Holiday Road Trip: Grand Canyon

We spent about five hours wandering around the south rim of the Grand Canyon. After seeing the parks at Moab, we both agree that the only way to experience this “big ditch” is to hike down into the bottom. While neither of us felt particularly prepared or willing to make the descent, we decided to come back some spring or fall and complete the Bright Angel trail.

We drove farther east to Holbrook, AZ (a former Route 66 town) so that we can have an early start at the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest before beginning the final stretch of our road trip. We stopped at a grocery store for some beers and snacks to go with my little bottle of champagne. We both got a little tipsy while watching a feature on cable about great Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire dance numbers.

Holiday Road Trip: Arizona

After saying goodbye to Aaron and Alicia we drove down to Arizona. We traveled through part of Monument Valley and into Flagstaff. Evidence of recent snow storms could be seen by the hastily-plowed lanes and high piles of slush everywhere. It was all melting fairly quickly in the 50-degree temperatures. At our Motel there was a car completely blocked from view by six-foot piles of plowed snow. We went to an afternoon movie before seeking microbrews at the Beaver Street Brewery. After a very satisfying meal and comparable beers (the red ale was particularly good) I went to bed soon while Hans checked the mileage for the rest of our trip.

Mexican Hat Rock

Monument Valley

Holiday Road Trip: Canyonlands South

We finished our exploration of Canyonlands, this time from the south side that puts you at the bottom of the canyons. In a snowy quiet parking lot we let Kia out for a few minutes to let out some energy and play catch with her frizbee. While she frolicked and jumped Hans took pictures with the telephoto lens.

In the park there were some interesting sights like an old cowboy camp and an ancient granary. At the end of the day we drove out to another unique arch appropriately called “Jug Handle” and some dinosaur footprints preserved in a slab rock perched precariously at the end of a sketchy trail. Kia came along on the short hike but she had to be lifted most of the way and kept on a leash so as to avoid any accidents.

We spent our last night in Moab playing Munchkin and talking fairly late into the night.

We're Sitting Under Wooden Shoe Arch




Jug Handle Arch

Holiday Road Trip: Canyonlands North

This morning we had a late start before loading Kia in Aaron and Alicia’s car and driving out to the north end of Canyonlands. The north side puts you on the upper plateaus of the park called the “island in the sky”. There are many scenic pullouts with stunning views and short mini hikes that get you out of the car for a little while.

The day disappeared quickly and we made a stop at the Fisher Towers near Castleton before we went back to Moab for dinner at an excellent pizza place. We turned in a little early after a long day.

The windy park road






Fisher Towers

Holiday Road Trip: Arches National Park

After dropping a very excited Kia at the doggy day care we drove a short ways to Arches National Park. It started out cold but as the sun rose the temperature slowly warmed and I could feel my fingers and toes again. We visited many of the beautiful arches, my favorite being the Double Arches (which Hans aptly described as a cathedral with no ceiling). I excitedly climbed into the base of a window and then quickly became worried about the descent. With a little coaching from the others I shakily made it back down.

We went on a couple of hikes, one on some iffy-looking slopes to Landscape Arch, and the other an invigorating climb to Delicate Arch. At the end of the day we were tired but happy to have been outside taking advantage of the beautiful weather.

After dinner we played a few rounds of Munchkin while a very worn-out Kia snoozed on one of the beds.

Double Arches

Landscape Arch



Delicate Arch

Holiday Road Trip: Snowy With a Chance of Ditch Diving

I drove the morning shift, which consisted of 100 miles of perfectly clear roads followed by another 90 miles of snow, wind, and slippery conditions that rendered our speed between 35 and 40 mph. In all my years of winter driving I have never been more nervous of snowy roads or had to deal with such incompetent other drivers (in other vehicles). For a long while we were stuck behind a large SUV that rather than gas up a hill, would hit the brakes and then spin out. Several times their vehicle almost turned sideways. Passing was a matter of how low the snow was since it was piling up fast and the ruts from other cars were very difficult to get out of (especially for us in a low-riding car). After pulling over for gas and snacks Hans took over for the remaining 230 miles, most of which were in perfectly fine conditions.

We pulled into Moab at about the same time as Aaron and Alicia (who drove down from their home in Salt Lake City). After a happy reunion we went for a brief walk with their dog Kia up and down the main street before getting dinner at an excellent brewpub. The evening was spent catching up and playing with Kia until she couldn’t hold her head up any more.

Holiday Road Trip: The Decision

This was probably the laziest Christmas I’ve ever had. We slept in and then spent a leisurely morning eating the French pastries we had bought the day before while watching A Christmas Story on tv. Eventually we went down town and wandered a bit and took pictures while the streets were empty. After going to see a movie in the afternoon we picked up some fast food and spent the rest of the evening watching TV and planning our trip to Moab the next day. The forecasts were pretty grim and I was worried about lacking snow tires and four-wheel drive. We were concerned about imminent blizzards that were hovering in all directions (so the weather reports said). We just about cancelled our plans to go north but after a reassuring call to our friend from college, Alicia (whom we were meeting in Moab), we changed our driving directions and committed to the drive into Utah.

