Road trip notes, week 4
Sunday, June 22nd, 2014 10:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chanaleh
Week 4 photos are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93788108@N00/sets/72157644928804887/
Full trip photos (all in one album) are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93788108@N00/sets/72157644898605426/
Day 24: Sunday, June 15
• Got up, checked out.
• Breakfast at Denny's (this road trip has been brought to you by Denny's) right across the parking lot from our motel room.
• Drove back through Hurricane and into Springdale to Zion National Park. Floundered around a bit trying to figure out where we were supposed to park and pick up the shuttle (it was already nearly 3pm), but eventually made it in.
• Walked the trails for the Emerald Pools (Lower and Middle, but not Upper).
• Took the shuttle all the way up to the Riverside Walk, but then![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
etrace was having some leg pain so we skipped that and came straight back down to the Weeping Rock. That was awesome and we hung out there for a while.
• Left the park; emerged at the brewpub (Zion Canyon Brewing Company) and had some excellent dinner.
• Got in the car and drove on out to Kanab, almost all the way to the Arizona state line.
• Floundered around trying to find a motel room for under $100 and ended up at the Days Inn after some shenanigans.
• Finally reached my dad on the phone for Father's Day.
Overnight: Days Inn & Suites, Kanab, UT
Day 25: Monday, June 16
Grand Canyon Day!
• Got up, checked out.
• Drove on out across the Arizona state line (state #12) and stopped for breakfast at the Denny's (this roadtrip has been brought to you by Denny's) in Pace, AZ.
• Drove through Navajo territory, Grand Staircase National Monument, and the edges of the Painted Desert.
• Reached Grand Canyon National Park (the eastern "Desert View" entrance on the South Rim) around 4 in the afternoon. The very friendly ranger at the entrance directed us to the first vista point; we drove in, walked out, and then stood there totally mindblown for several minutes, first just looking, and then taking pictures.
• Drove on to the next several vista points, got out and stood and marveled at each one in turn.
• Drove on to the main Visitors Center in Grand Canyon Village, parked, and started walking along the rim trail.
• After the first mile or so and the Geology Center, connected up with the "Trail of Time" and followed it all the way out to the Hopi House and lodge, where we caught the shuttle bus back to our car.
• Drove out through Tusayan and didn't see anything great for dinner; booked a motel room in Flagstaff (where we got a really cheap deal on what turned out to be a nice Ramada Inn) and drove on down by way of Williams where we did stop for dinner.
• Couldn't find the steakhouse we asked Vader to direct us to, but ended up at a very nice little Mexican place-slash-Irish pub in the middle of downtown Williams's adorable "Historic Route 66" district (with which this stretch of the modern Interstate 40 apparently coincides).
Overnight: Ramada Inn, Flagstaff, AZ
Day 26: Tuesday, June 17
• Got up, checked out (noon checkout! bliss!).
• Breakfast at the Denny's (this roadtrip has been brought to you by Denny's) across the parking lot.
• Drove straight on down to Sedona, where I had booked a room (with in-room 2-person jacuzzi tub! for a totally reasonable $115!) at a little resort north of town in the Oak Creek area. It was barely 2pm when we got there, but our room was ready, so we settled in and walked around the grounds for a little bit.
• Got treats from the Dairy Queen across the street and brought them back to enjoy on the patio next to the koi pond right outside our room.
• Drove into town and walked around Main Street visiting all the little shops. Managed not to buy anything except a $7 pair of rose quartz crystal earrings (which I wore out of the store since I'd lost one earring back at Yellowstone and been missing one ever since) at the Sedona Crystal Vortex, reportedly the #1 gift shop in town.
• Pondered getting steaks to grill back at the resort, but laziness won out and we instead got some very nice burgers and craft beers at the Open
• Drove back to the room, enjoyed the jacuzzi tub, and watched Game of Thrones (oh yeah, free HBO too!) when it came on at 11pm.
Overnight: Oak Creek Terrace Inn, Sedona, AZ
Day 27: Wednesday, June 18
• Got up, checked out (noon checkout! better and better!).
• Drove down through town looking for breakfast; ended up stumbling on the Blue Moon Cafe (with the requisite breakfast-all-day and free-WiFi).
