard so much about Fremont Street and after comparing a few prices and options we agreed that Fremont Street would be a blast. Part of the money I have saved for this trip was to spend spoiling myself at some of the spas here in Vegas in order to help relax and wash away my stress. When we found out there was a beautiful Spa Room available at the Golden Nugget hotel I was so excited. We grabbed up the opportunity to stay there. We get into our special elevator to go up to the special Spa Tower of the hotel. There are only about 5 floors of these suites with 5 suites (or so) per floor. The suite is 2 floors, the bottom floor is a living and dining area with a bathroom and a full bar area (no alcohol provided.) The top floor is the King size bedroom and the bathroom… the bathroom is ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… jetted tub with a view out the wall of windows (more on that in a minute), sauna shower… ahhhhhhhhhhhhh… It was so nice. Then you have to take in the view, mountains and sky and a few casino lights. Then there is the bed… The pillow top was a good 3 inches thick alone… You climb in and it envelopes you. Sucking you into cloudy wonderfulness. I have to say in my extensive use of hotel rooms between my job and vacations I have never experienced anything like this. It's soft and yet firm. It was perfect. Why can't I take a bed home as a souvenir?

We spend the early part of the evening on the street experiencing the Fremont Street Experience. Every hour on the hour they play a video across this enormous screen. It was pretty cool. There are a number of street acts that catch our attention. Over all an incredible first night in Vegas. During the day we move down to the South Point hotel & casino where the Expo will be. Bill has a class this afternoon so I wander the casino and enjoy a little quiet time. Hehe

Tomorrow will be fun. I get to have dinner with Dan & Mindy and have a nice Shiatsu massage. I am going to hate leaving Vegas!

Today is our last day on Route 66 until we leave Vegas. We have almost completed our portion of the Mother Road. It has been an experience. Today we are driving on the bypassed portion of Route 66 through the back country of Arizona. Most of the small towns are nonexistent. We drive through areas where movies like Easy Rider were filmed. The hills in the background are beautiful and the sun and clouds roll across them enhancing the colors. We have really had amazing weather this trip. This section of Route 66 is the longest paved un-touched portion of the route that is left. From here to California you can completely bypass interstates (or so the book says.) We picked up a couple box sets of old 50s and 60s music and have had that playing as our personal soundtrack while we drive these back roads. I can close my eyes and picture myself in a poodle skirt and scarf wrapped pony tail riding in an old Bel Air or early model mustang with the top down and the wind whipping, stopping at the local diners or soda shops for a phosphate. I do believe at times I was born in the wrong era. Maybe that is my Dad's influence.

This morning we left early so that we can reach Vegas tonight instead of tomorrow. We made reservations at the Golden Nugget down on Fremont. I really was hoping to be able to spend a night down in Old Vegas. So many people that go to Vegas want to stay in the newest coolest Strip hotels and they miss the history of the area. So we will experience Fremont Street tonight and then move on to the Expo hotel. What's the Expo? Well it is the entire reason this trip came into being. Bill and I will be attending the Glass & Bead Expo at the South Point Hotel & Casino. (Yes that is the hotel that about a dozen of my co-workers were at just a few days ago for Games Expo.) I have heard that the hotel has a fantastic Steak house.

Added by Bill - Today while on Route 66 something really incredible happened - Leslie went into a gift shop, walked around looking at things - - and actually left the store without purchasing a magnet.

Flagstaff to Williams, AZ via Grand Canyon

We got up early this morning to hit the road to the Grand Canyon. I am amazed at how many people are here considering all the other National and State parks we have been to were quiet. We hear more languages then we can even identify. We decide to take one of the shuttles out to the West points along the path and take a ton of pictures. The day is a little hazy but it keeps it from getting too hot. Overall it was a beautiful day to be out. Bill and I both get a little sunburned. I think Bill began to really grasp his fear of heights today (Bill's comment - I knew I had a fear of heights - but it does take a good few thousand foot cliff to really make one truly appreciate it). hehehe

The Grand Canyon is amazing. Bill and I both agree that our amazement with it is somewhat diminished due to the other fantastical things we have seen in the past week (Arches, petrified trees, painted deserts) but is still a must see. The vastness surprises me. I have seen pictures of the Grand Canyon and even saw an IMAX show about it but I never could (and still really don't) grasp how amazingly huge it is.

Bill and I visit one of the gift shops when we enter the park. As soon as I walk in the door I see a book that I must have. "Over The Edge: Death In Grand Canyon". The day Bill and I walked through Arches I stopped at one point after reading an informational sign that didn't tell me much of anything I wants to know and said "Where are the signs that tell how many people get bit by Rattlesnakes each year?" Bill laughed at me. (Bill's Comment - actually before we even got into the gift shop there was a FAQ sign that answered the question of how many people fell off the rim of the canyon - that is where I laughed at her.) So when I saw this book I knew it was written for me. I grab a few magnets to add to my collection and off we go discovering. On our shuttle back from one of our hikes, the bus is full of people so much that I can not see anything interesting… I knew it would be about 25 minutes to our parking area (or so the driver said) and so I pick up the book. It is fascinating. Stories about people that made it and other stories about people that did not. It is very respectful of the people and is supposed to be a guide to help people that are visiting the parks be more self aware. I am learning not to walk on the guard walls and not to take that one more step back for a picture… not to mention the people that die being just plain dumb. This father who was a known prankster wanted to scare his young daughter… so he stood on a wall where there was a small ledge behind it and then flailing his arms "Fell" backwards… his daughter not thinking it was funny walked back to the car to meet with the rest of the group. Hours later they found him at the bottom… *rolls eyes* Poor girl is fatherless and all because Dad wanted to joke around on a ledge with a 400 foot drop behind it… anyway I will be continuing to read the book along our path to make sure Bill and I learn more self awareness… heh.

