Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam & Vegas!

So this blog is going to go in reverse chronological order because my pictures uploaded backwards... On Tuesday, Vegas was my last stop before San Diego. I didn't upload any pictures because I didn't stop, I just wanted to drive down the strip- which was flashy, just as I imagined. I'd definitely like to go back someday, but not flying solo. Before the strip I stopped at the tourist-packed Hoover Dam. It was impressive, but paled in comparison to the Grand Canyon. My favorite part was hopping between Arizona & New Mexico time zones :)

The Grand Canyon was by far the biggest jaw-dropper. I managed to make it to the canyon Monday night after leaving Santa Fe in the nick of time before the sunset. Walking up to the southern rim truly took my breath away. I had no idea what was in store; especially after visiting the Palo Duro Canyon in Texas! Watching the ground fall out from beneath me, and staring a mile down into the earth was one of the most amazing feelings, not to mention to brilliant red sunset over the canyon that my camera refused to capture.
Prior to hitting up the Grand Canyon, I stopped at the National Petrified Forest, for two reasons. One, it simply sounded cool, and two, I wanted to purchase a National Park Pass because I knew I'd be visiting several parks on my journey, and a one-time fee of $80 beat multiple $25 entrance fees (plus it expedites waiting to get into each park!). I figured it would be less busy at the Petrified Forest, as opposed to the Grand Canyon, so I bought my pass there & I drove through just for kicks.
To my surprise, the Petrified Forest is AMAZING! I wish I had more time to hike around and explore, but I knew I wanted to make it to the Grand Canyon before sunset. This picture is the Painted Desert that you drive through right as you enter the park.
And first of all, (remember, reverse order) as soon as I crossed the Arizona border, famished, I stopped at a Navajo Frybread stand and ate the most amazing "burrito" of my entire life. It was basically burrito ingredients wrapped in fried dough... absolutely delicious!

Time to catch up!

As I left folks praying for rain in Texas, I crossed the New Mexico border in a torrential downpour. Because the state is so flat, I could see bolts of lighting miles and miles away. From the border to Santa Fe took about three hours, and every mile I was amazed as mountains grew out of nowhere. Santa Fe is surrounded with amazing mountains, giving it a very unique climate. I was pleasantly surprised to leave heat wave temperatures, for a comfortable 60 degree evening.
While here I’m staying with my friend Rob who works for the Santa Fe Opera House. I was lucky enough to get snuck into last nights performance of La Boheme by wearing a headset & pretending I was part of the crew. First of all, the SFO is an open air theater, so the breeze blew through all evening. The wall-less stage overlooks all of Santa Fe below, with the sun setting on mountains in the background. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, there was a lightening storm off in the distance, so streaks of lightening illuminated the sky. I am no where near eloquent enough to describe how amazing this theater is, but when I arrived to find theater-goers “tail gaiting” with wooden chairs, linens and wine in the parking lot, I knew I was in for something special. The performance left me speechless, as it was my first real opera, and I even understood it thanks to the optional captions they have in front of every seat. All I have to say is, if you are ever in Santa Fe, GO.

Saturday in Santa Fe I was on my own, but had heard recommendations to check out the plaza. I quickly realized Santa Fe is an art lovers dream city. Free sidewalk art shows, museums, studios, murals, espresso galleries... culture oozing out of every adobe structure. I shopped and had an amazing lunch at the Blue Corn Cafe. Later that night I saw another amazing performance at the SFO, this time it was the opening of The Last Savage so I got to indulge at the after party.

Sunday I took a short drive up to Taos to explore pueblos. They don't allow you to take photographs there, but it was certainly an experience I will never forget. I also drove around the Carson National Forest and saw some of the tragic impact forest fires have had there. New Mexico is absolutely amazing. On to Arizona!

Oklahoma & Texas :)

Before I get into how ridiculously amazing Santa Fe is, I need to back track to the past couple days where I haven’t had consistent internet connection.