• Backtracked to Bell Rock, which was the one hike I wanted to do in Sedona.
• Spent a couple of hours walking around, and climbing on, the rock. Did not climb the upper section to the summit, but got as far up as a section
• Got back in the car and drove down to Phoenix.
• Tried unsuccessfully to reach my friend Jason (who lives in Cave Creek) about getting together in the evening. Stopped for fro-yo at a TCBY in the strip mall while hanging out. Finally gave up and booked a motel room in North Phoenix.
• Checked in, and I took advantage of the (outdoor) pool for the first and only time on the trip.
• Finally heard back from both Jason andseventorches about getting together for lunch tomorrow in Tempe (though not until 2pm so that Mr. seventorches, who I hadn't yet met, would be able to join us).
• Ordered in pizza and sat around for the rest of the evening reading the Internet and watching Adult Swim.
Overnight: Travelodge/Knights Inn, North Phoenix, AZ
Day 28: Thursday, June 19
• Got up, checked out.
• Drove to Tempe.
• Spent an hour hanging out in Tempe Beach Park watching the birds.
• Retreated to a Starbucks in the Mill St. area and spent another hour drinking iced coffee and writing up trip notes.
• Headed over to the Cornish Pasty Co. and staked out a table in the bar so I could watch the door for them.
• Was just about to give up on them when around 2:20, all three of them showed up at the same time -- hooray!
• Had an awesome lunch catching up.
• Got in the car and drove to New Mexico (state #13) for the rest of the afternoon.
• Made a motel reservation in Lordsburg (not too far over the state line) and got there right around 9pm.
• Ran to try to catch dinner at the family restaurant across the street and got there just before they closed. Had an excellent burrito filled with authentic New Mexico green chile beef.
Overnight: EconoLodge, Lordsburg, NM
Day 29: Friday, June 20
• Got up early and made it to the complimentary hotel breakfast bar for the ONLY TIME on the entire trip. Waffles!
• Drove to Roswell. Got there shortly after 3pm and walked straight into the UFO Museum, which closes at 5pm.
• Had just enough time to peruse the entire exhibit documenting the Roswell crash (affidavits, letters, newspaper stories, artist's renditions, mockups, and many other documents), which was quite convincing, and then browse the other side of the hall which basically gave an overview of
• Spent the last 5 minutes in the gift shop (85% junky alien-themed plastic toys and 15% interesting books and DVDs on actual research) before they kicked us out.
• Glanced around at the 5 or 6 other alien-themed gift shops in the immediate neighborhood before deciding we really needed to get lunch/dinner next.
• Drove half a mile up Main Street to a place called Peppers Bar & Grill (their staff t-shirts featured a spaceship cartoon captioned "C-ALIEN-TE!"; I really wanted one).
• Drove back down Main Street to stop at a Walgreens and also make a motel reservation.
• Drove all the way back up Main Street to the Super 8 and checked in, shortly before 7:30pm.
• Started calling the 3 laundromats in town, only to discover that ALL OF THEM WERE CLOSED or would be closing at 8pm. Roll up the sidewalks!!
• Hung out in the room reading the Internet for the rest of the evening.
Overnight: Super 8, Roswell, NM
Day 30: Saturday, June 21
• Got up, checked out.
• Tried to go at the Golden Corral for their breakfast buffet, but missed it by a few minutes (and didn't feel like what was on the lunch buffet). Proceeded to the Denny's (this roadtrip has been brought to you by Denny's).
• Drove down through Carlsbad, NM, and over to Carlsbad Caverns.
• Walked down the natural entrance.
• Did a self-guided walk of the Big Room.
• Took the elevator out.
• Perused the gift shop but decided against actually getting any food.
• Drove out and down into Texas (state #14). Decided not to stop in Pecos (either for food or lodging) but instead continue on another ~50 miles to Fort Stockton. Made a motel reservation.
• Got to Fort Stockton and found our motel.
• Tried to find some dinner at 10pm on a Saturday night. Set a course for the nearby IHOP reported by Vader, only to find it had morphed into something called the Pecos Roadhouse in the time since Vader's last map update. Good food, in the end, but crappy service (if you're going to mentally check out and throw out all the coffee at 10:30pm, don't claim to be open until 11pm!).