We again come to a point in the day where we have scheduled to leave but decided to stay for a little while longer. We hike out on a few of the small paths to the photograph points and take more pictures. Then have lunch at one of the little places inside the park. We head out just before 6 pm (instead of the 3-4 pm we had planned.) As we look at the road ahead we are still ahead of schedule and decide that we will stay in Williams, AZ tonight and catch the strip of Route 66 between Williams and Kingman in the daylight.

More painted desert above

Winslow is just on this side of being a ghost town. The hot spot in town is a corner with a statue of the Eagle's lead singer (I think) and a sign "Standing on the Corner", cleverly painted on the wall behind the statue is a painting of "It's a girl my lord in a flat bed Ford slowing down to take a look at me". We take it easy in Winslow for the night and then hit the road early. The time change has thrown us off a tad but not in a bad way. We grab breakfast at Sonic… mmmm… Sonic… and then head off to the Meteor Crater! This is totally cool. Now this is how people should learn about things… instead of in a dusky old classroom. We take a tour of the crater and in the 1 hour Rim Tour I learn more about physics then I did in 9 months of torment in High School. The crater is 550 feet deep. Initially scientists believed it was a volcano cone but then discovered it was what it is… a crater from a meteor. The meteor hit with a pressure comparable to a 20,000 ton dynamite blast. Now that's something. We are now on our way down to Phoenix to hang out with my friend Jon for dinner.

Depending on our mood we will either be staying in Flagstaff or at the Grand Canyon tonight. More later. Lunch with Jon was a blast. We gabbed and gabbed and for anyone that knows me and Jon you know we can both gab. LOL

Well on the way back North Bill and I realized that we are about a half a day early on our schedule so we decided to stop in Flagstaff for the night. Nothing special hotel but it was inexpensive. Since today was kinda slow I will keep it short for Eric's sake. LOL More pictures to come.

Gallup, NM to Winslow, AZ

Above: Lightning Tree from the Ice Caves

Happy Saturday!

New Mexico has been an experience I shall not forget for a long time. When I came out of the hotel to load the car this morning I see that Bill has killed and mounted a tumbleweed onto the hood of the car… ok so actually it looks like we just hit one along the road but I thought it was funny so I took a picture. There is an Ortega Aztec store in the hotel and as I wander through I spy a gorgeous pair of heart shaped earrings that are turquoise and coral and a few other colors. I decide I must have these so I bought them. I am hoping to find something more at a few of the other Indian stores.

Mmmmmmm fry bread.

I was able to pick up another pair of earrings from one of the stores that is owned by Navajo. The store I decide to spend my money at only sells handmade items by local people. Many of the other stores are very tourist trappy and I know from living in Florida which stores are the best to support.

The Petrified Forest and the Painted desert are amazing. I can barely begin to describe the beauty and colors. Between these sights and the Arches I am more amazed at the beauty that nature creates. The pictures we take do not show the true vast variety of colors. Today is a perfecdt day to be here due to the sun and light cloud cover. The clouds move over the land casting shadows across the desert and enhancing and dulling colors. It is fascinating to stand and just watch the colors change.

We end up spending more time in the Desert and the Forest then we had planned and will be staying in Winslow tonight. No internet at our hotel and we are too tired to bother with it.

Day 6 Albuquerque, NM to Gallup, New Mexico

This morning we realize that green chilies are a great evil and decide to try a breakfast without. We drive along Central Avenue (Route 66) in old town Albuquerque and run across a bakery just down the street from the university. The name is "Chocolate Café & Bakery". Sounds like my kinda place. We look at the menu and see lots of green chili options but we are determined to say no for at least one meal. I am not as strong at denying myself so I don't even tempt myself with the option and order the chocolate pancakes. When the sign says they serve "Breakfast, Lunch and Chocolate" they are not kidding. The pancakes are made with cocoa powder and chips AND they serve it with chocolate syrup… and not some Hershey's chocolate… this stuff is homemade. This is likely the richest thing I have ever eaten. I share Bill's Omelet with swiss cheese and spinach and so I don't think I will die just yet… lol… I can definitely see how death by chocolate is an option though… (Bill's comments - the chocolate pancakes were very good and really rich to the point where Leslie did not want to stop at Dunkin Doughnuts when we passed them down the street).

Petroglyph National Monument is a site. You can do a few hikes around the area (and when I mean hikes I mean climbing rocks and hoping there are no rattlers around.) We got some great exercise and some very cool pictures. They believe the first petroglyphs in this area were made as early as 1000 BC.

Well we somehow ripped part of the GPS cord and have to find an electronics store to get it replaced. Remarkably we have been around half of downtown Alb… and haven't found a single Best Buy or Circuit City. We are driving around a bit and finally find a mall area. We find the Best Buy and what is next door? Chik'fil'a. We go there for lunch… I am pleased. (Bill's comments - I am not sure that really describes it - - I do believe that she squealed she was so excited). We finally head out of town towards Gallup. We have decided to take the scenic route off Route 66 and down through the mesas. It's been cloudy off and on which has been nice to cool off. We have had scattered thunder and lightning but it hasn't hurt our trip. I do miss the good thunder storms.