Thursday was all Oklahoma. Oklahoma is… beautiful, but driving through it once was enough for me. A few fun facts I learned from Oklahoma include: they have a Vacuum Cleaner Museum, the shopping cart was invented there, and they boast being the birth place of Toby Keith & Garth Brooks (I drove past Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill). I stopped in to check out downtown Tulsa, which was nice, but the 120 degree weather kept me confined to my car so I didn’t explore as much as I would have liked. Thursday night I camped out next to a cattle ranch, and was almost blown away in the ridiculous wind… I would not recommend tenting in Oklahoma.

Friday I headed to Texas! I had been there once before, but to Galveston for Hurricane Ike Relief. This time, I stayed toward the northern part of the state and drove through Amarillo. I took a detour a friend recommended to the Palo Duro Canyon, which is second only to the Grand Canyon. That was gorgeous & amazing. I wish I had more time to hike around, but I was determined to make it to Santa Fe… plus more 120 degree weather was not conducive to canyon hiking.

On my way to New Mexico I took several of the Historical Route 66 detours off of the interstate and was treated to free museums (The Devil’s Rope Museum in McLean, Texas was all about barbed wire), and historical landmarks.

St. Louis = Best Yet!

Yesterday my destination was St. Louis. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was amazed with what I found. So far, it has been the cheapest & classiest city I’ve visited. It was easy to find parking on the street for a few quarters. Then I walked down to the Gateway Arch (which the pictures don’t do justice). Under the Arch is the Museum of Westward Expansion; it was free and fascinating. It was set up in circles, the innermost ring representing the 1800’s, then the 1810’s and so on. Spokes on the rings showed evolution in different areas of life like mining and Native cultures. Plus, there were traditional Native American music performances.

After I checked out the museum I took a ride up to the top of the Arch! It was $10 and well worth it! I rode up in a little capsule that held five people, and from the top could see both sides of the Arch. I went up around sunset, so I could also see the shadow the arch cast… soooo much cooler than I ever expected.

Last night I camped out in Eureka, Missouri right next to Six Flags. The park rangers at my campground gave me some great advice for routes to take as I head toward New Mexico, including the Turquoise Trail.

Today, my travels brought me to Oklahoma!!! I’m excited to see more of the famed Route 66. On a humorous side note, I'm think I look like a local when I'm not around my car (with its Maine plates) because everywhere I've stopped someone has asked me for directions or about the area. My strategy has been to just keep walking, no matter how lost I am because that is when I usually find the coolest stuff :)

A few of the pictures from DC I tried to upload last night... and failed at.

Right now I'm taking a McDonald's pit stop in Indiana to upload pictures, let my car take a breather & charge my computer. It's 100 degrees outside, so $1 for a large sweet tea with free refills is heaven in my mouth.

I had lunch with Abe, pretty incredible. What's weird is I was more impressed with the ceiling in the Lincoln Memorial than the statue...
After reaching the White House I realized I should have taken a picture holding the monument. Either way, I was disappointed at the lack of reflection in the Reflecting Pool... but how many people can say they saw the bottom of the Reflecting Pool? That's what I thought!

Represent.

Lastly, I took this picture for my mom, she loves her garden & I thought she'd like to compare her layout to Michelle's. Probably my favorite picture from DC :)

Day Two!

My one and only goal today was to see the White House. Check.

On top of that, I saw the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building, along with hundreds of other sights in DC. Plus, I crossed the Appalachian Trail in Maryland, which was really cool seeing as I just hiked Katahdin on Saturday, where my crew met two people who had finished the entire AT that day. Trail Magic :D

I never realized how beautiful it was driving westward through the Appalachian Mountains. I’m so accustomed to the flat views off the Maine highway, that to weave between mountains & coast for miles was amazing.

Today’s firsts included: all things DC, West Virginia, Ohio, and realizing that a place exists on earth where there is NOT a Dunkin Donuts every 5 miles, only to later realize they were all replaced with Subways.

For the next few days I’m heading southwest!

PS: Not sure if the pictures I attached will upload or not. Campground wireless is… campground wireless.

And so it begins...

