Final Thoughts!

As Daniel and I drove across this great country of ours we noticed and reflected on many things...

- Why did it take so long to settle the west? Daniel's hypothesis is that they most likely traveled through eastern New Mexico or Kansas, stared at the abyss and decided they would die of boredom if they continued.

- There are rednecks and bad drivers everywhere. Enough said.

- There are more Europeans at our national parks than Americans.

- Gee Obama thanks for the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).Your shovel-ready stimulus projects helped ensure there was road construction every 5 feet. As a result our car moved as slow as the economy your presently destroying.

- If you have AT&T and you are traveling west be sure to attach a giant satellite to your car or expect to have no 3G coverage.

- There is no point is trying to plan...just go with it!

- America is a beautiful place! So glad we were able to take the time to see it!

- This trip would not have been as fun if it weren't for my awesome family members. Thanks so much for everything. We had a wonderful time! WE LOVE YOU!

Day 19 & 20- Eastward Bound!

Leaving the cabin was bitter sweet. Bitter in that I would miss my family and our trip was coming to an end. Sweet in that we were going back home to our pups. We left with high hopes of making it the 16 hours to Fort Smith, OK our first day. However, we decided to stop and visit the Petrified Forest  so that set us back a few hours. It was worth it though! It was really neat to see the 250 million year old trees that had turned to crystal and rock. Plus the desert landscape is so pretty. Once we were on our way we drove through Arizona, New Mexico and into Texas where we stayed at the Econolodge Amarillo. Home to big people with big hats.

Day two on our eastward trek took us the rest of the way through Texas (which looked kind of like Kansas...I got a little scared!), Oklahoma (where I serenaded Daniel at least 4 times with the main theme to the musical), Arkansas, the tip of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and finally Georgia. By the time we passed the GA state sign I was sure glad Georgia was on my mind. What a long day. We pulled into the McKellar garage at 1:00 am and had a nice greeting from Reggie, the dog, and Nacho, the cat. After a great night sleep my sister was gracious enough to give us a 7:00 am wakeup call from our pups Mosely and Zoey! The perfect end to our trip!

Day 16, 17 & 18- the Cambron Cabin, AZ

After the long drive in the dark we reached my family's cabin in Forest Lakes, AZ. It is located in the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest and is one of my favorite places! The drive was a little scary. There are no street lights coming from Flagstaff and the elk are everywhere. To all those people in Yellowstone who back up traffic for a mile to take a picture of an elk come to Arizona.

The next three days we spent time with Grandma Fern, Aunt Kellie, Austin and Parker. The boys had a great time riding on the zip line and shooting their bb guns. They were so funny. Their targets got progressively more complex as the days went on. Daniel even had Grandma taking shots at the array of plastic bottles, army men, buckets and water balloons. Kellie and I had fun cooking and talking with Grandma. We also took a few walks. One down to the pond where my grandpa used to take us fishing for crawdads and to the meadow where my cousins and I would go play for hours.

Our last night Aunt Della and Brett came up. We had a great time catching up over some beers and grandma tacos. Yum!

It was so nice to relax in the cool mountains before our long trip home. Thanks Kellie, Grandma, Austin, Parker, Della, Brett and Motzy (the westie). We had a great time. Love you, miss you!

Look! We found Sasquatch! He was in Arizona.

Day 15- The Grand Canyon

the wildlife

Our day at the Grand Canyon began with a 3 mile (round trip...you have to hike back up!) hike into the canyon. The view was so amazing it takes your breath away. Even though we looked at the same view it is amazing how the canyon changes depending on how the sun hits it. It took us about 3 hours to hike down, take a break, and hike back up. We could have shaved an hour off our time if it were not for the pack mules carrying dirt up and down to repair the trail. It was neat to see but got annoying real quick!

We congratulated ourselves on a successful hike with a hamburger and a local brew at the Blue Angel Lodge before hoping the shuttle back to the visitor center. From there we walked around the rim to the geological museum to educate ourselves about just how the canyon was formed. The view...still beautiful! Later we did a little shopping and people watching. Fun fact! Did you know that the primary consumer of National Parks are international tourist. Its like the Tower of Babel out here. Another fun fact is that the Grand Canyon is one of the best places to people watch. Totally beats the mall and the airport. Our favorites are as follows...

Most Under-Prepared: Family of 8 walking down the canyon in flat designer type sandals with two bottles of water dragging a crying 3 year old with them. Wonder how long it took them to get up?

Most Over-Prepared: New York family of 8 who looked like they just handed REI a blank check for top of the line hiking gear they obviously did not need for their mile and a half walk.

Just Plain Dumb: Three canyon necks obviously to cool for school walking down in jeans (one sagging so slow I kept waiting for him to trip and fall into the canyon) and his two buddies with root beer and cigarettes as their only provisions.

Funniest Outfit: foreign gentlemen in a red polo shirt tucked into his blue and grey stripped cotton bike shorts...YIKES!

Best Mullet: 5 ft 10 in. Camaro fem mullet. You know...big spiky business it the front and long straight party in the back.

We finished our Grand Canyon visit with a drive east for some desert views of the canyon. This side was cool because you could see the Colorado River snake its way through. We loved it here and are already planning our trip back to hike from the north to the south rim!