The quiet streets of Santa Fe

Holiday Road Trip: Music and Light

We spent a lazy morning planning where to eat this evening and tomorrow. The internet did not reveal any leads except for a few high-end places with fixed-price multi-course meals. We gave up and walked to the down town area to scope out the shops, restaurants, and other general sights. After trying to take a few pictures we decided it may be better to come back tomorrow when the streets will be much quieter.

Burrow Alley

I spied an excellent wine shop at which I picked up a replacement meritage made in New Mexico (my Canadian one was destroyed during our traverse from Alaska to Missouri last winter) and a small bottle of champagne! Later we visited a wonderful French bakery and picked up some pastries for Christmas breakfast. After visiting a few more shops we stopped for a late lunch at the Blue Corn Café and Brewery. The menu was fantastic but their beers were amazing. We weren’t expecting such well-balanced beers without the watered-down taste of so many other microbrews we’ve tried. Quite comparable to the Moose’s Tooth in Anchorage, which is saying something. After a quick rest back at the hotel, we went down town again, this time for the Ferolito walk on Canyon Road and later, a baroque music concert.

Unbelievably, we found a parking spot down town. Bundled up, we found our way over to Canyon Road, which hosts the Ferolito walk every Christmas Eve. The street is lined with art galleries and lit with paper lanterns and cedar bonfires. Roving groups of walkers were singing carols. We arrived early enough to avoid the major crowds and by the time we were done it was time for the baroque music concert.

It was held in the Loretto Chapel, a former catholic chapel that has a rich history, mostly surrounding the Miracle Staircase. The program of chamber music and carols sung by a superb soprano were very enjoyable in the true sense of Christmas.

Holiday Road Trip: The Caverns

This morning we visited Carlsbad Caverns. Before entering the visitors center Hans gave me a crash course on using the new telephoto lens. We opted to use the natural cave entrance (versus using the elevator) so we could complete the 800-foot descent into the cave. The cave itself was incredible. Hans had visited when we was 12 and he said that it was lit with colored lights at the time. Now it is illuminated with white lights, which Hans said are better for enhancing the natural beauty of the formations. I agree. The main room takes you on a one-and-a-half mile loop, on which we spent a great deal of time taking pictures. When we were done we took the elevator back up and prepared to drive north.

The cave entrance

Roswell, unfortunately, was a little disappointing. We visited the UFO museum briefly and then left town.

We decided to press on to Santa Fe a day early. The road was fairly smooth except for the last hour of driving in which we saw some snow, but it appears we arrived just after they had a snow storm.

We drove a short ways to the downtown area in search of some food. We had decided on a pizza place that boasted a 100+ beer menu in the guidebooks. The menu, while not 100+, was still pretty good. Hans tried a locally made porter and I had a pale ale from Boulder, CO. The food wasn’t stellar but we were appreciative of the casual atmosphere and a few pints after a long day. I pretty much fell into a deep sleep as soon as we got back to the hotel.

Holiday Road Trip: Carlsbad, NM

On the road at a decent time, we slowly made our way across the second largest state. There was not much to see besides oil fields and cows. It was fairly boring until we arrived at our destination of Carlsbad, NM.

After checking into our motel we drove into town for an excellent (and huge) dinner at Lucy’s. My chimichanga could have fed two people (and it did last another meal as leftovers). Afterwards it was dark, so we drove out to the riverside park where a tour company offered boat rides where you were taken along private shoreline properties decorated with Christmas lights.

Wanting to stretch our legs, we opted to walk along the deserted river bank where trail lamps were covered in red and green plastic (some from biohazard bags). We were immediately accosted by a group of very angry geese, who despite my efforts to appear more threatening, chased us for a good way along the bank. There was a lot of playground equipment, including a sinister-looking metal slide. Hans decided to give it a try and I watched as he went over a steep drop in the slide and landed painfully on the ground.

Holiday Road Trip: The Beginning

The holidays are going to be a little different this year. I have just finished the fall semester of my last year of graduate school. With the exception of last spring (when Hans and I towed all our worldly possessions on a trailer from Anchorage to Cape Girardeau during winter break, resulting in the eventual death of the Honda Passport) Hans has worked in Anchorage and I have been in Cape by myself. The choice of who to spend the holidays with, the LaVictoires or Weilands, was one that we felt was best left for another year so that we could spend some time alone after four months apart followed by another four month separation.

In the usual tradition of disregard for time, mileage, or weather, we set our sights on the southwest. And we were going to drive there. A romantic Christmas in Santa Fe, spending time with college buddies in Utah's national parks, New Years at the bottom of the Grand Canyon maybe, and all the microbrew we could get our palates exposed to. It's the middle of December, sure, but we'll be in New Mexico and Arizona for most of our trip. Surely we'll be fine in our car without snow tires, right?

I had finished my finals earlier in the week and Hans was due to arrive by plane in St. Louis at around 10 o'clock.

Hans’ plane arrived a few hours later than intended, so after I picked him up in St. Louis we did not get back to Cape Girardeau until 2 o’clock this morning.