We decide to do the bypass and come across one of the "attractions" we had discussed seeing the Fire & Ice: Ice Caves and Volcano tour. We find this way back in BFE. Basically on this backward piece of land there was a volcano that erupted 10,000 years ago. The land is still covered with dried Lava (not sure if there is a technical term for it) and a cave down in the ground that is full of ice. You basically get a map of the area with numbers on it and the numbers coincide with little logs set along the path. You read the pamphlet to tell you what you are seeing. It was absolutely fascinating. The first stop on the way to the Volcano (there are 2 paths… 1 for the volcano and 1 for the cave) is a tree that has been struck by lightning. Apparently because of the makeup of the lava and the ground around the area trees in the area are more susceptible to being struck. Now I am from Florida… namely Tampa Bay which from what I understand is a lightning strike capital of the US and I have never seen so many trees in such a small area that have been struck. The lightning strikes are so obvious running the full length of the trees. I took tons of pictures and will add them to my flickr page. We continue along the path and it gets pretty steep. I start breathing really hard and feeling like I am having an asthma attack so I stop and just stand there breathing as deep as I can. I begin to realize I am getting altitude sickness (again.) I slow down and take the mountain at a slower rate and get to the top. At the top is a look down into the cone of the volcano. As we read the little pamphlet it explains that we are at 8059 feet. So this is the second time in a week I have been well over a mile over sea level. As we descend I can actually begin to feel the drop in pressure. It was quite an experience. So we walk down to the path for the Ice Cave and head down the path. We round a corner and there is this staircase descending into darkness. We start to walk down (me clutching the railing) and as I look down into the cave I begin to realize just how claustrophobic I can get. LOL I think the prior altitude sickness did not help matters. There are 3 platforms on the path down. I stop at the first and sit on a small bench. Bill descends into the cave and takes pictures to bring back to me. I am kicking myself now for not going in but at the time I was not quite right in my head. Hehe not to say I am normally…

After the ice caves we continue on to Gallup, NM. As I read my Route 66 book I remember seeing a segment on my Route 66 DVD series about the El Rancho Hotel & Motel. This is the site where a ton of old 40s, 50s and 60s movies were filmed and where several of the top actors and actresses of the day stayed during the filming of many other westerns and other movies. When you enter the lobby there are literally hundreds of pictures of actors and actresses signed to the El Rancho Hotel. Each of the rooms in the Hotel portion of the property are named for these people. Some of the names are John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Jane Fonda, Ronald Reagan, Allan Ladd, etc. So Bill and I agree we must stay here for the evening. The ambiance is rustic lodge and the restaurant has inviting scents of Mexican mixed with BBQ. Our room is the Rite Hayworth room. I will post pictures on the flickr page tomorrow. Tonight I am exhausted from my trip up the volcano. Hope everyone if enjoying… Thank you all for the comments. I will respond as I am able. Night!

Day 6 - Tucumcari, NM to Albuqurque (of however you spell it), NM

This morning we wake to rain. It's a nice break from the heat of yesterday. According to the locals this is a hard rain. It only rains for a few hours and stops before we hit the road. Bill, the Blue Swallow Motel, suggests we have breakfast burritos down at Rubee's Diner. I tend to trust locals when it comes to food so we head on down for some AMAZING breakfast burritos and biscuits and gravy (ohmy!). Our last stop out of town is the Tee Pee Curios Shop. The shop is immaculate. Not your typical cluttered shop. The owner is awesome and so is Maya his pet rat terrier. I grab up 3 more magnets for my collection even thought there are easily 10 I would love to buy. As I turn the corner I am shocked to see they have home made bags from fanny packs up to duffle bags. There is a small satchel type bag that catches my eye. The material is Route 66. I am gaga. I go to look at the price tag expecting it to easily cost $20.. But No! it's $6.98! I am so pleased I giggle and grab one of the bags to take as my own. It is fairly small but easily holds my wallet and the camera. It will hold a few other items but I don't want to stuff too much in there now.

I am quite pleased with my collection of magnets to date. I have 2 from Arches, one of which is a 3D arch… very cool. I also have one from the Hole in the Rock. I picked up 4 in Amarillo 1 is a Texas Route 66, 1 for the Big Texan and the 3rd is Cadillac Ranch and the 4th is a Mother Road Route 66 3D magnet with old 50s Cadillacs pictured. At the Tee Pee I pick up a Tucumcari Tonight magnet, a Blue Swallow Magnet and a New Mexico Route 66. My fridge is not gonna know what hit it. LOL

This morning we are listening to the Cars CD from the movie. It's a great driving CD. I really hope more people will become interested in driving Route 66 from all the new movies out regarding it. For those that haven't seen it… Wild Hogs is a fantastic movie. On that note if you haven't seen Cars my first question would be "Where have you BEEN?!?!" then I would highly suggest you pick it up on DVD. It's one of Pixars best movies yet.

So with every meal for the past few days there is something the waiter will ask every time… "Would you like Green chili on that?" and every time they ask I have to say yes. I keep trying to resist. I even went to a Diner hoping to get a simple cheeseburger but then he said, "would you like green chili on that?" and of course I said… yes… So they bring me this burger it's the bottom bun with the hamburger on top smothered in a delectable queso and chopped chilies on top. So much cheese that the burger is actually surrounded by a small pool of the stuff. It may kill me but it was amazing….

Bill and I have agreed to TRY again to avoid it tomorrow but I fear they may offer to put it on my pancakes and I will have to say… yes please!