Overnight: Motel 6, Fort Stockton, TX
Full trip photos (all in one album) are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93788108@N00/sets/72157644898605426/
Day 24: Sunday, June 15
• Got up, checked out.
• Breakfast at Denny's (this road trip has been brought to you by Denny's) right across the parking lot from our motel room.
• Drove back through Hurricane and into Springdale to Zion National Park. Floundered around a bit trying to figure out where we were supposed to park and pick up the shuttle (it was already nearly 3pm), but eventually made it in.
• Walked the trails for the Emerald Pools (Lower and Middle, but not Upper).
• Took the shuttle all the way up to the Riverside Walk, but then
etrace was having some leg pain so we skipped that and came straight back down to the Weeping Rock. That was awesome and we hung out there for a while.• Left the park; emerged at the brewpub (Zion Canyon Brewing Company) and had some excellent dinner.
• Got in the car and drove on out to Kanab, almost all the way to the Arizona state line.
• Floundered around trying to find a motel room for under $100 and ended up at the Days Inn after some shenanigans.
• Finally reached my dad on the phone for Father's Day.
Overnight: Days Inn & Suites, Kanab, UT
Day 25: Monday, June 16
Grand Canyon Day!
• Got up, checked out.
• Drove on out across the Arizona state line (state #12) and stopped for breakfast at the Denny's (this roadtrip has been brought to you by Denny's) in Pace, AZ.
• Drove through Navajo territory, Grand Staircase National Monument, and the edges of the Painted Desert.
• Reached Grand Canyon National Park (the eastern "Desert View" entrance on the South Rim) around 4 in the afternoon. The very friendly ranger at the entrance directed us to the first vista point; we drove in, walked out, and then stood there totally mindblown for several minutes, first just looking, and then taking pictures.
• Drove on to the next several vista points, got out and stood and marveled at each one in turn.
• Drove on to the main Visitors Center in Grand Canyon Village, parked, and started walking along the rim trail.
• After the first mile or so and the Geology Center, connected up with the "Trail of Time" and followed it all the way out to the Hopi House and lodge, where we caught the shuttle bus back to our car.
• Drove out through Tusayan and didn't see anything great for dinner; booked a motel room in Flagstaff (where we got a really cheap deal on what turned out to be a nice Ramada Inn) and drove on down by way of Williams where we did stop for dinner.
• Couldn't find the steakhouse we asked Vader to direct us to, but ended up at a very nice little Mexican place-slash-Irish pub in the middle of downtown Williams's adorable "Historic Route 66" district (with which this stretch of the modern Interstate 40 apparently coincides).
Overnight: Ramada Inn, Flagstaff, AZ
Day 26: Tuesday, June 17
• Got up, checked out (noon checkout! bliss!).
• Breakfast at the Denny's (this roadtrip has been brought to you by Denny's) across the parking lot.
• Drove straight on down to Sedona, where I had booked a room (with in-room 2-person jacuzzi tub! for a totally reasonable $115!) at a little resort north of town in the Oak Creek area. It was barely 2pm when we got there, but our room was ready, so we settled in and walked around the grounds for a little bit.
• Got treats from the Dairy Queen across the street and brought them back to enjoy on the patio next to the koi pond right outside our room.
• Drove into town and walked around Main Street visiting all the little shops. Managed not to buy anything except a $7 pair of rose quartz crystal earrings (which I wore out of the store since I'd lost one earring back at Yellowstone and been missing one ever since) at the Sedona Crystal Vortex, reportedly the #1 gift shop in town.
• Pondered getting steaks to grill back at the resort, but laziness won out and we instead got some very nice burgers and craft beers at the Open
• Drove back to the room, enjoyed the jacuzzi tub, and watched Game of Thrones (oh yeah, free HBO too!) when it came on at 11pm.
Overnight: Oak Creek Terrace Inn, Sedona, AZ
Day 27: Wednesday, June 18
• Got up, checked out (noon checkout! better and better!).
• Drove down through town looking for breakfast; ended up stumbling on the Blue Moon Cafe (with the requisite breakfast-all-day and free-WiFi).
• Backtracked to Bell Rock, which was the one hike I wanted to do in Sedona.