Day 14- the road to the Grand Canyon

  We left Paso Robles and headed east towards the Grand Canyon. During this trip we have experienced every climate and terrain that the US has to offer. We have seen plains, mountains, the coast and now we are headed for the desert. Along the way we went through the Mohavi Desert preserve where the temperature was 107 and at one point we saw gas for $4.69...YIKES! We reached the Grand Canyon just in time to catch a shuttle out to Yaki Point where we saw a breath taking Grand Canyon sunset. It was so beautiful it almost looks like a painting.

Once the sun had set we walked back to the shuttle bus stop where the bus was supposed to have its last pick up at 8:30. We were there from 8:15 to 9:00. NO SHUTTLE! We found ourselves stuck with two guys from South America. Luckily they were cool, spoke english and shared some water and snickers minis. After searching for phone numbers on the map with cell phone light we decided to walk the 3 mile trek by moon light to the visitor center and our cars. We soon see a flash of light. Oh joy! Someone with a car to give us a ride. But oh no. Brian the park ranger was nice enough to call us a cab but not nice enough to drive us the 5 minutes back to our car. So here is another piece of travel advice. Do not trust the bus drives and Brian the park ranger is a jerk face!

So we wait another 20 minutes thinking that Brain the jerk face has tricked us and is off telling his buddies that he left 4 stupid tourist out in the dark when we start to walk. Soon a really nice lady cab driver and her drunk hippie companion picked us up and WOW the entertainment value of that ride was worth missing the shuttle. My favorite quotes of many were...

“Do I still get to pee?”

“man, what are you doing out here man” 

“Don't go in the bushes man. Mountain lions man”

In order to get the hilarity of the situation you have to picture a skinny white guy with shoulder length hair and he sounds that Tommy Chong.

Once we got back to the car we were so hungry we warmed tortillas with the heater and ate semi cold steak and pork tacos. Bless Rachel for sending us with yummy left overs. We drove the hour back to our cheaper hotel. At that point the $100 we saved did not feel worth it. Oh well...the secret to a successful vacation is to embrace the unexpected.

Day 12 & 13- Carmel & Paso Robles

random guy!

We left Napa and headed south towards the coast. We stopped in Carmel to spend a few hours at the beach. After all you can't go all the way to California and not go to the beach. Too bad it was a cold and cloudy day because I am sure that Carmel is beautiful. The area we went to was also one of the only dog beaches around so it was fun to watch the endless array of labs, labradoddles and golden retrievers chase their tennis balls in the serf. It made me miss our pups at home. Mosely and Zoey would  love the beach.

Next we made the short trip to Rachel and Alex's house in Paso Robles where I got to meet my baby cousin, Addison, for the first time. How sweet she is! Just a happy, giggly little girl :0) We had a great dinner and played some aggravation on the same board we grew up with. It was so much fun! I could just hear my grandma laughing as we moved the marbles around the board knocking each other out and racing toward home.

We began our next day with lunch at In-n-Out, a must do in California, before heading to the beach. I will say it did not disappoint! The beach was great! Daniel and Daisy, the jack russell, played in the surf while the girls and Alex relaxed on the sand. Alex took Addison down to the water to put her feet in the ocean for the first time. So cute! The weather and sound of the waves was so relaxing. We had a great time!

That evening we went to the park for a free concert. We sat in the shade and enjoyed some good beer, wine and company. Addison liked to dance/wiggle around to the music. Afterwards we went home for one more round of aggravation before calling it a night. Each of us won a game so we definitely have to come back for best two out of three! 

Tomorrow we head east to the Grand Canyon. Thanks to Alex, Rachel and Addison for a great time!

Day 10 & 11- Redwoods, San Fran & Napa

  Our first stop on our way down the west coast was Portland, OR. We drove into the city and had lunch at the Rogue Brewery. The beer was good and the food filling. What else good I say about Oregon? Not much.

oh and we drove through a tree!

Not too long after crossing the California border we saw the Redwoods. WOW! Those are big trees. We pulled over and did some hiking among the monsters. It was a great hike. Quiet and peaceful. The forest looks a lot like the Forest Moon of Endor. We kept waiting for an Ewok to cross the path! We also discovered that Big Foot is often seen wondering through this part of the US so once the sun went down we took some scenic drives through the forest in search of the big guy. The only luck we had was the 10 foot statues of the creature you could buy at the local mom and pop gift store. Oh well!

On our drive we also stopped on the coast to watch the sun set over the Pacific ocean. It was a little cloudy but still beautiful.

The next morning we left Eureka, CA and made our way to San Francisco. It took FOREVER! Small towns, road work, slow and stupid drivers. You name it. We came in over the Golden Gate bridge and headed straight for Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. We walked the Pier, had lunch and did a little shopping. Well as much as Daniel could handle. The city was crowded but at least it was a nice day. Sunny and warm for San Fran. I love it there! Before we left we hit up Ghirardelli Square. YUM!

The rest of the evening was spent at Ryan and Kendra's house in Napa. It was good to see them and Ducky, the lab again. Wish we could have visited more but gotta get back on the road in the morning. Thanks Ryan and Kendra for a great time!