So...if you read my April Fool's Day post...this post will not be too much of a surprise. Last Wednesday (April 6th) I loaded Michael's car with a few things along with Sean, Henry and Zaira. We left at 4am...determined to make it down the road as quickly as possible.
If you have ever taken a long road trip, then you understand that there are three mindsets:
1. Drive straight through without any stops...this plan usually leaves you completely drained and you cannot function by the end of the trip...no thank you!
2. Stop at everything and take 2-3 times longer to make the trip...a GREAT plan if you have the time and money to see the sights!
3. The idea to stop every 200-300 miles (depending on your gas tank and your physical needs) and see where these stops take you...maybe even strategically plan these stops so you are at SOMETHING of interest!
We originally were going to take the first approach and I realized that this was not a good plan considering the boys did have a competition and I was the soul driver on this trip. So we instead choice the third style of traveling, of course wishing we could follow the second style of traveling! (We would save that for our next big road trip at the end of the month!)
We started early because we were determined to set up our second day with a fun adventure...we wanted to be in Holbrook, AZ by night fall. We would travel across California, through the tip of Nevada, and then across Arizona along a northern route on Hwy 40 (also Rt 66 at times!). We made short stops along the way to stretch our legs, see novel sites, and do a little geocaching. Here are some of the places we stopped.
 |
| Joshua Trees in the Mojave Desert |
 |
| Tehachapi Loop (Historical trail...look it up!) |
 |
| Borate plant |
 |
| Tallest Thermometer in the World! |
 |
| Our Aggie Road |
Here are several interesting sites along Route 66...we really enjoyed stopping in Peach Springs the model town for the Cars movie!
We tried to make it to this phenimenon before it closed by just missed the gates closing. The Barringer Crater rises 150 feet above the Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona. It is nearly a mile wide and 570 feet deep. The nickel-iron meteorite is estimated to have been only 150 feet across and 300,000 tons. The meteorite traveled at 40,000 miles per hour when it struck the earth approximately 49,000 years ago. The force of the impact was the equivalent of 20 million tons of TNT, more than 1000 times the force of the blast at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We were able to climb up to the outer edge from the road...we hope to make a stop here again because from the pictures we viewed on line it was quite a sight to see!
We made it to Holbrook by 8pm...a little later than planned but a solid run across three states was not bad. We woke up the next morning bright and early...it was 6am and the Arizona sun was already up and ready for us! It was a beautiful day and we were eager to explore as we continued toward Texas! I am sure some of Michael's family will wonder why we did not take the southern route but we really would not have had time to visit and we thought this was the better plan. We would not have been able to do more than crash at their house and move on the next morning as we did here!
This second day would be spent traveling to three national parks and into Texas! I was asked weeks ago if we would be making any stops on this trip and I said we would not have time. Every time I would say this, people would laugh and at me and say they could not believe it! I guess they know me well. I just could not resist the parks so close to the highway. We stopped at Petrified Forest-Painted Desert National Park, El Morro National Monument, and El Malpais National Monument. We also took a left turn at Albuquerque to see an interesting site or two! We thought we would be at our hotel by 8pm...we did not get there until after midnight! However, we were so excited to be back HOME...we did not care about the time! Here are some of the pictures from the second day.
Petrified Forest
 |
| Walking the Log |
 |
| Blue Mesa |
 |
| Bunny Ears |
 |
| Pronghorn in all its majesty! |
 |
| Newspaper Rock |
Painted Desert...the only National Park with the historical Route 66 running through the park!
El Morro
 |
| Inscription Rock...I was here...throughout the centuries! |
El Malpais (Bat Cave)
Our left at Albuquerque too us to this lovely Lady of the Tree! This was once a living tree that had this art etched into it...a couple of years ago, the tree was struck by lightning so the people saved the art by placing it on a pedestal in front of the church.
And this guy...El Cuervo...In April 1706 Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdez, 28th colonial governor, founded an administrative unit or villa which he named San Francisco de Alburquerque in honor of Don Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva Enriquez, Duque de Alburquerque, the 34th viceroy of New Spain, and resident in Mexico City. The viceroy, fearing the displeasure of King Philip V of Spain because the new villa had not been authorized by him, changed the name to San Felipe de Alburquerque, in honor of the king.
Finally!!! We made it to Texas!
Day 3 of the trip took us to Gramma's house! We spent the day driving and making a list of all the things we love about Texas!
- Texas shaped waffles
- Biscuit and gravy
- Sonic
- Mesquite trees
- Friendly people who wave
- Horses
- Nice Roads
- Country music
- Inexpensive gas
- HEB
- Higher speed limits
- Historical Markers
- Real Bluebonnets
- Pecans
- BBQ
- Proud to be Christian
- Proud to be Texan!
We spent the next four days enjoying her company, taking the boys to their entomology contest (more on that on my 4H blog soon!), viewing our new home, and then the flight home. Not a lot of pictures because it was such a busy time! Glad to have this done and motivated to get back to California to pack up the house and plan for the BIG road trip HOME!!!!
Zaira's first flight...she was so excited! She was not disappointed...every second was exciting and new! So glad she and Henry could share the window seat!
 |
| Flying over our house in Seaside...how cool to see! |