We made the executive decision to start driving when we felt like it instead of at 6 am as originally planned. By 11:30 am we were on I-55 headed south until outside of Memphis and then we crossed diagonally through Arkansas. We drove into one of the nicest sunsets we’ve ever seen. Roughly 600 miles from Cape we stopped in Ft. Worth, Texas.

Our Motel 6, while clean and comfortable, was only within the vicinity of fast food joints. It being late on a Sunday night, our choices were limited. Ordering dinner at a shabby KFC quickly began to resemble the Cheese Shop Sketch from Monty Python. We went to bed very tired, and in Texas.

Our itinerary:

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The Move to Missouri: Cape Girardeau

Distance: 349 miles
Mileage Total: About 4100

Holy crap.  We made it.  And I mean, just made it. 

I think we pulled into the drive of our building at 4:00 pm.  I literally had to dump Hans and the trailer after unlocking the apartment and race over to campus.  Of course there was a hold placed on my account due to the overdue fees, so I had to plead with registration to remove it before I was allowed to drop that class.

When all was said and done, I was nearly kicked out of school over 50 cents worth of overdue library book fees.

But we made it.

School starts again on Monday.

The Move to Missouri: Kansas City

Distance: 364 miles

This morning Hans was feeling ill, so I called the front desk of the motel and asked how late we could check out since I had to take the car to a repair shop.  They aren’t exactly busy during this time of year, so the concierge said as long as we were checked out by 2 pm she didn’t care.  This made things a lot easier.  We unhooked the trailer and I left Hans to recover in the room while I drove across town.

Needless to say, our patience with the Passport is about expended.  Luckily, the diagnosis was not as dire as we thought it might be:  Another leak in the vacuum line (requiring a new hose) and the air filter was completely clogged.  I picked up Hans and the trailer a few hours later and we set off for as far as we felt like driving, which turned out to be Kansas City.  In rush-hour traffic.  Once we’d settled into the LAST motel of this adventure, my mom surprised me with some urgent news.  She told me that my graduate advisor had called and needed to talk to me as soon as possible.  So, I called him on his cell.

It turns out that the university has been trying to contact me for the last week or so via email (which I’ve been unable to check).  They claim they sent me a letter, which I know is a load of BS.  Anyway, their reason for wanting to contact me was thus:  I forgot to drop an undergraduate class I’d originally thought about taking this spring.  My assistantship covers my graduate tuition, so I have to pay for any undergrad tuition out of pocket.  I figured I’d drop the class once I got back to Cape Girardeau, but apparently SEMO requires tuition payment in full well before the semester even begins, so now I’ve defaulted on payment on a class I plan to drop anyway.

So, in the mean time my advisor received a message from the university that was to the effect that if I do not drop the class or pay for it by 5 pm tomorrow, I will be automatically dropped from my graduate program and lose my assistantship. 

Awesome.

I totally need more stress in my life.

My advisor has offered to go to campus and pay for it himself in case Hans and I don’t make it back to town in time, but I don’t think that will be a problem.  As long as our car doesn’t break down again.

The Move to Missouri: Sioux Falls

Distance: 433 miles

This morning began precariously as there are reports of scattered ice storms for the Dakotas.  As it turned out, the roads were fine and we drove through about 30 seconds of rain.

However, we were nearly to Redfield, SD when the engine began to make unsettling choking sounds.  We pulled into a mechanic’s in town, but they told us to turn around and try a place in Aberdeen.  Forty miles later, we stopped at another shop.  Upon inspecting the engine, they told us that the patch job we’d had done in Tok had disintegrated and been sucked up into the vacuum line.

They were able to fix it, but they had to go across town to buy a new part, so they recommended we go get some lunch and come back.  The people who worked there suggested we walk up the road a ways to Scotty’s Drive-In, where we had some very tasty burgers.  Once a new gasket had been affixed, we continued to Sioux Falls, where unfortunately, the car began to stutter again.

I spent the evening digging through the phone book and found a place that was willing to work on our car, but we’d have to wait until the next morning.

The Move to Missouri: Bismarck

Distance: 544 miles

The original plan was to continue south into Wyoming and then turn east, but the cross winds have made us decide to head to North Dakota until the winds are weaker and then go south.

This morning’s drive was fairly quiet as we wound between farms and small canyons to avoid the highway.  We rarely encountered another vehicle, and the expanse of dreary, lonely sky was exquisite.  Even the cows were eerily absent at times.

Once we entered North Dakota the scenery shifted dramatically as we drove past the badlands.  The strange dried riverbed was so beloved by Theodore Roosevelt that he was inspired to pursue conservation and now it holds a national park named after him.

After a fairly uneventful day we stopped in Bismarck.

The Move to Missouri: Great Falls

Distance: 409 miles

Hans grumbled quite a lot as he navigated through traffic in Calgary.  The rest of Alberta was fairly flat and boring.  However, the severe weather that was slamming the west coast brought 30-mph cross winds that blew our trailer all over the place.

Calgary Skyline

Meteorological turmoil kept at bay by the mountains

After crossing the border we made for Great Falls, Montana.  We checked into a chain establishment that had some kind of event going on, and the noise carried over to the hotel restaurant.  I became ill during dinner and had to lie down for the rest of the evening.