We reached Albuquerque OH LOOK! I actually spelled it right myself this time! We are staying at the Monterey NON-SMOKING Motel… It's actually yhe name LOL. Sounds like a place made for me. The first thing the manager asked in a gruff Ukrainian accent when we asked for a room was "Do You Smoke?" We promptly say no and he becomes more friendly. We seem to be having issues with our wifi tonight so I am hoping to get this posted. More tomorrow.

Day 5 Amarillo, TX to Tucumcari, NM

Route 66 starting Mileage 196245

We finally reached Route 66 - The Mother Road. We got up and had buffet breakfast at the Big Texan, yum, then headed off to find Route 66. We have directions through part of Amarillo but decide to take a short off route to see the Big Cowboy. He is a 47 feet tall. He is definitely Route 66 kitschy. We then head over to the Amarillo Historic Route 66 path. We drive along and see so many buildings in disrepair. It is sad. I hope that with all the movies about the area people will consider taking more trips along the route to help rejuvenate this American Legacy. We drive from Amarillo through Vega and Adrian both towns claim to be the midpoint of Route 66 but no one knows which is actually due to the constant changes to the road. Unfortunately due to renovations the Midpoint Café is closed. We do drop by Dot's Museum. It is a sight.

Bill's comments - Unfortunately the Midpoint Café is closed - I would say it is more than unfortunate - all I heard about for miles is how good the pie will be and then we could not get any.

Along our way we reach Tucumcari, New Mexico. Tucumcari is known as the town of 2000 hotel rooms. This was the boast on signs in the 50s and 60s and it became common to here "Tucumcari Tonight" which was a popular song about the common rest area for thousands of Americans on their way to or from the West Coast. Nowadays the town is known for it's restored hotels and it's bright NEON signs. As we arrive we realize that we have not arrived at the best time to see these signs (3 pm) and decided to consider staying over. We have lunch at Del's Restaurant and decide to stay over in the infamous Blue Swallow Motel. In the movie Cars you will see a sign "100% Refrigerated Air" that is the copywrited sign for the Blue Swallow. This is THE place to stay on Route 66 so we figured what the hay? I am so glad we are here. The owner of the Motel is a fantastic guy. He is very chatty and loves to talk about Route 66, the history and the future. Bill and I both pick up T-shirts with the Blue Swallow Motel on them. It is exciting to be in a place with so much American history. We find a map of the town in our room that has a map with a list of all the Murals that are painted around town. We take off and take pictures of the majority of the murals then head back to have our picture taken in front of the sign.

This is Bill again - As Leslie is sitting in a large nice wooden porch chair outside the room of the Blue Swallow I am outside talking to Bill who purchased the motel a few years back and is working to truly restore it to its one time glory. He is a very friendly guy and offers all of his guests the opportunity for him to take their picture in front of the sign. The time is near to take the pictures and we wonder over to the front sign where he is waiting for just the right time. He strikes up conversation and is asking us where we work and what we do - Leslie tries to explain about the games that WizKids makes and then he asks me where I work - when I say a small software company that he might have heard of at (Microsoft) - he goes into the "Oh so you know about computers, I know you are on vacation but if you have a few minutes before you leave can you help with something." He is such a nice friendly guy that after he takes the pictures - I say "lets take a look at what you need." Well he has a beautiful picture of the Blue Swallow sign in the sunset and wants to get some postcards made from a place on line - but can not figure out what all the stuff on the site is telling him to do or how to get the graphics to the right size. Leslie and I get my laptop (which just happens to have a graphics program on it) we take care of his picture and help him navigate his way thru the site and he has 1000 postcards on order now. He has promised to send a postcard as thank you once they are complete.

And back to Leslie - It is so cool to meet people that are so friendly and down to earth. Not to mention it's a heck of a thing for us to have helped him with this project and to always know that we helped get those postcards printed that will be sent around the world and enjoyed by so many people.

One of the websites I read up on mentioned that someone that had travelled Route 66 had asked many of the people along the way to sign a book they had bought that had pictures in it of the places. While researching our trip Bill and I picked up a number of cool books. The one I think really grabs the essence of Route 66 is called "Route 66 Lost & Found Ruins and Relics" This book includes pictures of each place from early in it's heyday and then another picture of it today. The Blue Swallow is there and we ask if they will sign it. Terri (the owners wife) was happy to sign it. We will see how many people we can get to sign the book along the way.

Tonight we will sleep wrapped in the arms of the Mother Road.

Update Day 4

I promised a pic or 2 of the Arches and I have another picture for you. The above is a picture of Bill standing in the North Window Arch. He is the small speck that looks like a dirt spot on the camera.... hehe The following is a basic picture of our path. It is missing a small segment down through Utah and a bit of our Colorado and New Mexico path but there is enough to see our basic progress. 4 days... Seattle to Amarillo, TX.

Day 4 Pagosa Springs to Amarillo, TX

Day 4 begins in a crisp cool 54 degrees. We are definitely higher altitude. Pagosa Springs turned out to be a more accommodating town then I had thought. Even though we had to eat out of the cooler for dinner morning seems to be the time to be in Pagosa Springs. The area is well known for it's hot springs. Bill and I agree to get an early start so we decide to forgo the hot springs (my newly acquired sun burn thanks me). We are both a little anxious to get breakfast and hit the road!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I really believe this. Now I should mention that I am a Sonic Fanatic.. For those of you in Seattle I am NOT talking about the basketball team. I am talking about the restaurant that you may have seen obscure commercials for on some of your cable channels. I am convinced they run these commercials to taunt me since I moved from an area where Sonics were frequent to Seattle where they are non-existent. (There are a few other restaurants I miss, Chic'fil'a, Cracker Barrel, CC's Pizza but I will get to those later.) So as I look at "Find Restaurants" feature on Streets & Trips what do I behold?!?!??! Sonic! We stopped in Idaho and got just a Cherry Limeade… one of the yummy drink concoctions they are known for and one of my very favorites. In Utah we got a watermelon slush… oh yum… even better after hiking and chili cheese tator tots.