Day one of my travels was pure bliss. I got off to a later start than anticipated, but successfully navigated my way past the Massachusetts border (for the first time by car), through Connecticut, New York, New Jersey & Pennsylvania. It didn’t hit me until I crossed the New York state line that this trip is for real.

I spent the majority of my day in New York City, checking out the typical touristy sights: the Empire State Building, Times Square, Broadway, and our Lady Liberty. I don’t think I’ve been this giddy… ever. I can’t wait to go back & eat a New York slice to see how it compares to Portland Pie.

As a testament to how inexperienced a traveler I am… today I encountered my first toll ticket. I stopped at a toll in CT cash in hand, when the attendant handed me a ticket and waved me on. I’m quite certain he knew I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do with it. Needless to say, three toll tickets later, I get it.

The only minor roadblocks today were a few accidents on the interstate & endless work zones- putting back an hour from when I expected to reach my stopping point for the night.

As for tonight I’m camping out (if you consider a campground with wi-fi “camping”). Expect pictures soon!

the nitty gritty

I’ve officially begun my summer vacation. I spent a week doing as little as humanly possible & now it’s back to business. Today I filled out a handful of job applications, and my reward has been a bottomless mug of coffee at Panera & some serious planning time for my road trip.

I know it is somewhat pointless to have a set itinerary because that entirely defeats my goal of unabated adventure; but I do want to have an idea of how long it will take me to get from point A to point B, plus an idea of where to stay & what to do. What I’ve done is mapped out my goal location for each day, plus approximated my mileage & necessary expenses (food, lodging, gas). I’ve set a flexible maximum budget of $2,000. As of right now, my estimated “essentials” budget is around $1,600, giving me a $400 cushion for souvenirs, unexpected expenses & the like.

I tried to mix it up in terms of lodging, allowing myself a shower at a motel every other night or so, and camping out to save money. It’s looking like my primary stops will include: Waterboro, New York, DC, Washington National Forest in Virginia, St. Louis, Black Kettle National Grassland in Oklahoma, New Mexico, the Grand Canyon, San Diego, Sequoia National Park, San Francisco, Yosemite, Idaho, Glacier National Park, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Cleveland, Niagara, Connecticut and finally back home to Waterboro. Right around 8,500 miles!

I’m also trying to make a list of random expenses that I want to be prepared for, so far I have: laundry, tolls, oil change, windshield washer fluid, and caffeine. Any additional items that I should add? Thoughts? Advice? Must see places?

17 DAYS.

t-minus 55 days

I love quotes. I read them for inspiration, comfort and perspective. I recently stumbled upon a quote from Napoleon Hill that just made sense, "Don’t wait, the time will never be just right."

Fact.

I can think back to a thousand moments where I haven’t done something because I didn’t have time, or money, or courage, or a good enough reason. What a waste! As a result I am inspired. This summer I will have friends randomly scattered from California to Connecticut; a perfect opportunity to road trip & visit a few of the places I have always wanted to see along the way.

For those of you who don’t know, I am a teacher; a profession that conveniently provides me more than two glorious months of freedom every summer. Even though I waitress & bartend, I am in no way opposed to taking a month off.

Thus, I have started this blog to track my travels, provide insight to those who are novice road trippers like myself with what I will learn along the way, & offer inspiration to anyone looking for it. I plan on departing Monday, July 18^th after summiting Katahdin & returning August 5^th just in time for the Beach to Beacon & a Guster concert. Nineteen days of pure, unadulterated adventure.

I am still in the planning phase. What stops to make, how long to stay, cost, food & so on. My ideal budget is $2,500… but as I mentioned, I am a teacher. So my goal budget is more along the lines of $1,800.

Step 1: Where do I want to go? (In no specific order)

· New York: Niagara Falls, Statue of Liberty

· Missouri: St. Louis

· Arizona: Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam

· Connecticut: East Windsor

· New Mexico: Santa Fe

· Montana: Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park

· California: San Diego, San Francisco, Redwood National Park

· Utah: Arches National Park

· Washington, D.C.

· Ohio: Cleveland

I don’t know if I’ll be able to hit all of these stops in nineteen short days, so I’m in the pruning process. Any suggestions??