• Spent a couple of hours walking around, and climbing on, the rock. Did not climb the upper section to the summit, but got as far up as a section
• Got back in the car and drove down to Phoenix.
• Tried unsuccessfully to reach my friend Jason (who lives in Cave Creek) about getting together in the evening. Stopped for fro-yo at a TCBY in the strip mall while hanging out. Finally gave up and booked a motel room in North Phoenix.
• Checked in, and I took advantage of the (outdoor) pool for the first and only time on the trip.
• Finally heard back from both Jason and
seventorches about getting together for lunch tomorrow in Tempe (though not until 2pm so that Mr. seventorches, who I hadn't yet met, would be able to join us).• Ordered in pizza and sat around for the rest of the evening reading the Internet and watching Adult Swim.
Overnight: Travelodge/Knights Inn, North Phoenix, AZ
Day 28: Thursday, June 19
• Got up, checked out.
• Drove to Tempe.
• Spent an hour hanging out in Tempe Beach Park watching the birds.
• Retreated to a Starbucks in the Mill St. area and spent another hour drinking iced coffee and writing up trip notes.
• Headed over to the Cornish Pasty Co. and staked out a table in the bar so I could watch the door for them.
• Was just about to give up on them when around 2:20, all three of them showed up at the same time -- hooray!
• Had an awesome lunch catching up.
• Got in the car and drove to New Mexico (state #13) for the rest of the afternoon.
• Made a motel reservation in Lordsburg (not too far over the state line) and got there right around 9pm.
• Ran to try to catch dinner at the family restaurant across the street and got there just before they closed. Had an excellent burrito filled with authentic New Mexico green chile beef.
Overnight: EconoLodge, Lordsburg, NM
Day 29: Friday, June 20
• Got up early and made it to the complimentary hotel breakfast bar for the ONLY TIME on the entire trip. Waffles!
• Drove to Roswell. Got there shortly after 3pm and walked straight into the UFO Museum, which closes at 5pm.
• Had just enough time to peruse the entire exhibit documenting the Roswell crash (affidavits, letters, newspaper stories, artist's renditions, mockups, and many other documents), which was quite convincing, and then browse the other side of the hall which basically gave an overview of
• Spent the last 5 minutes in the gift shop (85% junky alien-themed plastic toys and 15% interesting books and DVDs on actual research) before they kicked us out.
• Glanced around at the 5 or 6 other alien-themed gift shops in the immediate neighborhood before deciding we really needed to get lunch/dinner next.
• Drove half a mile up Main Street to a place called Peppers Bar & Grill (their staff t-shirts featured a spaceship cartoon captioned "C-ALIEN-TE!"; I really wanted one).
• Drove back down Main Street to stop at a Walgreens and also make a motel reservation.
• Drove all the way back up Main Street to the Super 8 and checked in, shortly before 7:30pm.
• Started calling the 3 laundromats in town, only to discover that ALL OF THEM WERE CLOSED or would be closing at 8pm. Roll up the sidewalks!!
• Hung out in the room reading the Internet for the rest of the evening.
Overnight: Super 8, Roswell, NM
Day 30: Saturday, June 21
• Got up, checked out.
• Tried to go at the Golden Corral for their breakfast buffet, but missed it by a few minutes (and didn't feel like what was on the lunch buffet). Proceeded to the Denny's (this roadtrip has been brought to you by Denny's).
• Drove down through Carlsbad, NM, and over to Carlsbad Caverns.
• Walked down the natural entrance.
• Did a self-guided walk of the Big Room.
• Took the elevator out.
• Perused the gift shop but decided against actually getting any food.
• Drove out and down into Texas (state #14). Decided not to stop in Pecos (either for food or lodging) but instead continue on another ~50 miles to Fort Stockton. Made a motel reservation.
• Got to Fort Stockton and found our motel.
• Tried to find some dinner at 10pm on a Saturday night. Set a course for the nearby IHOP reported by Vader, only to find it had morphed into something called the Pecos Roadhouse in the time since Vader's last map update. Good food, in the end, but crappy service (if you're going to mentally check out and throw out all the coffee at 10:30pm, don't claim to be open until 11pm!).
Overnight: Motel 6, Fort Stockton, TX