As we leave Pagosa Springs this morning Bill wants to try one of the breakfast items I have been bragging is "one of the best breakfasts I have ever experienced. It's a breakfast burrito. Contents include Egg, sausage, tomato, jalapeno peppers, cheese, tator tots and onion. Yummmo! I also grab a fresh Vanilla Coke… not like the yucky ones in a can… but a real soda-jerk style vanilla coke…. Heaven. So we stop at Sonic and grab breakfast and head out of Pagosa Springs. (next sonic stop will have to be the ultimate in milkshakes… the Chocolate Cream Pie Milkshake… with graham cracker crumbs and all

Note: Sonic Claims (on their cup) to have 168,894 different drink combinations.

Leaving Pagosa Springs there is still snow on the ground in many places. Also this is the first area where we have seen a high population of trees since crossing the Snoqualmie Pass. Now Entering New Mexico. We got a very early start this morning so we will be driving for a while. More later.

10,000 FEET?!??! So we decided to take this little state highway through Northern New Mexico. As we left Colorado we were already up to 7000 elevation. (Streets and Trips GPS gives you your elevation… something we have kind of made into a game. I ask Bill to guess the current elevation… sometimes he has been close but other times he was quite shocked.) So as we go along I realize that we are going up at a fairly regular rate. I look down at the Streets and Trips and see us around 8900 feet… but we are still climbing! Our highest point was 10,554. I guess it wasn't a problem that we bypassed Pike's Peak. LOL

As we drive along this unknown road we come across a canyon… Reading the signs it turns out to be the Rio Grande Gorge. It's amazing and we get a number of pictures at the rest stop. If you ever happen to be running down highway 64 in NM stop at this rest stop. The view is amazing and the bathrooms are awesome! Tiled in a rich natural orange and the walls made out of local stone. Not to mention the cleanest rest stop I have ever encountered. There are also covered picnic tables for public use.

Ok we are back down to earth… well partially. Current Altitude is 6300 feet. As we drive along the back roads of New Mexico we run through a small town full of adobe buildings. I play the tourist taking tons of pictures while the natives laugh at me. We drive through the Carson National Forest which I believe is named after Kit Carson the Female gunslinger. I will have to check my reference book to clarify. We go from massive hills and frozen lakes down to plains with roaming Buffalo… or are they Bison???? Maybe Beefalo? As we drive we have 2 deer dart across the road a few yards in front of the car than shortly down the road there are antelope playing… I figure I have now had the full SW experience… I should just head home… or not.

Out here there is next to nothing. Towns consist of a Bar or Liquor store, gas station and a grocery store. We can see for miles. The sky is clear except for a few tufty clouds and dozens of shades of blue depending on which direction you look. There is dry grass for miles around on our road from Cimarron to Raton, New Mexico.

The dry air is taking a toll on my hands and feet. I had to stop and buy a large bottle of lotion. I can tell I am a Florida girl because I seem to need at least 50% humidity. My breathing has been hard when walking very far but I have faith that my system will adjust to the drier air in the next day or so. I am amazed that we have been able to keep up with our 2+ liters of water per day without having to stop every 5 minutes.

We stop in Raton, NM for lunch at a little steakhouse. It's pretty good. The road from Raton to Clayton is sparse of anything… other then maybe rattlesnakes. Not to mention it is under construction to widen it which neither of us understand as we have only seen about 10 cars headed in each direction. With the construction we are stuck in a 45 mile per hour zone with double fine threats ever few hundred feet. So we creep along in nowhereland hoping this road will end soon. Our first several hours in NM were far more interesting. Thank goodness the rest of the time we have in this state will be on Route 66 which has enough interesting things to keep us distracted from the repetitive and monotone landscape.

According to the First National Bank of New Mexico it is now 6:17pm and 75 degrees. Gotta love this weather! We have discussed it and it looks like we may continue on until we hit Amarillo, tonight. This would save us quite a bit of driving tomorrow and we would have time to visit the Palo Duro Canyon or some of the more… interesting… areas of Amarillo, TX.

Amarillo it is. We are hoping to stay at the Big Texan Hotel that is attached to the Big Texan Steak House, best known for their 72 ounce steak that if you eat it all in under 1 hour it's free. Neither of us has ANY intention of even trying it but we hope to have a reasonable sized steak for lunch tomorrow and hope to see someone attempt the monstrosity.

We made it. 4 days to Amarillo. We are staying at the Big Texan Motel and you gotta see this! I will post pictures in the morning since you won't be able to see much in the dark. Picture an old John Wayne movie that clashed into a bad 70s flick. Oh MY! We are sitting in the Big Texan Steak House as I post this. The restaurant provides free Wi Fi for guests. The restaurant looks like the inside of any classic movie tavern but with the added touch of about 100 stuffed animal heads… we aren't talking teddy bears here. It is complete with a full balcony around the entire restaurant area with seating. The motif is just stunningly tacky Texas and I love it. I am beginning to realize that many people reading this will know more about me and my bizarre sense of fun by the time I am back home in Seattle. Maybe I can even make a few new friends from this experience.

P.S. We can't find Bill's phone. We aren't sure if we might have left it in Colorado… Hope to find it soon… Time to eat!

Day 3 - Arches National Park to Pagosa Springs, CO

Day 3 is as beautiful as the first 2. The weather is in the 70s and sunny. Unusual for it to be this warm this time of the year here from what people say. Last night we began to realize we were over ambitious for our first few days. Day 1 was over 600 miles of driving and Day 2 was 500. I planned well for the time on Route 66 where we will be driving no more then 250 miles each day. So we decided this morning to remove a portion of our trip through Colorado. I figure my brother will take me to Colorado at some point and I will be able to tour around with him.

We decided to sleep in a bit and rolled out of bed around 8:30. Went down to the local Pancake Haus for breakfast. Full of carbs and ready to hike we drive up to Arches. About a half a mile In…

Taking a moment to say… this type of thing happens to me commonly and apparently is common for Bill, with the 2 of us together we aughta have a heck of a time…

We realize we do not have enough gas to drive the full length of the park. We laugh about it… turn around go back to town… fill up… then go BACK to Arches to continue our tour. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever experienced. The color of the Red Rocks contrast with the particular shade of blue sky in just such a way to be absolutely perfect. The natural arch formations are quite fantastic and are a site I think most people should experience.

Another reason we decided to go South instead of West on our way out of Moab was an article in a magazine left in our hotel room about the "Hole in the Rock" it is a kitschy kind of stop. Basically back in the 50s the guy was given a piece of land out here in Utah. At the time there wasn't much going on out here except for mining but thanks to someone finding a Uranium mine just down the road the man decided to set up a diner. Although… he did not "Build" his diner. Being a miner by trade he decided to take this massive piece of rock his father had given him and dynamite out a house. The man had quite a talent for engineering and actually chiseled and blasted out a Diner and a home for his wife and family out of the rock. This rock is hard sandstone that you see quite frequently in this area. So Bill and I agreed after several hours of hiking and photo taking of the Arches that we would head out of Moab and stop in Hole in the Rock.

The Hole in the Rock was quite an experience. It provided us with exactly the appropriate amount of Kitsch that we were looking for. I am a type of gal that would enjoy seeing things like "The Largest Ball of Twine" so this was a perfect fit. Unfortunately they do not allow photos to be taken inside the house. I did get some great pictures of the outside. The things that was amazing is when the tour guide turned off the artificial lights to show us what it looked like before the power was added. The engineering of where the support beams were left was absolutely perfect to capture all of the natural lighting from the sun. The sun poured through the windows in such a way that it lit up the entire 5000 square feet except for a few small corners. Quite a feat I imagine. Also the tour guide said that because the entire ceiling was made of the sandstone the inside of the house stays at about 65 degrees year round.

After we leave Hole in the Rock we head South along 191. We are contemplating stopping at the 4 Corners monument that brings together Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah but are undecided whether we will.

While driving we have decided to skip the 4 Corners. We re-routed our map so that we stay on state roads through Southern Colorado and then take a Southerly turn through a corner of Oklahoma (which adds 1 more state I have not seen to Bill and my list.) Then on down to Amarillo. We agreed when initially planning that Route 66 would be the focus of our time on the trip to Vegas so we agreed not to shorten that portion at all. Southern Colorado is not the Colorado you see in pictures. It is quite flat. The altitude here is 6800 feet. I find this remarkable because it's so flat! I am guessing this would be considered a plateau. The houses out here are far apart. After living in Seattle for a few years I got used to the idea of people living on top of one another. This is the other extreme. Today seeing a town like Moab that is hundreds of miles from anything that even resembles a city makes me realize that small town USA still exists. It reminds me significantly of a small town in West Virginia that I had the pleasure to break down in on the way home from Origins 2003. Cows, Horses and barns are frequent. There are more trees here than we have seen in a few days but they are in winter mode.

So we decided to stop at Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Can't say much about the town sadly because EVERYTHING closes at 9 pm and guess when we arrived? 9:02 pm. Even the McDonalds and Subway! Shouldn't surprise me in a town with population 1,700 (according to the AAA book).

Gonna relax and get some sleep… oh and try to enjoy my cheese and crackers… We will have to make sure we have a good breakfast tomorrow to make up for it. Heh

P.S. I don't have the camera card reader in the room and I am going to be lazy and not bother to go get it. I will add some pictures of Arches and Hole in the Rock tomorrow. Night.

Day 2 Twin Falls, Idaho to Moab, Utah

Happy Sunday!
The El Rancho Motel will be memorable. Heh… while the beds were very comfortable, the shower was something to behold. The pressure alone coated the entire bathroom with a nice layer of water. I wasn't actually able to stay in there long enough to soap up but I am sure the pressure washer effect of the shower got most of my skin off. LOL I guess now I know how they keep their bathrooms so clean.

Gonna make breakfast and hit the road. Mileage 194885 Salt Lake is an odd place. Everywhere you look the houses are very similar but in general much larger then what you would see in an average neighborhood anywhere I have been. We stopped at the Visitor center just North of Ogden and picked up some state visitors guides. The pictures are devastatingly beautiful. One gave a thousands of years history of the area. The entire are used to be one giant lake. Between Volcanoes and earthquakes the lake drained down to what is now the Great Salt Lake. Apparently the salt Lake has the second most sodium content only to the Dead Sea. The reason given is because the small rivers and creeks that empty into the lake have no outlet so as the water evaporates the content of the lake increases. As we drive through Salt Lake City we are in a valley of sorts with mountain ranges all around. I marvel at knowing we are already 4700 feet above sea level and yet I look around and am still surrounded but snow capped mountains. It is currently 75 degrees according to the sign we just past. This seems to be much better weather then is average for this area for this time of year. I hope my Vacation weather karma holds out!

So as we are driving I begin to notice that in almost every house grouping you see roof… roof… roof… Church Steeple! The first few I kind of ignore but take note of then I realize nearly every single house grouping has a steeple and they all tend to be the same shape and all painted white. Just odd.

We are out of the Salt Lake area, as we drive we start to realize the road we are on runs smack between 2 mountains. It's amazing looking up on both sides and all you can see is the mountain side.

Well we just passed the high point on this road at 7500 feet. I can't remember the Altitude of Paradise on Mount Rainier but I don't think it was this high, some snow still on the ground here and some of the first signs of the Red Rocks.

We reached Arches National Park. Unfortunately the Streets and Maps program we were using for guidance sent us off on a jeep path. LOL We got about half a mile when a stopped a passing truck and asked if we were on the right road. He kind of giggled at us and said the road DOES go there but *he looks up and the down the car* you aren't going to get there in THAT! We find an area to attempt a turn around and get stuck in the sand. I get out and push with all my womanly strength and we manage to get out and back onto the road… unfortunately not with enough time to get to the visitor center before it closed. We are planning to head out early tomorrow and do the hike in the morning. We did however find Moab (the town nearest Arches) to be very friendly. We stopped and got a nice hotel room at the Inca Inn. The lady at the front desk suggested the Moab Brewery and so we stopped for dinner then headed out and got some terrific photos of the area in the fading sunlight. It's been 2 long days of driving. We have much shorter drives coming over the next week but right now we are pretty tired. Funny thing… I don't have to go to work tomorrow… and yet… I will be awake before the sun rises. LOL

Oh! I am also downloading lots of pictures to my flickr account. If you want to see some of the fun we have had check them out here http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghgoddess/

Oregon to Twin Falls, Idaho

As we drive up and down the “hills” of Oregon we are reminded every few miles that we are driving along the Oregon Trail. To think that hundreds of years ago, more than 50,000 people threw their families into covered wagons and began a road trip of a different sort. There would be no roads for them to traverse but they would make their mark on the world. We stop at the Deadman’s Pass Rest Area and there are signs with part of the story of these adventurers that set out to find a new home. I bet at the time they did not consider themselves pioneers but they truly pioneered their way across the country. The sign says there are still wheel ruts permanently carved into the countryside near where we stand. I am disappointed that we won’t be able to go hike this area to see these marks left by our ancestors but we have more mileage we need to cover before we lose the sun if we hope to catch sunset in the Arches. I will definitely add this to my list of places I need to learn more about.

5:25 we move into the Mountain Time Zone. We are unhappy to lose the hour today… but will be very happy to have the extra hour on Route 66. J

As we were getting closer to dinner I checked the “Find Nearby Places” feature on the Streets & Trips program. I found out that Boise, Idaho has a Cracker Barrel. This is an old favorite from when I lived in the South. I was quite excited. So we stopped in for dinner. The Roast Beef with mashed potatoes was excellent. Bill had the Hickory Smoked Ham and veggies. I know it’s not really “authentic road food” but it was yummy and a taste of home… and I did have the potatoes!!! Heh

Back into the car, night has fallen and we are going to make it at least a couple more hours. We were really hoping to stay in Burley but may “crash” (maybe I shouldn’t use that term…) in Twin Falls.

We have reached Bliss. Well at least this small town named Bliss. Heh I love the names of these places.

Yup Twin Falls it is. We looked in our trusty GO Roadtripping USA! Book and found the El Rancho Motel that has microwaves and FRIDGE!! In the rooms. So we are going to stop there for the evening.

Day 1- Maple Valley to Oregon

Ok it is now 10:50 am and according to the Mount Rainier National Bank it is 51 degrees… We have finally hit the road. Vegas here we come. The current plan is Highway 18 to I-90 through Kittitas to I-82 in to Oregon and finally onto I-84 through Oregon and into Idaho. Our current goal is to stay in Burley, Idaho which would put us about six hours out from Arches National Park. We will see how it goes. J

As we pass over Snoqualmie summit the sun comes out. IT’s so nice to see the sun after the long rainy winter we have had. The snow still covers the ground here, which I am sure pleases the skiers, and the sun reflects brightly. I have now traveled further East in Washington then I have been before. The mountains are beautiful and I love all the little waterfalls of melting snow that run down near the side of the road. Having grown up in Florida and on the East coast the mountains are still a marvel to me. We are driving past a lake that is frozen over. According to the map we are driving through the Wenatchee National Forest.

We have lost the radio stations at this point and so we turned on the iPod. Our first musical selection is the Minstrels of Mayhem. It’s a folky comedy type of music I discovered years ago at my favorite Renaissance Fest. If you have not heard them check out their website http://www.minstrelsofmayhem.com/.

Stopped at a view spot to take a few pictures… Mountains are amazing things. It’s amazing how different things look on this side of the Cascades. There are no trees at all, lots of bush and little to no snow. It’s also very dry. The sky a very light shade of blue with hundreds of whispy clouds floating lightly on the breeze.

We see 2 large mountains one to the right and one a bit closer to the left. As we try to figure out which is which we see a sign. The mountain to the right is Rainier and the one to the left is Adams. We decided to take a break at the next rest stop. There was a beautiful bridge and a sign that explained the mountainscape.

Hehe so as we drive through Yakima there is a sign that says “Yakima the “Palm Springs” of Washington. *smile*

We have now entered Wine Country. I have never seen grape vines before. Unfortunately it is not the right season and they are all cut off waiting to re-bloom. It reminds me of strawberry fields in Florida.

As we began planning this trip we decided to pick up the program “Streets & Trips” with the GPS tracker. So we went through and added all of our stops and then let the program calculate the path. As we drove down I-82 it sent us off onto a small state road 221 through East Washington near Paterson. So we decided to trust the program and drove through the detour. This is the flattest land I have seen since I moved west. It’s so amazing that just a few hours ago we were surrounded by mountains and now I can see for miles. Here and there are farm houses surrounded by trees in a huge open field. Many of the fields are untended at this time of year so you see brown for miles and then further off in the distance patches of green. The funny thing on the little detour is that all the truckers seem to take this route. I would say that I will continue to trust the program for a while. *smile* There goes tumbleweed! That’s just crazy!

Day 1 - Maple Valley, Washington

Saturday morning: Well things did not go as smoothly as I had hoped but we are off. The car is packed… bladders are empty… tank is full. Mileage is at 194264 and the clock says 10:32 am. (We initially left the house at 9:59 but had a few stops in town before hitting the road.) The cherry blossom trees are all in bloom and I am sure all the blooms will be long gone before we return. Bill is in a bit of a state. He is having trouble with the fact that we don’t have hotel reservations for each stop. Today is a bit cloudy and not very clear. I was hoping to get a picture of Mount Rainier for the first shot of the trip but it doesn’t look like that will be an option this morning. Looks like it will be a nice warm day though…

Well Bill has forgotten his inhaler… so we are now headed back to the house… I promise we will get to this soon.

2 days 15 hours and 44 minutes

But who's counting???

So we have our bags partially packed... I am running around crazy like a chicken with my head cut off.

Oh yeah.. I was gonna give ya'll the plan. Well here is the basic plan. We are not committed (commitment is an evil word) to any particular schedule. Our only MUSTS are we MUST be in Las Vegas on March 28th through April 1st.

Day 1: Driving down through Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Day 2: Drive to Arches National Park, enjoy the park
Day 3 Driving from Arches to Garden of the Gods, CO
Day 4-5: Texas
Day 5-7: New Mexico
Day 8-10: Arizona
Day 11-16: Las Vegas
Day 17-22: California
Day 22-23: Oregon and Washington (Home)

Possible sites along the way:
Arches National Park, UT
Black Canyon, CO
Sand Dunes, CO
Garden of the Gods, CO
Route 66 and all it’s kitschiness, TX, NM, AZ, CA
Palo Duro Canyon, TX
Petroglyph National Monument, NM
Meteor Crater, AZ
Petrified Forest, AZ
Painted Desert, AZ
Grand Canyon, AZ
Star Trek Experience, NV
Every rollercoaster in Vegas…
Channel Islands, CA
La Brea Tar Pits, CA

Anyone else have suggestions for cool things we shouldn’t miss? Largest ball of yarn?

A 3 Week Road Trip? How did this happen?!?!?

So late last year I was sitting around completely exhausted and trying to figure out why I was so burnt out when I realized... for the first year in over a decade I didn't take a single vacation all year.

My family is a family of road trippers. All my life we drove wherever we went. Some of this was because it is so much cheaper to travel with a family of 5 in a car then on a plane but it was something I always loved. I have spent months of my life in a car riding around the country. Thus far I have visited 31 states and for the past many years this has been seriously lacking.

Route 66 (the mother road) has always been a dream of mine to travel. Having been born and raised in Florida the majority of my travel was done on the East coast. Up until I turned 28 I had never been West of the Mississippi. In the past 3 years that obviously changed with me moving to Bellevue, Washington (near Seattle) and traveling with my company but I still do not feel I have experienced the West. After seeing the movie “Cars” together last year, my boyfriend (Bill) and I, discovered that it had been a dream of his to drive Route 66 as well.

Bill and I had been discussing a trip he was planning to take for the Glass Craft & Bead Expo (http://www.glasscraftexpo.com/) in Las Vegas. I was looking through the flier for it and thought it would be a lot of fun. So we discussed it and decided I was going to go. Well once that was decided we started talking about making it a Road trip and seeing at least half of Route 66.

Now mind you we started talking about this… November 19, 2006. The day I didn’t get my Wii…

Now here we are 4 months later (still no Wii) and come this Friday I will be taking the longest coolest vacation I have ever had the luxury to plan (makes up for the lack of Wii). 3 weeks, 5000 miles, at least 4 national parks… Lots of Mexican food and Las Vegas Baby!

Here we come!

So it's been a few months...

I haven't been on here for a few months... life got busy and you know how it goes...

So the past few months I have been planning and planning and planning this absolutely amazing Road Trip. I am so excited that I can barely sit still. I leave on Saturday this week. I am going with my boyfriend. (I know... wierd to have a boyfriend at this point in my life but there really is no appropriate term for older people who "date". )

I will get my information together and post our current plan. I am hoping to be able to blog about the trip while I am on it. I figure riding in a car for 5,000 miles will give me time to type my thoughts and happenings. :-)

Hope you will enjoy.

Oh and for an update. I have lost 32 pounds... of which I fully expect to gain at least 5 back on this trip. LOL I will be jumping back on the wagon upon my return. :-)

Leslie